DCAF and its project partner UNLIREC (United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean) organised a one-day workshop on the use of force by private security companies. Participants included Deputy Ministers, heads of private security regulatory bodies, civil society, and private security industry associations and companies from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Peru.

The objective of the workshop was to share with private security stakeholders the concepts emerging out of a DCAF reflection on the topic, get feedback based on the stakeholders’ experience, and discuss how these concepts can strengthen national reform processes as well as PSC internal processes. Various countries raised interest in receiving corresponding support at the national level to foster a change of culture within the private security industry. The workshop is part of a multi-year DCAF-UNLIREC project to strengthen oversight and building capacities for small arms control and non-proliferation in the private security sector in Latin America and the Caribbean.