NGLS Roundup 80, August 2001

CONFERENCE ON THE ILLICIT TRADE IN SMALL ARMS AND LIGHT WEAPONS

introduction

The United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects met at UN headquarters in New York from 9-20 July 2001 to address the increasing threat to human security posed by such weapons. The decision to hold the Conference was taken at the 1999 session of the General Assembly (resolution 54/54 V). The Conference, which was held at the ministerial level, was also attended by over 177 NGOs.

Opening the Conference, UN Deputy-Secretary-General Louise Fréchette said there were an estimated 500 million small arms and light weapons in circulation—one for every 12 people on earth. The majority of those weapons were in the hands of legal authorities, but a significant number, she said, ended up in the hands of irregular troops, criminals, drug traffickers and terrorists. Ms. Fréchette noted that even in societies not torn by conflict, the proliferation of small arms had contributed to a culture of violence and crime by eroding the authority of legitimate but weak governments and by undermining respect for international humanitarian law, making peacekeeping much more difficult.

The Conference aimed to find ways to curb and eliminate illicit trafficking in small arms. After lengthy negotiations and heated debate, officials from over 140 countries reached agreement on the world's first voluntary pact to limit the small arms trade, salvaging what had seemed to be a deadlock between the United States and other countries. The outcome, a comprehensive Programme of Action (POA) negotiated during the second week of the Conference, contained measures that States agreed to take at the national, regional and international levels. These included measures urging governments to require gun manufacturers to mark and trace their guns, to establish laws regulating arms brokers, to ensure export controls on small arms and light weapons, to criminalize the illicit production and trade of the weapons, and to destroy surplus stocks of small arms. A follow-up to the Conference was scheduled for 2006.

However, many participants were not pleased with the outcome, feeling that it had been considerably weakened in the face of strong resistance from the United States, China, Russia and several other Asian countries on such issues as civilian ownership of weapons and the transfer of weapons to non-state actors. Other contentious issues included arms brokering and questions about potentially legally-binding aspects of the agreement.

Camilo Reyes Rodriguez (Colombia), President of the Conference, expressed his “disappointment over the Conference's inability to agree due to the concerns of one State on language recognizing the need to establish and maintain controls over private ownership of these deadly weapons and the need for preventing sales of such arms to non-state groups.”

NGOs attending the Conference had mixed feelings as well. Many criticized the document for its failure to control exports by legal manufacturers. “Most of the illicit weapons trade starts out in the legal export market before it gets diverted,” noted Joost Hiltermann, Executive Director of the Arms Division of Human Rights Watch (HRW). “This Conference has helped raised awareness of the spread of small arms, but it hasn't put forward a serious plan for stopping this terrible human rights problem,” he said.

Other NGOs expressed moderate support for what was achieved by the Conference, citing the POA as a basis for future work, but regretted that States had refused to go further. The NGO coalition International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA)—comprising 320 NGOs from 70 countries—called the Conference a “squandered opportunity,” but nonetheless welcomed progress in linking the impact of weapons to development and humanitarian issues and in committing to more effectively control arms in areas of tension and conflict.

Panel discussions and expert presentations that addressed various aspects of the trade in small arms and light weapons were held throughout the Conference.

High-level ministerial segment

In the high-level debate, John Bolton, United States Under-Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs, stressed his country's belief that the responsible use of firearms was a legitimate aspect of national life. While the US strongly supported “the general thrust” of the draft POA, there were several elements, he said, that it could not support as they went “beyond the scope of appropriate international action.” Those included measures to constrain the legal trade and legal manufacturing of small arms and light weapons, and the promotion of international advocacy activity by NGOs.

The US was particularly opposed to measures limiting trade in small arms solely to governments. “In the absence of a clear definition of both small arms and light weapons,” the US said, such measures “could be construed as outlawing legitimate international trade in all firearms (and) would preclude assistance to an oppressed non-state group defending itself from a genocidal government.” The US also said it would not support a mandatory review Conference—the sole point it later conceded—nor commit to begin negotiations and reach agreement on any legally-binding instruments.

Reaction to the US position was heated. Many speakers noted that the Conference was not seeking to take guns away from the civilian population for hunting and other legal purposes, nor to interfere in national sovereignty or domestic laws on gun ownership. Charles Josselin, Minister of State for Cooperation and Francophonie of France urged governments to give a concrete and bold response to the challenge presented by the Conference. “Let us be determined. Let us be responsible. I know the road ahead will be fraught with pitfalls because of diverging views, in this case, the singular interests of the host country, but the ball is in our court.”

Belgium on behalf of the European Union (EU) and other States emphasized the legal aspects involved in the illicit trade as well as regional measures to be taken. “As producers of small arms and light weapons, EU countries are resolved to prevent arms from reaching the wrong hands.” In order to better accomplish that goal, the EU emphasized implementation of export controls, instruments on marking and tracing, brokerage, management of stockpiling and destruction, and assistance in implementation of the measures adopted at the Conference. The EU felt that tracing was an essential element for enhancing the effectiveness of national authority, that brokerage required a legally-binding instrument, that armament stocks needed to be better controlled and surpluses reduced, and that information on exports and imports needed to be made available. The EU also favoured the proposed review conference in 2006.

Many delegations recognized that the African continent was at the centre of the global trade in illicit small arms and light weapons. Nigeria's Defence Minister pointed out that even though the capacity of African States to manufacture small arms was very limited, the continent was unfortunately the recipient of large quantities of those weapons. The Assistant Secretary-General of Political Affairs for the Organization of African Unity (OAU) appealed for a POA that was precise and realistic, focusing on prevention of illicit trafficking, strengthening export control measures, reducing arms surplus and monitoring existing stocks.

Qatar, speaking on behalf of the Arab Group, said it was important that all efforts respect the sovereign integrity of States. The Arab Group also underscored that any commitments made regarding small arms should not preclude general commitments to overall disarmament, particularly nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. The Arab Group supported language on the root causes of conflict, and the reaffirmation of the right of peoples to self-defence and self-determination.

Speaking on behalf of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Viet Nam said that the illicit trade in small arms could best be approached through regional mechanisms. ASEAN noted that the illicit trade in South-East Asia was related to transnational crimes such as the production and trafficking of drugs, money laundering and cross-border terrorism, conflict and post-conflict situations, and particularly the problem of armed separatism.

Many representatives of small island developing countries shared ASEAN's concerns. Jamaica's Minister of Education, Youth and Culture said the illicit arms trade in the Caribbean region was underpinned and fuelled by the illegal drug trade. He noted that fully automatic rocket launchers and missiles were increasingly the “tools of the trade” of criminal gangs and terrorist groups. Jamaica called on the international community, particularly manufacturing countries, to implement measures that would limit civilian access to weapons manufactured for military use. It also agreed with the Rio Group that the prevention of criminal proliferation and trade in small arms and light weapons would not be viable without the open and honest participation of arms manufacturing and exporting countries.

Belize, speaking for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) emphasized the linkage between solutions to the illicit small arms trade and measures to control the illegal drug trade. CARICOM emphasized the urgent need for meaningful cooperation between States and regions to effectively stem the flow of illegal weapons and stressed the importance of regulation of the legal trade in this regard.

some areas of debate

While US positions dominated the meeting from the beginning, different issues brought various blocs of countries into negotiations throughout the Conference. The EU, for example, sought more substantive language on criteria for exporting arms. The Arab States wanted language on self-determination that reflected the concerns of Palestinians. The EU, Canada, Japan and many war-afflicted poor countries, backed heavily by NGOs, urged the Conference to address the ways in which the legal trade in arms affects illegal trafficking as well as the root causes of conflict. The US, China, Russian Federation, Arab States and Israel, however, sought to limit any restrictions to the black market only.

Arms Transfers to Non-State Actors

In the end, negotiations narrowed to a deadlock between the US and African countries over restricting the transfer of arms to non-state actors. During the all-night closed-door deliberations, all other issues were settled. African States—many of which are facing or have recently survived armed insurgencies—felt that they could not accept a document that suggested giving arms to insurgents was acceptable. However, the US would not be moved and finally, having more to lose than the US if the Conference ended in failure, African States agreed to delete the language. Dismayed by this outcome, President Reyes, in his closing address to the Conference, said that “The States most afflicted by this global crisis—Africa—only agreed with the greatest reluctance to the deletion of proposed language addressing these vital issues… All that can be done has in fact been done.”

Legally-Binding Aspects

Proposals that countries begin negotiations on legally-binding treaties on some aspects of the illicit trade, such as controls on arms brokers or universal marking systems to make the tracing of arms easier, also faced stiff opposition from the US, China and other countries in the Asian group. Some of the countries that produce and export arms resisted any specific recommendations on establishing export controls on small arms.

The US-based Fund for Peace launched a model convention on arms brokering aimed specifically at monitoring the largely unregulated underground trade, the primary source of arms used by warring factions in civil wars and ethnic conflicts worldwide. A number of States responded positively, including Belgium, Canada, Switzerland and the Netherlands, who may take the initiative to introduce a draft convention on arms brokering at the 56th session of the UN General Assembly, which will open in September this year.

Another deadlocked area of debate concerned proposals to begin negotiations for any binding agreements on marking weapons for easier tracing. The final wording of the POA merely calls for consideration and studies to pursue these proposals. Many delegations, including the EU, had highlighted the necessity of establishing adequate procedures for marking and tracking illegal small arms, proposing that a comprehensive mechanism for tracking small arms could form the backbone of UN efforts to implement international arms embargoes.

Gun manufacturers and the Eminent Persons Group—a 23-member group of senior officials and former diplomats—suggested that the Conference at least endorse a voluntary marking and tracing agreement for industry proposed by Mali. Industry officials, including the heads of Glock and Beretta, met with the Eminent Persons Group to reaffirm their support for the voluntary pact. Some NGOs opposed the idea, however, noting that the gunmakers were merely interested in protecting their industry from domestic legal attacks, such as those sustained by the US tobacco industry.

Children in Armed Conflict

Special emphasis was given to the plight of children in situations of armed conflict, and the link to the illicit small arms traffic. UNICEF estimates that since 1990 small arms-fuelled conflicts have killed two million and wounded five million children, left 12 million children homeless and created some 300,000 child soldiers. The agency called for regulations to shield children from small arms, end the recruitment of child soldiers, regulate arms transfers, promote weapons destruction and target producers who benefit from the sale of small arms. Canadian Lieutenant General Romeo Dallaire, who commanded UN forces during Rwanda's 1994 genocide, told the Conference that the international community would be “nowhere near” a solution to curbing small arms unless it took children into account.

conference outcome: the programme of action

At the end of the Conference, governments were finally able to agree to a Programme of Action (POA) that contains measures that States can take at the national, regional and international levels, which include:

National Level

-- Put in place adequate laws, regulations and administrative procedures to exercise effective control over the production of small arms and light weapons within their areas of jurisdiction, and over the export, import, transit or re-transfer of such weapons, in order to prevent illegal manufacture of and illicit trafficking in these weapons, or their diversion to unauthorized recipients.

-- Establish national coordination agencies responsible for policy guidance, research and monitoring of efforts to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade, including aspects of the illicit manufacture, control, trafficking, circulation, brokering, trade, as well as tracing, finance, collection and destruction of small arms and light weapons.

--  Identify groups and individuals engaged in the illegal manufacture, trade, stockpiling, transfer, possession, as well as financing for acquisition, of illicit small arms and light weapons, and take action under appropriate national law against such groups and individuals.

-- Ensure responsibility for all small arms and light weapons held and issued by the State and effective measures for tracing such weapons.

-- Put in place and implement adequate laws, regulations and administrative procedures to ensure the effective control over the export and transit of small arms and light weapons, including the use of authenticated end-user certificates.

-- Make every effort, without prejudice to the right of States to re-export small arms and light weapons that they have previously imported, to notify the original exporting State in accordance with their bilateral agreements before the retransfer of those weapons.

-- Develop and implement, where possible, effective disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes, including effective collection, control, storage and destruction of small arms and light weapons, particularly in post-conflict zones, as well as address the special needs of children affected by armed conflict.

Regional Level

-- Encourage regional negotiations with the aim of concluding relevant legally-binding instruments aimed at preventing, combating and eradicating the illicit trade, and where they do exist to ratify and fully implement them.

-- Establish, where appropriate, subregional or regional mechanisms, in particular trans-border customs cooperation and networks for information-sharing among law-enforcement, border and customs control agencies.

Global Level

-- Encourage States and the World Customs Organization to enhance cooperation with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to identify those groups and individuals engaged in the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects, in order to allow national authorities to proceed against them in accordance with their national law.

-- Encourage governments to establish and strengthen cooperation and partnerships at all levels among international and intergovernmental organizations and civil society, including NGOs and international financial institutions (IFIs).

conference hears ngo perspectives

In addition to advocacy and lobbying efforts, representatives of more than 40 NGOs addressed the Conference on 16 July 2001 and presented their perspectives on a variety of issues reflecting challenges posed by the illicit small arms trade.

Gun Injuries, Trauma and Health Perspective

Doctors and community health officials addressed issues related to firearm injuries and the effects of trauma. Fundación Gamma Idear (Colombia) noted that in developing countries with poor economies in which infrastructure for health is limited, “the number of injuries due to firearms was a true disaster.” Physicians for Global Survival (Canada) underscored the effect of small arms in developed countries, noting that the human and financial tolls are staggering in countries like the United States, where guns are the leading cause of death in the 15-24 age category.

Vulnerable Sections of the Population:

Disabled Persons, Women, Children

The Papuan New Guinea Leitana Nehan Women's Development Agency of Bougainville cited the example of their country where, since the armed conflict started in 1998, “women and children were the victims from day one. Women were raped and tortured or forced to marry combatants. The presence of small arms created fear and destroyed the peace and order of civil society.”

Impacts on Communities and Development

Addressing the impact of the illicit trade in small arms on the development of communities, InterBand (Japan) emphasized the need for a holistic approach to disarmament, demobilization and the creation of employment opportunities and social safety nets. “Since the impact of small arms reaches not only individuals but the community as a whole, countermeasures have to reach both individuals and society.” Franciscans International of the US spoke of the need to create a culture of peace. “The widespread availability of small arms and light weapons distorts the ethical standards of communities and disrupts the social fabric of society. It also changes the social order, undermines value systems and destroys the sense of family.”

The “Gun Lobby”

Twelve NGOs from eight countries representing the “gun lobby” also spoke. While reiterating support for the Conference aims to address the illicit trade, the National Rifle Association of America expressed concerns that the legitimate domestic rights of US citizens to own and use legal arms might be restricted by the outcome. A representative from Sporting Clays of America observed that the small arms and light weapons industry “pumped some US$30 billion through the US economy—more than giant conglomerates like Coca Cola and Microsoft.” While a number of these groups wanted to ensure protection of the right to bear firearms, they also expressed a desire for the marking and tracing of weapons.

Statements from the gun lobby were followed directly by a response from the US gun-control group Million Mom March. Arguing that the gun lobby and the US position expressed during the ministerial segment of the Conference represented a “minority view of a minority government,” the group's representative said she sought to set the record straight. “The majority of American citizens favour better regulation of guns,” she said and noted that the American public was also learning that guns purchased in legal markets in the US often flowed into the global illicit market for small arms.

Licit versus Illicit

Echoing the concerns of several States, Human Rights Watch and other NGOs felt that governments had doomed the Conference by focusing only on the illicit arms trade. “By thus limiting the Conference agenda and by expressly warning that they will not agree to any sort of binding outcome, governments are engaging in an exercise that will yield, at most, a handful of technical fixes, or perhaps only a promise to start discussing such technical fixes some time in the future.”

Gun-Free South Africa said that eradicating “the global scourge of small arms will not be possible without looking at ways to control the manufacture, use, stockpile and transfer of legal weapons.”

Humanitarian and Human Rights Concerns

Amnesty International (AI), which released a report to coincide with the Conference, said that its research had shown that small arms and light weapons were now used by both governments and opposition armed forces in 100 countries to commit systematic gross human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law. In addition, AI said, small arms are used in many countries to facilitate serious crimes by law-enforcement personnel. Given this reality, AI stressed that it was “simply unacceptable that a Programme of Action does not yet include the specific international duty of Member States to prevent the transfer of arms where there is a strong likelihood that the arms will be used to commit heinous international crimes.”

International agencies such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other NGOs lobbied on numerous fronts to keep the “humanitarian dimension” of the small arms problem alive. The ICRC noted that more UN humanitarian aid workers have been killed in recent years than peacekeepers and requested that negotiators add language to the POA acknowledging that the small arms trade “contributes to the displacement of civilians, undermines respect for international humanitarian law, impedes the provision of humanitarian assistance to victims of armed conflict, and fuels crime and terrorism.”

follow-up

Many speakers addressed the importance of domestic and international controls as well as follow-up measures. Many groups emphasized the importance of establishing legal norms for arms brokering and the responsible management of legal arms in private and State possession. Marking and tracing mechanisms were at the core of the consultative document prepared by the Eminent Persons Group, which nevertheless recommended that the Conference “take into account that the majority of illegal weapons originate in the licit trade.”

The Belgian Groupe de Recherche et d'Information sur la Paix et la Sécurité (GRIP) suggested practical measures for marking and tracing small arms, as well as ensuring maximum information on arms transfers by creating centralized registers in each state and an international agency that would specialize in the follow-up and control of the manufacture and transfer of weapons. The US National Centre for Economic and Security Alternatives supported the creation of regional small arms registers. The Fund for Peace called for a convention on arms brokering to provide uniform standards applicable by all countries to bring arms traffickers, brokers and assorted peddlers into the fold of international law.

The Biting the Bullet Project in the UK also stressed the importance of follow-up and supported the proposal to convene a second Conference in 2006. It also proposed biennial meetings to facilitate systematic exchanges of information and experience, and to identify and promote best practices.

CONTACT

Conventional Arms Branch, Department for Disarmament Affairs, Room S-3170I, United Nations, New York NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/963 3768, fax +1-212/963 1121, e-mail <mcnab@un.org>, website (www.un.org/Depts/dda/cab/index.html).

International Network on Small Arms (IANSA), Box 422, London WC1E 7BS, UK, e-mail <contact@iansa.org>, website (www.iansa.org).

Conference documents, including speeches, conference room papers, and draft texts, are available through the Small Arms Survey database, which can be found on the website (www.smallarmssurvey.org).

This edition of NGLS Roundup was prepared by the United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS). The NGLS Roundup is produced for NGOs and others interested in the institutions, policies and activities of the UN system and is not an official record.