Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Kitts and Nevis has been affected by rising violence and gun-related crime over the past decade. This violence is mainly linked to fighting between local gangs for territorial control and a share of the domestic drug market. The country is used as a trans-shipment point in the transnational drug trade. Large numbers of illegally obtained firearms circulate in Saint Kitts and Nevis,1 which also faces acute problems related to firearm and ammunition smuggling.2
The country’s guiding gun control legislation includes the Firearms Act of 2002. Saint Kitts and Nevis has signed and ratified the Arms Trade Treaty.3 The UN Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) has provided technical and training assistance to the country for the destruction of obsolete and confiscated arms and ammunition.4 It also helps the country in combating armed violence and firearms trafficking by improving current practices regarding crime gun intelligence management, and specifically ballistics intelligence.5
1 “Saint Kitts and Nevis,” DCAF – Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance, February 11, 2015, https://issat.dcaf.ch/Learn/Resource-Library/Country-Profiles/Saint-Kitts-and-Nevis-Country-Profile.
2 Philip Alpers, Amélie Rossetti and Clara Mourlevat, Saint Kitts and Nevis – Gun Facts, Figures and the Law (GunPolicy.org, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, 2022), https://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/st-kitts-and-nevis.
3 Ibid.
4 “UNLIREC Assists St Kitts and Nevis with Destruction of Obsolete and Confiscated Small Arms and Ammunition,” UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), 2013, https://www.un.org/disarmament/update/20130606.
5 “UNLIREC and St Kitts and Nevis Improve Firearms Trafficking Investigations in the Country,” UNODA, October 19, 2019, https://unlirec.org/en/unlirec-and-st-kitts-and-nevis-improve-firearms-trafficking-investigations-in-the-country.
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Further information
Accidental explosions
Since the Small Arms Survey began collecting data in 1979, no accidental explosions have been reported in Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Source: “Unplanned Explosions at Munitions Sites (UEMS) Database,” Small Arms Survey, updated December 15, 2021, https://smallarmssurvey.org/database/unplanned-explosions-munitions-sites-uems.
Cases of diversion
Insufficient information on cases of diversion in Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Disposal
In cooperation with UNLIREC, 0.67 tonnes of small arms ammunition were destroyed in 2013.
Source: “UNLIREC Assists St Kitts and Nevis,” UNODA.
Needs
Saint Kitts and Nevis has not reported any needs related to ammunition management.
