Agenda

Fourth Committee

Trafficking in Arms

by
Leslee Moore

“Today, small arms are responsible for 90 percent of war casualties,” said Michel Rocard at a February 29, 2000 Press Conference at the United Nations. With 200,000 deaths annually, the human toll is rising, but the international trade in small arms remains largely unregulated. At the press briefing on plans to limit illicit trade in small arms on August 4, 1999, experts estimated that there is an accumulation of more than 500 million small arms and light weapons worldwide. They went on by saying that, “such weapons (small arms) have been or are the primary or sole tools of violence in several of the armed conflicts involving irregular troops among the warring parties.” Of particular concern, according to the group, was the fact that hundreds of thousands of children had been among the victims, and that by 1999 more than 300,000 of them under the age of 16 were estimated to have been exploited as participants in armed conflict using those arms.

Jack Wilmot of Ghana said in the First Committee on October 16, 1998, that “the end of the cold war unleashed new threats to global and regional peace. Intra-state conflicts, rooted in ethnic, racial and religious intolerance posed a threat to the security of many States and regions.” E.O. Olusanmokun of Nigeria mentioned at the same meeting that “the end of the cold war had regrettably not brought the relief or peace dividend that had been expected. Conflicts, underpinned by ethnic, religious and cultural considerations, had erupted in many parts of the world, claiming precious lives and resources.”

African countries have been reluctant to deal with small arms issues. They feel that their “weapons of choice” would be taken away. That raises a question of whether a country’s right to bear arms would be violated? Now, African countries have seen the humanitarian toll of small arms on populations, and they are becoming aware of the small arms problem.

In addition to small arms, landmines pose a threat to safety."The effects of anti-personnel landmines are not confined to the military. Their impact on civilians has jeopardized the security and peace around the world,” said Hisham Al-Ghanim of Kuwait at the First Committee’s 8th meeting. The mines planted by Iraqi troops during their invasion of Kuwait victimized scores of innocent men, women and children. His country had harnessed efforts and enormous funds for demining. He stated that “the international community must continue its efforts in that regard and increase efforts to ease tensions in all areas, especially the Middle East and South Asia.”

The majority of victims of small arms are scattered throughout the developing South, while the majority of small arms being produced originate in the industrialized North. The five permanent members of the Security Council--China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States--account for 85% of the global arms trade.

Michel Rocard told correspondents at UN headquarters that, “the weapons of violence must be brought back under the control of public authority, with the State itself being made accountable for its deeds.” He also mentioned that a “United Nations register on small arms could redress destabilizing large-scale transfers by means of improved management and control. Under it, governments would be required to declare production, stockpiling and transfer of small arms; to mark small arms; and commit themselves not to trade in unmarked small arms.”

What is the United Nations doing about this global problem? Mr. Rocard stated in the press conference that “an international code of conduct must promote national and multilateral responsibility. Obligatory third party insurance should be required for every small arm produced or traded and original owners must be liable for the damages incurred by their small arms during the illicit phase of their life-cycle.”

Recently, the United States of America announced a set of changes to the arms export licensing system that are designed to make the process of exporting weapons to NATO members, Japan and Australia faster and easier. The administration also aims to increase cooperation between European and American weapons manufacturers. The policy changes range from creating new export licenses for entire weapons systems to expediting license reviews for NATO. The most far reaching reform would be to exempt favored allies from arms export license requirements, beginning with the UK and Australia (Export Control and Reform, Defense Trade Security Initiative). The Code of Conduct would require the President to submit to Congress, once a year, a list of countries that meet eligibility criteria in order to import American weapons. Although this Code of Conduct requires the U.S. to trade arms only to countries that are in good standing, from 1990-1995, 85% of the U.S. arms transfers went to states which did not meet the Code’s criteria (U.S. Arms Transfer Code of Conduct).

In 1999 a report of the Groups of Governmental Experts on Small Arms, endorsed by the General Assembly, recommended a number of actions for the UN and other international or regional organizations: supporting arms embargoes authorized by the Security Council; “investigating the feasibility of establishing reliable and cost-effective ways of making all such weapons, and promoting greater transparency and public campaigns to raise public awareness of the dangers associated witht he proliferation of small arms and light weapons and illicit arms trafficking.”

In September of 1999 a ministerial level meeting of the Security Council issued a statement that noted with grave concern that the “‘easy availablity of small arms can be a contributing factor to undermining peace agreements, complicating peace-building efforts and impeding political, economical and social development.’”

The idea of an International Code of Conduct has also been brought to the surface. It would promote national and multilateral responsibility. In 2001 the United Nations will convene an International Conference on Small Arms Trafficking. The groups of experts recommended that the objective of the conference should be to develop and strengthen international efforts to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade of those weapons. Mitsuro Donowaki of Japan recommended “that the United Nations should begin work on marking small arms and light weapons to reduce the possibilities of removal of their identification by criminals and arms traffickers.” A Prepatory Committee for the Conference was held early in the year 2000 to determine procedural matters for the scheduled meetings in January, March and June/July of 2001. In addition, the Conventional Arms Branch of the Departmental for Disarmament Affairs has established a Web Site at www.un.org/Depts/dda/CAB/index.htm, which includes all relevant documents produced since 1997.

Despite these efforts, however, it will require political will and the implementation of agreements to bring about a reduction in the production and trafficking of small arms. Moreover, since those who use small arms often have known no other life than that of combat, any efforts in this area must also take into account the need to demobilize soldiers and reintegrate them into society through education, occupational training, socio-psychological counseling and the promotion of sustainable development and civil society.

Questions for further consideration:
1) Should the United Nations endorse the idea of a “Global Code of Conduct?”
2) Should the right to trade in and use small arms, ensured by the constitutions of many member-states of the United Nations, be limited?
3) What should happen at the 2001 International Conference on Small Arms Trafficking?
4) Should there be obligatory third party insurance required for every small arm produced or traded, making the original owners liable for the damages incurred during the illicit phase of their life cycle?
5) Should other countries develop a Code of Conduct similar to that of the United States?
6) If there were an International Code of Conduct, would it minimize trafficking problems?