Abstract
Concerns about illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons have moved rapidly up the international agenda since 1996. Within about three years a range of international responses to this problem, and to the closely related issue of small arms proliferation, have developed at sub-regional, regional and international level — in Africa, Europe and the Americas as well as globally. This article examines the development and design of each of the main initiatives in this issue area. It analyses the different ways in which the problems have been framed in each agreement or programme, and the significance of linkages between them. These recent developments are judged to be substantial. Despite the regional and institutional variations, the shared normative and programmatic elements appear to be sufficient to support the development of winning global coalitions — able to establish a co-ordinated international action programme even if not actually to prevent illicit trafficking in the foreseeable future.
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Notes
See, for example, the scope of the Report of the UN Group of Governmental Experts on Small Arms, (UN Document A/54/258, United Nations, 19 August 1999), and of the Draft Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition, (United Nations: UN Document A/AC.254/L.147/Add.3, 27 January 2000).
See, e.g. A. Karp, “The Rise of the Black and Grey Markets”, in R. Harkavy and S. Neuman (eds.), The Arms Trade: Problems and Prospects in the Post Cold War World, in The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 1994 (535), 175–189; or
M. Klare, “The Subterranean Arms Trade: Black Market Sales, Covert Operations and Ethnic Warfare” in A. Pierre (ed.), Cascade of Arms: managing conventional arms proliferation, (Cambridge, Mass; Brookings, 1997), pp. 43–74.
The 1997 Report of the UN Panel of Governmental Experts on Small Arms (United Nations: Document A/52/298; 27 August 1997) provided a more refined and precise definition, which has become internationally accepted. This distinguishes between small arms, which are weapons designed for personal use, and light weapons, which are de-signed for use by several persons serving as a crew. The category of small arms includes: revolvers and self loading pistols, rifles and carbines, submachine guns, assault rifles, and light machine guns. Light arms include heavy machine guns, hand-held under-barrel and mounted grenade launchers, portable anti-aircraft guns, portable anti-tanks guns, recoil-less rifles, portable launchers of anti-aircraft missile systems, and mortars of calibres less than 100 mm. Ammunition and explosives form an integral part of small arms and light weapons used in conflict.
Shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles or anti-tank missiles have emerged as an exception to this, as concerns have increased during the 1990s about access by terrorists or insurgent groups to sophisticated systems such as the US Stinger and UK Blowpipe missiles.
United Nations Disarmament Committee, “Guidelines for international arms transfers in the context of General Assembly Resolution 46/36 H of December 1991”, Official records of the General Assembly, Fifty-first Session, Supplement No 42 (United Nations: A/51/42, annex 1, 1996) paragraph 7.
Draft Protocol against Illicit manufacturing ..., (A/54/258), passim. Note that, at the time of writing, amendments to this definition remained under discussion.
For example, Pakistan made this argument in the Firearms Protocol negotiations and also, together with Qatar, Oman, the Sudan and Syria, argued that the definition should not prevent arms transfers to groups involved in struggles for self-determination or who might need them for self-defence. See footnote 47 of Draft Firearms Protocol, ibid.
ASEAN Regional Forum intersessional group on confidence-building measures consider-ation of the issue of “preventing and combating illicit trafficking in conventional arms”.
The decision was taken at the thirty-fourth meeting of the OAU Council of Ministers, held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, from 4 to 7 June 1998; OAU Council of Ministers CM/Dec.432 (LXVIII), Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons Doc.CM/2057 (LXVIII) Add.2.
Report of the Mali Advisory Mission, (New York: United Nations, 1994).
R. Poulton and I. Ag Youssouf, A Peace of Timbuktu: democratic governance, development and African peacemaking, (Geneva: UNIDIR; 1998).
Sahara-Sahel Advisory Mission Report (New York, United Nations, 20 September 1996).
Declaration of a Moratorium on importation, exportation and manufacture of light weapons in West Africa, Economic Community of West African States, twenty-first Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of States and Government, Abuja, 30–31 October 1998.
Plan of Action for the Implementation of the Programme for Co-ordination and Assist-ance for Security and Development (PCASED), adopted by ECOWAS Foreign Ministers in Bamako on 24 March 1999, and the Code of Conduct for the Implementation of the Moratorium on the Importation, Exportation and Manufacture of Light Weapons, adopted by ECOWAS Heads of States and Government in December 1999. See United Nations document A/53/763-S/1998/1193, 18 December 1998, for details of the Programme for Co-ordination and Assistance for Security and Development (PCASED).
See e.g. Report of UN Panel of Experts on Small Arms, (United Nations: Document A/52/298; 27 August 1997).
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See, e.g. C. Smith and A. Vines, Light Arms Proliferation in Southern Africa, London Defence Studies No 42, (London: Centre for Defence Studies, 1997); V. Gamba (ed.), Society Under Siege, (South Africa, Institute for Security Studies, 1997) Volume I.
H. Solomon and J. Cilliers, “The Southern African Development Community and Small Arms Proliferation”, in V Gamba (ed.), Society Under Siege: licit responses to illicit arms (Pretoria, Institute for Security Studies, 1998), pp. 75–93.
See M. Chachiua, Operations Rachel 1996–1999, ISS Monograph Series No 38, (South Africa: Institute for Security Studies; June 1999), for a detailed discussion of these operations.
EU-Southern African Conference on “Developing Controls on Arms and Illicit Arms Trafficking in Southern Africa”, Saferworld/Institute for Security Studies, Midrand, South Africa, 3–6 May 1998.
Southern Africa Regional Action Programme on Light Arms and Illicit Arms Trafficking, (London: Saferworld/ISS; May 1998).
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F. Msutu, Head of Interpol Sub-regional Bureau for Southern Africa, “Building the Ca-pacity to Combat Illicit Trafficking of Firearms in Southern Africa”, paper presented at seminar hosted by Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Implementing the EU Programme for Preventing and Combating Illicit Trafficking in Conventional Arms: a Programme of Action, Palais d’Egmont, Brussels, 30 November-1 December 1998.
A. McLean and E. Clegg (eds.), Towards implementation of the Southern Africa Re-gional Action Programme on Light Arms and Illicit Trafficking, Report of Seminar, 8–9 September 1999 Pretoria, South Africa (Pretoria: Institute for Security Studies; 1999).
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Interview, L. Dlamini, Chair, SARPCCO Legal subcommittee, Vienna, January 2000.
Interviews with Tanzanian, Kenya and Uganda police officials: Cape Town, 1997; Tan-zania Police official, Midrand, 1998.
Personal Communication, L. Dlamini, Vienna January 2000.
For further information on the UN Register of Conventional Arms, see for example, the annual reports of the UN Secretary-General on the UN Register of Conventional, and also the Bradford Arms Register Studies series of publications, including example M. Chalmers and O. Greene, A Maturing Regime?: the UN Register in its sixth year, BARS Working Paper No 6, (Bradford, Bradford University, January 1999). The US Congres-sional Research Service publishes annual reports on arms transfers, see for example, R. Grimmett, Conventional Arms Transfers to the Third World 1991–98, Congressional Re-search Service, Library of Congress, Washington DC 1999. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) publishes their findings on the international trade in major conventional arms annually, most recently in SIPRI Yearbook 1999: armaments, disarmament and international security, (Oxford: SIPRI/Oxford University Press, 1998).
Small Arms and Light Weapons: an issue for the OSCE?, Report of a workshop organised by the Governments of Canada, Norway, Netherlands, and Switzerland, in association with BASIC, Hofburg Palace, Vienna 9–10 November 1998 (London: BASIC, 1999).
Work Programme on Ways in Which the EAP C Might Contribute to the Challenge of Small Arms and Light Weapons, (Brussels, NATO/EAPC Unclassified EAPC(PC-SALW)WP (99) 1 (revised); 25 June 1999); EAPC/PFP and the Challenge of Small Arms and Light Weapons (Brussels: NATO/EAPC Unclassified EAPC(C)D( 1999)23; 4 November 1999.
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For example, On 2 October 1998, the Austrian Foreign Ministry and Saferworld co-hosted a conference in Vienna to review the challenges of preventing and combating illicit arms trafficking from or through the EU and Associate Countries. See O. Greene, Tackling Illicit Trafficking in Conventional Arms; strengthening collective efforts by EU and Associate Countries,, Saferworld Report, (London: Saferworld, April 1999).
Report of the Evaluation Mission to Albania, 11—14th June 1998, (New York, United Nations, 1998).
See, for example, “Recent Disarmament Steps reviewed By Group of Interested States”, UN Press Release DC/2623 (New York: United Nations, 18 December 1998).
EU Council, Joint Action adopted by the Council on the basis of Article J. 3 of the Treaty on European Union on the European Union’s contribution to combating the destabilising accumulation and spread of small arms and light weapons, (Brussels, EU Council, 17 December 1998).
EU Development Council, Resolution on combating the excessive and uncontrolled accumulation and spread of small arms and light weapons as part of the EU’s emergency aid, reconstruction and development programmes, EU Document No 109/2/99 Rev 2 (DEVGEN), 6 May 1999.
See, for example, M. Klare and D. Andersen, A Scourge of Guns: the diffusion of small arms and light weapons in Latin America, Federation of American Scientists, USA, 1996.
OAS CICAD Drug Abuse Control Commission, Final Report of the Group of Experts on the Control of Arms and Explosives Related to Drug Trafficking, CICAD/AREX/doc.5/97 (Washington DC: OAS, 1997).
Organisation of American States, Twenty-fourth Special Session, AG/doc.7 (XXIV-E/97) rev.l, (Washington DC: OAS, 13 November 1997).
The nine states to have ratified by October 1999 are: Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvadore, Mexico, Panama, and Peru.
Report to the UN Secretary-General, Study on Ways and Means of Promoting Transparency in International Transfers of Conventional Arms, UN General Assembly Document A/46/301 (New York: United Nations, 1991).
UN Disarmament Committee, “Guidelines for international arms transfer...” 1996, passim.
UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali, Agenda for Peace: a Supplement, (New York, United Nations, January 1995); see also UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali, Agenda for Peace, (New York: United Nations, 1992).
Report of the Panel of Governmental Experts on Small Arms, 1997 passim.
United Nations International Study on Firearms Regulation (New York, United Nations, 1998). (first released as released as Economic and Social Council, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division, E/CN.15/1997/L.19, United Nations Office in Vienna, 30 April 1997).
Economic and Social Council, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division, E/CN.15/1998/L.6/Rev 1, (Vienna, United Nations Office in Vienna, 28 April 1998).
The latest version of the draft protocol available was UN document A/AC.254/L. 142/Add.3, (Vienna, United Nations, 27 January 2000).
The question of whether firearms must be marked on each import remained open at the time of writing.
Report of the UN Group of Governmental Experts on Small Arms, UN Document A/54/258, (New York: United Nations, 19 August 1999).
UN Disarmament Commission “Guidelines on conventional arms control/limitation and disarmament, with particular emphasis on the consolidation of peace in the context of General Assembly resolution 51/45 N”, Report of the UN Disarmament Commission, General Assembly Document A/54/42, (New York, United Nations, May 1999).
UN Secretary-General, Report on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa, UN Document A/52/871 — S/1998/318, (New York, United Nations, 13 April 1998).
UN Security Council Resolution 1237 (1999) and documents S/1999/837, (New York, United Nations, 30 July 1999); S/1999/829 (New York: United Nations, 28 July 1999).
The International Action Network on Small Arms is a global network of over 300 non-governmental organisations from all regions. It was established in October 1998, to facil-itate NGO action. See, International Action Network on Small Arms, Founding Document (London, IANSA, 1998).
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Greene, O. (2000). Examining international responses to illicit arms trafficking. In: Phythian, M. (eds) Under the Counter and over the Border. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9335-9_6
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