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ARIAS FOUNDATION
FOR PEACE
AND HUMAN PROGRESS

THE INTERNATIONAL CODE OF CONDUCT ON ARMS TRANSFERS

FACT SHEET

Background

In 1995, Dr. Oscar Arias, former president of Costa Rica, invited his fellow Nobel Peace laureates to join him in developing an International Code of Conduct on Arms Transfers and providing moral leadership for the Code campaign.

Aims of the Code

The Commission, together with a group of technical advisors, has drafted the text of an International Code of Conduct on Arms Transfers which would obligate governments to uphold internationally recognized standards of democracy, human rights and peaceful international relations. More specifically, the Code would require arms suppliers to certify that all arms recipients meet the following criteria:

compliance with international human rights standards
compliance with international humanitarian law
respect for democratic rights
respect for international arms embargoes and military sanctions
participation in the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms
commitment to promote regional peace, security and stability opposition to terrorism
promotion of human development

The Commission of Nobel Peace Laureates

The Commission of Nobel Peace Laureates currently includes: Dr. Oscar Arias (1987), the Dalai Lama (1989), Elie Wiesel (1986), José Ramos-Horta (1996), Lech Walesa (1983), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1984), Mairead Maguire (1976), Betty Williams (1976), Joseph Rotblat (1995), Rigoberta Menchú (1992), Norman Borlaug (1970), Adolfo Perez Esquivel (1980), the American Friends Service Committee (1947), Amnesty International (1977), the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs (1995) and the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (1985).

Mikhail Gorbachev (1990) declared his support for an International Code in his keynote address to the Second State of the World Forum in San Francisco in October 1996, saying, "This initiative is critical in this time of continuing instability."

Other Supporters of the Code

Jimmy Carter also communicated his support for the initiative in a recent letter addressed to the laureates, calling the International Code "a critically important step toward defining moral benchmarks which all countries in the world can and should strive to meet." Other prominent individuals have also spoken out in favor of codes of conduct, including: Robin Cook, UK Foreign Secretary; Michel Rocard, former French Prime Minister; Patricia Derian, former US Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs; David Lange, former Prime Minister of New Zealand; Sir Brian Urquhart, former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations; John Kenneth Galbraith, Professor of Economics, Harvard University; and Barber Conable, former President of the World Bank.

Related initiatives

Similar codes of conduct on arms transfers are also in place or have been proposed in the United Nations, the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Union, the United States, and South Africa. In Europe, a cross-party network of over 300 parliamentarians have pledged their personal support for the EU and US codes. In addition, the new UK government outlined its commitment to the EU Code in its election platform, promising that "Labour will not permit the sale of arms to regimes that might use them for internal repression or international aggression, nor will we permit the sale of weapons in circumstances where this might intensify or prolong existing armed conflict or where these weapons might be used to abuse human rights."

The work of the Commission of Nobel Laureates will also be supported by national and regional campaigns undertaken by non-governmental organizations all over the world. An international network of NGOs will focus on gaining the support of their government for an international code of conduct. Simultaneously, the NGOs will continue their work to establish national and regional codes of conduct. Already, over 600 NGOs in Europe are promoting adoption of an EU-wide code. In the United States, 101 national NGOs and 234 regional NGOs have pledged their support for the codes; many of them are working actively to promote a US Code championed by Representatives Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) in the US House of Representatives.

Facts and Figures

In 1995, conventional arms deliveries to the developing world totaled over US$21 billion.¹
Developed countries accounted for 93% of all weapons exports in 1994. The US alone accounted for well over half, at 56% of all arms exports.²
In 1993, the United States exported 73% of all arms to the developing world; of the recipients, 90% were not democracies, and over two-thirds were characterized by the US Department of State as human rights abusers.³
In 1994, the developing world military expenditures totaled US$242 billion. The portion spent on arms imports equaled over one third of all the bilateral and multilateral economic assistance from the developed world.⁴
Half of the world's governments spend more on defense than on health care. ⁵
In the developing world, 1.3 billion people are unable to meet even their most basic needs, 2 million children die each year of preventable or curable infectious disease, 192 million children are malnourished, and 900 million people cannot read or write.⁶

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Endnotes

Richard F. Grimmett, "Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations," Congressional Research Service, 15 August 1996.
US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, "World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers 1995."
Lumpe, op. cit.
United States House of Representatives, H.R. 772, "Code of Conduct on Arms Transfers Act of 1995." Section 2, number 6.
Ruth Leger Sivard, "World Military and Social Expenditures 1996," 16th edition (Washington, DC: World Priorities, 1996), p. 5.
United Nations Development Program. Human Development Report 1994. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994):50, 134-5.

ARIAS FOUNDATION FOR PEACE AND HUMAN PROGRESS
Apartado 8-6410-1000
San José, Costa Rica
Tel: (506) 255-2955 / 255-2885 / 233 1335
Fax: (506) 255 2244
Internet: http://www.arias.or.cr
E-mail: info@arias.or.cr

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