ILLICIT TRAFFICKING AND THE MISUSE OF
SMALL ARMS
The proliferation and misuse of small arms is
endangering personal security, undermining good governance, contributing to violations of
human rights, and undermining social justice, development, and peace in all parts of the
world.
Small arms are used for killing a large number
of people each year and for every death many more are injured and traumatized and leave behind
helpless families and dependents. These casualties occur in the context of national,
sub-national, and regional conflicts, the repression of democratic rights and violations of
the right to self-determination. The easy availability of small arms is also linked to high
levels of violent crime, domestic assaults, suicides, and accidents. While data on the total
mortality and injury caused by small arms in conflict zones is incomplete, research shows that
even after conflict has ceased, death rates stay high if weapons remain in circulation.
Small arms do not in themselves cause violence
but they play a critical role in transforming social and political conflicts and making them
much more violent. Whether the context is crime, human rights abuse, political conflict,
domestic assault or suicide, the availability of small arms intensifies conflict and hastens
its escalation to deadly violence. Criminals and other abusive forces employ small arms as
primary tools of coercion. The use of small arms increases the number of victims and makes it
easier for children to become killers. The victims of small arms violence often include the
most vulnerable sectors of society: women, children, people with disabilities and the poor.
Women, for example, account for a substantial proportion of the victims of small arms but only
a small fraction of the users of these weapons. Small arms also fuel fear and instability,
which has led to the creation of millions of refugees and internally displaced persons.
Controlling the access to and availability of small arms could prevent many of these
human-made tragedies - domestically and internationally - within the broader framework of
measures to tackle the root causes of conflict.
The members of NFASA recognize that the trade
and diffusion of small arms is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon, touching all levels of
society in all parts of the world. Research suggests that small arms that fall into the wrong
hands originate from many sources. There are complex interactions between the public and the
private, the state and the civilian, the licit and the illicit, the national and the
international. Since the end of the cold war, the nature of conflict has changed and the
sources of small arms as well as channels for the diversion of licit and illicit small arms
have expanded dramatically.
While there are some parallels and links
between the illicit trade in drugs and that in small arms, many important differences exist.
Most small arms begin as legal commodities whether sold to states or directly to civilians.
Because they are durable, they are often sold and resold many times, creating a range of
opportunities for diversion from legal to illegal markets. Illicit arms traffickers respond to
demand and will supply weapons to anyone who can afford them, whether they are combatants in
civil war or criminal gangs in the inner city. Consequently it is difficult to separate the
small arms which fuel "conflict" from the small arms that fuel "crime". Indeed in some regions
conflict and crime are inseparable. Because illicit markets are fuelled by diversion of small
arms from licit markets through a variety of means - illegal sales, thefts, straw purchases,
uncontrolled secondary markets and brokering - a comprehensive strategy to combat the illicit
trade in small arms in all its aspects must not ignore licit markets. In addition, some
elements of the legal trade in small arms may be contrary to existing international law, which
was recognized by the UN Group of Governmental Experts on Small Arms in their 1999 report.
Small arms are now the principal weapons in
most conflicts worldwide. Countries or regions which are experiencing armed conflict suffer
when influxes of small arms serve to prolong these conflicts and increase their violent impact
on combatants and citizens alike. In Bangladesh, small arms fuel criminal violence, which has
been called "the greatest threat to human rights" facing the young democracy. Small arms also
impeded economic development and divert resources.
PROGRAM OF ACTION
In order to reduce the illicit trafficking in
small arms and light weapons in all its aspects, NFASA Members feel that to enhance human
security and strengthen civil society by reducing the threat to life posed by the easy
availability and widespread misuse of small arms should be the concern of the all citizens in
view that uncontrolled arms flow facilitates conflict and undermine peace efforts and
development. As the government bears the primary responsibility for addressing the problems
posed by the illicit trafficking of small arms, NFASA believes that concerned authorities
should construct an action program that includes the following elements:
1.
Preventing and Combating Illicit Transfers
Preventing and combating the
illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons should be a top priority for all. To this
end, efforts must encompass a variety of measures, including marking of small arms at
manufacture and improving controls on imports, exports, transfers and end-use. In addition,
the absence of regulation of arms brokers has proved to be a significant factor in fostering
illicit trafficking.
2.
Controlling Legal Transfers
In order to prevent and
reduce the proliferation and misuse of small arms and light weapons, and to reduce the
diversion of arms from licit to illicit markets, UN Member States should agree to a set of
standards and measures to strengthen controls governing the legal transfer of these weapons to
both state and non-state actors. The aim of standards for state-to-state transfers is to
prevent the transfer of weapons which might be used for repression or aggression or contribute
to the escalation of conflict or regional destabilization. In addition, and in order to
prevent the diversion of weapons from legitimate end users and purposes, mechanisms for
monitoring the proper end-use, and end users' compliance with contractual agreements, should
be monitored and enforced.
3.
Controls on the Availability, Use and Storage of Small Arms
within States
Diversions of small arms
from licit to illicit markets are a major contributor to the illegal trade in small arms and
light weapons. Worldwide, there are as many small arms in the hands of citizens as in the
hands of states, and diversion of these also fuels the illicit supply. The majority of small
arms recovered in crime appear to have at one time been legally owned by states or by
civilians. |
6.
Support for Research and Information Sharing
Information collection and
sharing is important to assist in fact-based policymaking, the development of best practices,
enforcement and evaluation with a view to reach harmonization of controls at the highest
standard available among regional and international partners. Currently information sources on
the effects, the supply and compliance with agreements related to small arms are fragmented.
In addition, there is incomplete information about the full range of initiatives underway at
the international, regional, national and local levels.
7.
Measures to Counter Demand
NFASA feels that measures to
address the factors which create the demand for small arms require equal attention. This
demand, whether among individuals, non-government actors, or government, is fuelled by
conditions of insecurity, deprivation, oppression and instability. Positive economic,
political and social environments create the conditions for sustainable peace, health and
safety and therefore reduce the demand for small arms. A social development approach to crime
prevention and public health models for injury prevention reinforce the importance of
addressing the root causes of violence. Support for a number of more focused, measures are
needed, including: reversing cultures of violence and creating norms of non-possession;
tackling poverty, inequity and underdevelopment; promoting good governance, respect for human
rights and accountability; and reforming the security sector and police, including the
incorporation of recognized standards of human rights and humanitarian law in all training
curricula.
8.
Implementation and Follow-Up of the Conventions and
Declarations on Small Arms
Strategies to ensure
adequate resources for implementation are necessary if international and regional agreements
are to be successful. Technical cooperation and assistance are essential to effective
implementation of any strategy.
There are no simple
solutions to complex problems. Any effort to reduce illicit trafficking of small arms will
require a comprehensive strategy involving civil society and concerned governments working at
local, national and international levels. While pieces of the strategy will of necessity be
handled separately by different agencies, there is a compelling need for cooperation and
coordination between organizations at the international as well as local and national levels.
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This document
is prepared in light of the
International
Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) - a global network of non-governmental organizations. |
