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Codes of Conduct on
Arms Transfers
BASIC is working with policy-makers and parliamentarians
on both sides of the Atlantic to restrain arms transfers to
international aggressors and human rights abusers. Codes of
conduct on arms transfers can prevent the export of weapons
to repressive and non-democratic governments, and halt sales
to countries involved in regional tension. Recently, the European
Union adopted a Code of Conduct on Arms Transfers, which,
although weak and full of loopholes, represents an encouraging
first step in international attempts to restrain the arms
trade.
EU Code of Conduct
International Code of Conduct
U.S. Code of Conduct
EU-US Joint Declaration on the responsibilities of States
and on transparency regarding arms exports, 18 December
2000
Following the EU-US Summit, the European Union and the
United States issued this statement encouraging all weapons
exporting countries to adopt the principles and levels of
transparency practiced by the EU and the US. This includes:
implementation of stringent export controls, promotion of
democracy and human rights, adherence to UN arms embargoes,
and prevention of illicit trafficking.
The European Union Code of Conduct
On 11 June 1998, the Foreign Ministers of the
15 European Union Member States adopted an EU Code of Conduct
on arms exports. The Code, which aims to set "high common
standards for the management of and restraint in arms exports
from the EU", is a politically binding agreement under which
Member States agree to abide by certain criteria when granting
arms export licenses. Significant progress on regulating the
arms trade has been made since EU members agreed to its principles.
The Code has already been effective in denying certain exports
and has attracted support of a number of countries outside
the EU. Nevertheless, the text of the agreement does contain
weaknesses, which must be addressed before it can truly be
considered an international standard on arms transfers.
Other groups working on the EU Code of Conduct
On 29 May 1997, fourteen Nobel Laureates led
by Dr. Oscar Arias of Costa Rica met to launch the International
Code of Conduct in New York. The Code would require arms suppliers
to certify that all recipients meet certain democracy and
human rights standards. The Nobel Laureates encourage the
United Nations as well as individual governments to restrain
arms sales by endorsing the International Code.
Other groups endorsing an International Code
of Conduct
During the 1990s, the US has sold more weapons
than any other nation in the world. The 1998 Grimmett Report,
a report on conventional arms transfers prepared by the US
Congressional Research Service, notes that the United States
led the rest of the world in arms deliveries for the seventh
year in a row, making $15.2 billion worth of deliveries in
1997. In that same year, the United States supplied over 40%
of all arms deliveries to developing nations.
The US Code of Conduct would restrict arms sales
to regimes that are democratically elected, respect human
rights, refrain from armed aggression and participate in the
UN Register of Conventional Weapons. It has been championed
in Congress by Reps. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) and Dana Rohrabacher
(R-CA) in the House, and by Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) in the
Senate. In June 1997, the Code was passed by voice vote in
the House of Representatives as an amendment to a larger bill,
and, although it was the first legislation curbing the proliferation
of conventional weapons to pass the House in over 20 years,
it utlimately fell victim to unrelated Congressional wranglings.
Reps. McKinney and Rohrabacher have since reintroduced
the Code of Conduct in the 106th Congress. The Code had 65
original co-sponsors and is already gathering widespread Congressional
support.
Meanwhile, on 21 July 1999, the House passed
by voice vote HR 2415, The American Embassy Security Act (or
State Department Authorization), which contains Code language.
The International Arms Sales Code of Conduct, proposed by
Reps. Sam Gejdenson (D-CT) and Cynthia McKinney, includes
the McKinney-Rohrabacher Code criteria, as well as a requirement
that the annual State Department Human Rights Report include
an assessment as to whether each country meets these criteria.
The amendment also calls on the Secretary of State to work
towards an International Code of Conduct with members of the
Wassenaar Arrangement, an international body of
arms exporting states. Although passage of this amendment
would represent a significant victory, the Arms Transfer Working Group will
continue to work for the adoption of a strong Code of Conduct
as proposed by Reps. McKinney and Rohrabacher and Sen. Kerry.
For more information on the US arms trade, see
the Arms Sales
Action Atlas on Mother Jones' website.
Other Groups Endorsing a US Code of Conduct
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