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"Biting the Bullet" Briefing 2 (continued)

Regional Initiatives and the UN 2001 Conference

By Elizabeth Clegg, Owen Greene, Sarah Meek and Geraldine O'Callaghan

5. Promoting and Reinforcing National and Regional Action: The Role of the UN 2001 Conference

As this briefing has made clear, many countries around the world are actively engaged in efforts to address the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, either in their own territories or in co-operation with others. The approach taken - whether adopting a focused approach such as law enforcement and crime control or a more multifaceted arms reduction and control agenda - has varied depending on the factors driving proliferation and the identified priorities of the region. But the goal of preventing the spread and misuse of small arms and light weapons is a common one. The UN 2001 Conference is well timed to make an important contribution to strengthening and furthering these regional initiatives.

The UN 2001 Conference process can clearly benefit from the experience of existing national and regional processes. The Conference should also play a key role in reinforcing, developing and co-ordinating such processes, through establishing and developing appropriate international norms, standards, programmes and mechanisms, (as discussed in detail in Briefing No 1 in this series⁷). The experiences to date of regions often have underlined the benefits that would be gained from having international standards and mechanisms, for example in combating the illicit trafficking in weapons. The negotiation of the UN Firearms Protocol follows clearly from a recognition among countries in the OAS that effective action to combat illicit trafficking in firearms would require an international approach.

5.1 Balancing regional and international action

In the UN 2001 context, there are some problems and issues of global concern that can most effectively be addressed through detailed politically or legally binding international agreements. However, such agreements, measures and other elements of the international action programme should be designed to supplement and reinforce national and regional programmes, not to replace them.

At the same time, it is recognised that some problems can be more effectively addressed through policies and programmes that are largely determined at a national or regional level. However, these will still benefit from the development of international mechanisms and programmes to enhance information exchange or co-ordinate and mobilise assistance.

A question, therefore, is how best to approach the development of agreements through the 2001 Conference process that will reflect an appropriate balance between national, regional and global measures. Though it may seem appealing, it would be a mistake to attempt to classify issue areas according to whether they are best addressed by global, regional or national agreements and programmed. The expectation should be that, for each problem or issue, a number of measures would be required at every level. It will, however, be vital for agreements established at the UN 2001 Conference to specify which actors (e.g. States, regional organizations, the UN) are responsible for implementing each specific recommendation. Indeed, this is borne out by the experience of recent initiatives. For example, EU-SADC co-operation on tackling small arms has benefited from combining efforts at all levels (nationally, regionally - European and Southern African - and inter-regionally) and by involving a range of actors in the development of the common approach.

Thus, for each major issue area to be addressed at the UN 2001 Conference, the overall approach should be to develop a set of mutually reinforcing agreements, programmes and measures at all levels - national, regional, and global. These sets of measures for each issue area should further combine to constitute a comprehensive and integrated international action programme to combat, prevent and reduce the overall problem of illicit trafficking and proliferation of small arms and light weapons.

5.2 Developing international agreements - minimal or more positive approaches?

It is now widely recognised that for every issue area some global norms and guidelines should be firmly established to guide and co-ordinate national, regional and international actions. But there is still debate around those circumstances in which detailed, politically or legally binding, international agreements are require.

A minimalist approach is to ask which issues require detailed global agreements to ensure that policies and measures taken in one region are effective and are not vulnerable to being undermined by actions in other regions. For example, detailed international agreements on marking and tracing small arms and light weapons appear necessary according to this criterion. Illicit or destabilizing arms transfers take place on a global scale, and international standards and information-exchange mechanisms are essential for national or regional efforts to mark or trace weapons to be effective.

A more expansive approach is to ask whether a global agreement or mechanism would contribute to national and regional efforts to tackle a particular problem, even if it was not strictly essential. For example, the collection and destruction of surplus or illicit small arms is primarily a matter for national authorities. As discussed in Section 3, regional or sub-regional co-operation can play a particularly useful role in this area, facilitating co-ordination, joint operations, and pooling of resources, for example between the EU and Cambodia. Global agreements or mechanisms may not be absolutely necessary, but they could be very useful, for example by facilitating similar co-operation between countries in different regions or sub-regions.

5.3 The benefits of a maximal approach

The challenge of preventing and reducing illicit trafficking and small arms proliferation is so urgent and difficult that it is strongly recommended that the more expansive approach should be adopted to establish detailed international agreements. In making the case for negotiating such an agreement in a specific issue area, it should be sufficient to show that it could usefully reinforce national and regional efforts. Establishing an international agreement does not in itself deprive States or regional organizations of flexibility appropriate to their varying circumstances. The provisions of every international agreement or mechanism can be formulated to reflect an appropriate balance between international minimum standards and national or regional discretion.

Moreover, it is important to remember that it is unrealistic to expect strong sub-regional co-operation to develop soon in several parts of the world. Without global agreements or mechanisms, countries in regions that lack effective regional arrangements may be left unduly isolated without international support or without effective frameworks for co-operation with their neighbours. Thus, States that feel their own needs can be met through regional arrangements should nevertheless be sympathetic to establishing global mechanisms if these can be of use to other States.

5.4 Developing integrated multi-level action

Thus, the international action programme to be established at the UN 2001 Conference should be developed on the understanding that a combination of global, regional and national measures will be required for each issue area. In addition to establishing clear international norms, the UN 2001 Conference should expect to consider some combination of detailed international agreements, programmes and mechanisms in relation to each issue area under consideration, as well as recommendations to States and regional organizations. If agreement on some of these elements cannot be achieved by the end of the UN 2001 Conference, provision should be made to facilitate their establishment at a later date, if they are deemed useful in future follow-on conferences.

To illustrate the way in which this approach could be implemented in the framework of the UN 2001 Conference, we discuss below how it might be applied to the challenge of combating the illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons. The discussion focuses on showing how international measures can usefully contribute to and combine with national and regional efforts. It aims only to be illustrative; subsequent briefings in the Biting the Bullet series will consider in detail many of these issues, including promoting the destruction and disposal of confiscated and surplus small arms and promoting appropriate control of legal transfers of small arms and light weapons.

5.5 The UN 2001 Conference and multi-level action to combat illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons

States have the primary responsibility for combating and preventing illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons, their parts and components and ammunition. However there is also a critical need for complementary regional and international measures including:

• clarifying and establishing common definitions and understandings of national responsibilities;

• developing, co-ordinating and, where necessary, harmonising national laws, policies and practices;

• establishing or enhancing information exchange, consultation, assistance and other co-operative programmes and measures to implement and enforce agreed laws, policies and practices;

• developing systems to identify and respond to problems with implementation and compliance and promote accountability; and

• establishing follow-on mechanisms to facilitate further development of international co-operation in this area.

As discussed in Section 3, a number of regions and sub-regional groups of States have already taken measures in this area, including the GAS, SADC and ECOWAS. International agreements at the UN 2001 Conference would aim to: reinforce and supplement these existing regional measures; promote their implementation; and provide an international framework within which these and other regional measures can be further developed in a globally consistent and co-ordinated way.

More specifically, the aims of the UN 2001 Conference in this particular area should include establishing:

Clear international norms and guidelines relating to combating and preventing illicit trafficking in small arms. These should build upon the 1996 United Nations Disarmament Commission Guidelines, the recommendations in the 1997 report of the UN Panel of Governmental Experts on Small Arms, the 1999 Report of the UN Group of Governmental Experts, and include the recommendations found in the 1997 and 1998 resolutions of the UN Economic and Social Council Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. These norms could provide a basis for bilateral co-operation amongst any group of countries seeking to co-operate on tackling illicit trafficking, for example, in East Asia where, as yet, sub-regional co-operation is not well developed, or amongst the countries of SADC where international norms will help reinforce existing sub-regional co-operation.

An international agreement on marking, record-keeping and tracing of small arms and light weapons. There is a growing consensus that an international agreement to ensure that all small arms and light weapons are uniquely marked at the point of manufacture and where necessary at the point of import, and to prohibit any transfers of inadequately marked weapons, is needed. Such an international agreement would also establish minimum standards relating to record-keeping by countries, and to co-operation in tracing lines of supply of suspect or illicit arms. The United Nations Firearms Protocol is expected to develop such obligations for firearms, which in practice will apply to most commercial shipments of small arms and light weapons. The United Nations 2001 Conference should aim to extend the obligations of the Firearms Protocol so that it covers all small arms and light weapons, and includes State to State arms transfers and transfers for the purposes of national security. An international agreement could, moreover, help countries that are seeking to cut off lines of supply of illicit arms they find in their country by providing a framework for identifying and tackling the sources of the arms.

An international agreement to control arms brokers and shipping agents. Another area where the UN 2001 Conference should achieve agreement is on the control of the weapons brokers and shipping agents. This agreement should establish common definitions and standards for arms brokers and shipping agents, and ensure that States implement national legislation and procedures for registration of relevant individuals and companies and for the licensing of individual transfers of arms. While the United Nations Firearms Protocol may include some provisions for regulating the activities of arms brokers, it is important to have an agreement which is comprehensive and includes controls on brokering activities on State to State transfers of small arms, in addition to commercial transfers. Such an international agreement would, moreover, help to prevent brokers and shippers from circumventing national and sub-regional controls by relocating to countries which have not yet legislated in this area.

An international information-exchange and consultation mechanism. The United Nations 2001 Conference should agree upon a mechanism to enhance international information exchange, consultation and co-operation in implementing the above norms and agreements. This should extend to facilitating cooperation in enforcement and exchanging experience and practice. The International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) provides some of these services through its mandate to focus on the illicit trade in firearms, and the Firearms Protocol should also make provision for a similar mechanism for exchanging information on firearms trafficking. given the wider spectrum of illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons, especially due to its contribution to internal or regional conflict and large scale misuse, the establishment of this mechanism through the UN 2001 Conference would cover a greater area than the existing international mechanisms. Such an international mechanism would also complement and operate in co-operation with any similar arrangements that have been established regionally. For example the implementation of the OAS convention would be greatly reinforced if the States Parties could benefit from information exchange and consultation on illicit trafficking with countries outside the Americas.

An international programme to mobilize capacity-building assistance. The UN 2001 Conference can provide international assistance through the establishment of a mechanism to help to identify capacity building and other needs for assistance, and to mobilise assistance to help to meet these needs. Such an international mechanism would link with some existing regional efforts, such as the PCASED process in West Africa and the EU-SADC Action Programme for Southern Africa. In other regions, the need for such programmes has been recognised but not yet started. An international mechanism would aim to provide a systematic international framework for mobilising capacity building assistance to countries and regions to help them implement global and regional agreements and appropriate national policies on combating and preventing illicit trafficking. The mechanism could for example be used to: mobilise assistance for capacity building for law enforcement personnel; help in the review and development of national legislation and regulations relating to transfers, sales, possession, and use of small arms and light weapons; and facilitate active and appropriate involvement of civil society in such work.

5.6 Conclusion

The past five years have seen an upsurge in awareness and concern about the widespread proliferation and misuse of small arms and light weapons by governments around the world. In response, States, regional organizations and the UN have devised initiatives which either have taken steps to react to the problem or have sought to find ways of preventing the further proliferation of these weapons. Many of the most far-reaching and innovative of these programmes have been developed by States within the frameworks of existing regional organizations. This briefing has illustrated some of these initiatives and the approaches that have been taken to reduce the illicit trafficking, proliferation and misuse of small arms and light weapons.

Experience is showing, however, that much of what happens nationally and regionally needs reinforcement and further development from the international community. The UN 2001 Conference comes at an important time for providing the framework - through the international action programme - to develop, reinforce and co-ordinate these national and regional processes, through developing appropriate international norms, standards, programmes and mechanisms.

A combination of actions at every level is required to address each issue area of concern. We have briefly illustrated the implications of this approach for the UN 2001 process, looking at the challenge of strengthening efforts to combat illicit trafficking in small arms. There are clearly many others, such as stockpile management and legal transfers of small arms and light weapons, that will also benefit from such an approach. The key to success and the challenge for those working on developing the international action programme over the coming months - is to find a way in which national, regional and international efforts can be developed in synergy, reinforcing each other and addressing the challenge posed by the proliferation of small arms and light weapons as comprehensively as possible.

Annex Summary of Regional and International Initiatives on Small Arms and Light Weapons

This annex provides background information on regional and international initiatives which aim to address small arms and light weapons proliferation and misuse. The initiatives are listed by region and in alphabetical order. It is divided into the following three sections:

• Regional Initiatives

• Inter-regional Initiatives

• Global Initiatives

6. Regional Initiatives

6.1 Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS): Moratorium on the Importation, Exportation, and Manufacture Africa of Light Weapons, also known as ECOWAS Moratorium October 1998

Background
In 1994, acting upon an initial request from the President of Mali the UN Secretary-General established an advisory mission on the control and collection of small arms in the Sahara-Sahel region. Throughout the next year, the UN dispatched missions to eight West African countries. After intensive investigation of national legislation, smuggling, theft and illegal sales, the mission concluded that, "The lack of security was fuelling the demand for weapons. The availability of weapons was fuelling the cycle of banditry and violence which in turn was virtually bringing structural development to a halt and preventing any progress on socio-economic problems".⁸ The conclusions of this mission were the basis for developing a "security first" approach, later elaborated as a proportional and integrated approach, to long term development, which has since influenced regional and international approaches to small arms control.

The West African states continued to pursue options for controlling small arms within the context of conflict prevention, disarmament and development through a series of regional consultative meetings between 1996-1998, during which the concept of a moratorium attracted much support among the West African States and the Organisation for African Unity (OAU). The West African States also actively solicited the support of the major suppliers of small arms through dialogue with the multinational Wassenaar Arrangement, which expressed support for the proposed moratorium. The rapid development of political will between both supplier and recipient States was thus a major factor in the swift conclusion of the Moratorium.

Aim
The Moratorium on the import, export and manufacture of light weapons was unanimously approved at the 21^st Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS in October 1998. The agreement commits ECOWAS States to a politically binding moratorium on the import, export and manufacture of light weapons, initially for a three-year period. The Moratorium is conceived as a "period of grace" which will halt small arms transfers, and give the region an opportunity to address with the problems caused by small arms proliferation. By signing the Moratorium, West Africa became the first - and so far the only - region in the world to announce a halt to further light weapons procurement.

Progress to date
In December 1998, Wassenaar Member States offered unqualified support for the agreement, confirming that it would "undertake an appropriate collaborative role with ECOWAS Member States to respect the provisions of the moratorium and will be open to providing advisory and/or technical assistance in the implementation of the moratorium."⁹ Although it is anticipated that such collaboration will be between individual Wassenaar States and ECOWAS members, the Wassenaar Arrangement will continue to supplement bilateral contacts and developments.¹⁰

At a meeting in March 1999, the ECOWAS foreign ministers agreed a plan of action to be undertaken within the framework of the Moratorium, to create a secure environment for development. Through co-operation between the UN, donors and ECOWAS countries, the Programme for Co-ordination and Assistance for Security and Development (PHASED) was developed in order to implement the plan of action. The following four areas were singled out for immediate financial assistance from the OAHU, the UN and the donor community:

• Control measures. Improved controls at harbors, airports and border crossings were agreed to be crucial for enhancing confidence in the moratorium.

• Security sector reform. Reforming military, security and police forces through regional training programmes was seen as a priority.

• Collection and destruction of weapons. ECOWAS agreed to develop incentive schemes to collect and destroy illegally held weapons.

• Co-operation with civil society organizations. The West African states identified the co-operation and support of civil society as critical to the success of the moratorium.

Further information and analysis
Additional information on the ECOWAS Moratorium can be found, under the NISAT Projects section

6.2 The Organisation of African Unity (OAU): Draft Decision on the Illicit Proliferation, Circulation, and Illicit Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons. July 1999

Background
The July 1999 OAU summit called for an "African common approach" to address the problems related to the use, transfer, and illegal manufacturing of small arms. During this meeting, it was decided that a ministerial conference would be scheduled in preparation for the upcoming UN Conference in 2001.

Aim
The aim of the ministerial conference was to formulate a joint African approach, with support from UN institutions, in order to solve issues related to small arms. The draft decision welcomes initiatives already taken by OAU states and regional organizations, such as:

• The ECOWAS Moratorium on the import, export, and manufacture of light weapons, and to encourage similar initiatives in other regions;

• The destruction of small weapons surplus and obsolete arms in South Africa; and

• The suppression of illegal arms in Mozambique.

It further welcomes the development of the draft UN Protocol Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition and Other Related Materials.

Progress to date
In May 2000, the Assembly of Heads of State convened the First Continental Meeting of African Experts on Small Arms and Light Weapons in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The meeting decided on the adoption of an African common position to be finally ratified at the next ministerial conference in November 2000. The meeting recommended that Member States should focus on the following three key issues: co-ordinated approaches, institutional arrangements and operational measures. Recommendations also provided for the adoption of policies, institutional arrangements, and operational measures for addressing proliferation, circulation, and trafficking of small arms.

Subsequent to this meeting, in June 2000, the OAU hosted a consultation to solicit the views of civil society organizations, NGOs and international organizations on priorities for the UN 2001 Conference. This meeting supported the conclusions of the experts meeting and called, in particular, for the development of a comprehensive approach to the problem of small arms proliferation, and for transparency and accountability in exports of small arms.

Further information
Organisation of African Unity

6.3 The Southern African Development Community (SADC): Southern Africa Regional Action Programme on Light Arms and Illicit Arms Trafficking. May 1998.

Background
Recognising the problems associated with illicit trafficking in arms in Southern Africa, SADC identified the need to develop a regional approach to the problem of light arms proliferation. The conclusions and recommendations of a meeting of officials from SADC and EU Member States on illicit arms trafficking, organised by Saferworld and the Institute for Security Studies, provided the basis for this approach. The resulting Southern Africa Action Programme on Light Arms and Illicit Trafficking takes a comprehensive approach to small arms control, promoting individual and community security.

Aim
The programme seeks to provide a broad approach to the challenges of light arms proliferation, and combines action to tackle illicit trafficking with the strengthening of controls on legally-held arms; the removal, destruction and safe disposal of, excess or confiscated arms; and the enhancement of transparency, information collection and exchange, and consultation across the region. The programme seeks to co-ordinate action across the region of Southern Africa, so that local and national responses "are mutually reinforcing and appropriate actions are taken at the regional level." It further aims to "build-upon, and further strengthen, regional institutions and structures."

The European Union is supporting the programme, where appropriate, as part of its EU-SADC co-operation. The framework identified the need for action in four areas:

• Combating Illicit Trafficking. Strengthening laws and regulations and operational capacity of law enforcement officials through training and equipment programmes; improving systems to trace illicit arms flows through marking and registering weapons; and enhancing regional information exchange.

• Strengthening Regulation and Controls on Accumulation and Transfers of Arm. Strengthening controls over civilian possession of arms on a national and regional basis; enhancing restraint in the transfer of light arms through national inventories and agreement on export criteria; and improving monitoring of light arms transfers through establishment of national databases.

• Promote the Removal of Arms from Society and the Destruction of Surplus Arms. The collection, removal from circulation, and destruction of "surplus" military arms, confiscated and unlicensed weapons; voluntary weapon collection programmes through gun-exchange or buy-back projects; and programmes to reverse cultures of violence through public education and awareness raising.

• Enhance Transparency, Information Exchange and Consultation on Arms in Southern Africa. Enhancing public transparency through increasing participation in the UN Register, information exchange and consultation on seizures and holdings.

Progress to date
In November 1998, the Action Programme was endorsed by EU and Southern African foreign ministers at their summit in Vienna; a year later the EU-SADC dialogue culminated in the establishment of a joint working group on small arms.

At the same time, SADC regional initiatives have developed at a fast pace. In August 1998, the SADC summit issued a declaration on small arms and established a dedicated working group to co-ordinate regional action. In July 1998, the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Co-ordinating Organisation themselves issued a declaration on small arms and were subsequently named as the implementing agency for the SADC on small arms policy. This led to the drafting of a SADC Protocol on Small Arms and Light Weapons, which currently awaits approval by the SADC Council of Ministers in mid-2000.

Further information
Institute for Security Studies

Saferworld

6.4 The Great Lakes and the Horn of Africa

Background
Despite the fact that, in recent years, many countries within the Great Lakes and the Horn of Afica have suffered from violent conflict and instability, action to tackle the proliferation of small arms has lagged behind regions such as Southern Africa and West Africa. However, in recent months, a range of initiatives have developed which offer the prospect of comprehensive and practical action to tackle the proliferation and misuse of small arms in this region.

Aim
The recent initiatives in Eastern Africa have sought to provide a way forward for joint action to address the serious problem of small arms proliferation in the region.

The Nairobi Declaration, which was developed at a Kenyan government-sponsored conference from 12-15 March, 2000, and which was signed by the foreign ministers of 10 regional governments, embraced a broad understanding of the problem of small arms and sets out the need for a comprehensive response to the problem.

The Draft Regional Action Programme to Combat Small Arms Proliferation in the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes emerged from a meeting of senior police officers and government officials from sub-regional intergovernmental organizations and hosted by four non-governmental agencies¹¹ on 31 January and 1 February, 2000. As in Southern Africa, the Regional Action Programme seeks to provide a broad approach to the challenges of small arms proliferation in the region, focusing on measures to: strengthen legal controls on weapons possession and transfer; enhance operational capacity to combat illicit arms trafficking; removing and destroying surplus weapons and developing education programmes; and enhancing the capacity of sub-regional institutions for implementation.

Progress to date
The Nairobi Declaration is significant in that it has brought together a group of countries which had little prior form of political affiliation or organization, demonstrating that there is common ground between them in the fight against small arms proliferation. The high-level political will that is articulated through the Nairobi Declaration, moreover, will significantly enhance the potential for regional action to tackle small arms proliferation.

In order to build wider support for the Draft Regional Action Programme, it was subsequently presented to a number of meetings and conferences in the region, including the East African Police Chiefs Conference and the Kenyan government conference of March 2000 where it received support. Whilst continuing to build widespread support for the Action Programme remains a priority, together with mainstreaming of the small arms issue within the region, the next stage will be to move towards the implementation of the initiatives in the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes.

6.5 The Organization of American States (OAS): Inter-American Convention Against Illicit Manufacturing Americas of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Material, November 1997

Background
In November 1997, 29 Member States of the OAS signed the legally binding "Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials". In just over a year, the convention was transformed from a drawing board concept into a regionally agreed convention. Consensus was built rapidly because the OAS discussions linked illicit weapons trafficking to common regional concerns, specifically drug trafficking and trans-national crime. The agreement focuses on increasing co-operation rather than increasing sanctions. Whereas previous bilateral efforts to control light weapons had made little headway, this uncontroversial approach generated the high level of political will necessary to move forward.

Aim
The stated purpose of the OAS Convention is: "To prevent, combat, and eradicate the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, ammunition, explosives, and related materials," as well as to "promote and facilitate co-operation and exchange of information and experience among States Parties".

Criteria
The 30-article convention, which covers many categories of small arms and light weapons,' sets out a broad set of commitments, control mechanisms, legal requirements, and co-operation procedures, including:

• Instituting legislation to criminalise illicit manufacturing and trafficking;

• Marking weapons at the time of manufacture and import to facilitate identification and tracing;

• Establishing a harmonised system of export, import and international transit licenses;

• Strengthening controls at export points;

• Exchanging information on small arms producers, dealers, importers and exporters; on routes and techniques used in illicit trafficking; and on scientific and technological information for prevention, detection and investigation;

• Exchanging experience and training in areas such as identification, detection, tracing and intelligence gathering; and

• Providing mutual legal assistance to facilitate investigation and prosecution of illicit activities and establishing illicit weapons activities as extraditable offenses.

Operative Provisions
Concurrent to the convention negotiations, the OAS states also formulated a set of practical guidelines that can be applied to both electronic and paper-based systems. Developed under the auspices of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), the "Model Regulations for the Control of the International Movement of Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition" were adopted in November 1997.¹³ They establish:

• A harmonised import/export system through clear and concrete practical measures for domestic legislation on imports, exports and in-transit movement of firearms;

• Guidelines for minimum standards required for harmonised licensing; and

• Outline proposals for record keeping and information exchange on imports/exports, including the quantity, type and serial numbers of firearms.

Progress to date
To date 10 countries have ratified the OAS Convention and the agreement has entered into force. Following the 10th ratification, the OAS established a Consultative Committee to assess prospects for additional ratifications and effective implementation through increased information exchange and co-operation.

Further information
Organization of American States

Proposal for an OAS Declaration on Responsible Small Arms and Light Weapons Transfers, March 2000

Background
Responding to concerns that the OAS Convention on illicit trafficking took a narrow approach to the problem that focused purely on crime control, the OAS Committee on Hemispheric Security met in March 2000 to discuss the development of controls of state transfers of weapons. The meeting resulted in a draft proposal on "Responsible Small Arms and Light Weapons Transfers."

Aim
The OAS aims to "play a leadership role in promoting restraint and responsibility in conventional arms transfers." The proposed declaration "sets out principles to govern transfers of small arms and light weapons."

Criteria
The draft proposal outlines the following criteria to be considered when assessing small arms and light weapons transfers:

• The legitimate defence and security needs of the recipient country;

• The recipients involvement in peacekeeping operations;

• The technical ability of the recipient country to ensure effective export controls; and

• The technical ability of the recipient country to ensure effective management and security of stockpiles.

In addition OAS Member States will undertake to:

• Respect international commitments such as arms embargoes;

• Take into account gross violations of human rights and humanitarian law in the recipient country;

• Not transfer weapons if the is a clear risk that they will be used for internal repression;

• Take into account of the internal situation of the recipient county in particular the existence of armed conflict or high levels of violence;

• Not transfer weapons that may provoke or exacerbate armed conflicts or existing tensions;

• Not permit the transfer of weapons to countries undertaking armed international aggression;

• Take into account the behaviour of the recipient country in regard to organised crime;

• Take into account the risk of diversion; and

• Consider transfers in the context of development and economic needs of the recipient country.

Progress to date
The proposal was discussed at the OAS General Assembly meeting in Windsor, Canada in June 2000, and the General Assembly adopted a resolution giving the Committee on Hemispheric Security a mandate to develop a declaration in anticipation of the 2001 UN conference.

6.6 Mercado Common dot Sur (MERCOSUR)

Background
In April 1998, the presidents of the MERCOSUR Member States agreed during a summit in Santiago de Chile in order to work expeditiously towards compliance with the constitutional proceedings necessary to ratify the OAS Convention. In addition they sought to develop a joint registration mechanism for firearms, ammunition, explosives and other related materials.

The latter formed the basis of a sub-regional agreement. Utilizing the CICAD model regulations, the countries established national data processing centres tasked with ensuring compliance with the CICAD requirements.

Members: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay

Future Associates: Bolivia, Chile

Further information
MERCOSUR

Uruguay COMISEC Web page on MERCOSUR:

6.7 The European Union

EU Programme for Preventing and Combating Illicit Trafficking Europe in Conventional Arms, June 1997

Background
Following the proposal to address illicit trafficking by the government of Netherlands, this politically binding agreement was signed by the EU Council of Ministers working group, COARM.

Aim
The EU Programme, which covers all conventional arms, addresses illicit trafficking within the broader context of capacity building and long term development. The programme's acknowledgement that "peace and security are inextricably inter-linked with economic development and reconstruction" is an important departure from previous policy that made clear distinctions between development aid and security assistance.¹⁴ Practical measures such as weapons collection, buy-back and destruction programmes, as well as progressive education programmes, are identified as key aspects of the programme.

Criteria

• Strengthening collective efforts to prevent and combat illicit trafficking in arms from and through the European Union. Specific measures might include instituting more effective information exchange, and improving co-ordination and co-operation amongst intelligence, customs and law enforcement agencies.

• Providing assistance to countries in regions affected by light weapons proliferation. Assistance to these countries could focus on increasing the capacity of their legal and enforcement capabilities (e.g. customs, police, and judiciary), using international databases, and promoting national and sub-regional co-operation amongst police, customs and intelligence services.

• Assisting countries in affected regions, especially in post-conflict situations and in regions with only minimal security and stability. These initiatives might aid in the re-integration of former combatants and removal of weapons from circulation through measures such as weapons collection and buy-back schemes.

The programme further commits states to make funds available to carry out the stated objectives, and to review actions taken within this framework annually.

Progress to date
Perhaps the most significant development under the EU Programme, to date, has been the agreement on The Southern Africa Regional Action Programme on Light Arms and Illicit Arms Trafficking in May 1998. European Union and SADC foreign ministers at their summit in Vienna subsequently endorsed this programme in November 1998. The development of the Southern Africa Action Programme has further encouraged the formalization of EU-SADC links on the small arms issue, culminating with the establishment of an EU-SADC working group on small arms in November 1999.

Further information
European Union

European Union Code of Conduct on Arms Exports, June 1998

Background
This EU Code of Conduct, an initiative proposed by France and the United Kingdom, came about in part as a response to calls for a more responsible approach to arms exports and, in part, in an effort to adopt a harmonised approach to weapons transfers within the 15-nation European Union.

Aim
The EU Code aims to set "high common standards which should be regarded as the minimum for the management of, and restraint in conventional arms transfers by all EU Member States." The EU Code outlines the common principles, such as transparency and accountability, which underpin future EU arms transfers.

Criteria

• The Code includes guidelines detailed under the eight criteria on conventional arms transfers agreed in Lisbon and Luxembourg in 1991 and 1992, which address the following considerations:

• Respect for international commitments of EU Member States in areas such as embargoes, treaties and control regimes;

• Respect of human rights in the country of final destination;

• The internal situation in the country of final destination;

• Preservation of regional peace, security, and stability;

• The national security interests of the Member States and of allied countries;

• The behaviour of the buyer country with the regard to the international community as regards to its attitude to terrorism and respect for international law;

• The risk of diversion of re-export of equipment within the buyer country; and

• The compatibility of arms exports with the technical and economic capacity of the recipient country.

Operative provisions
The EU Code also includes "operative provisions", a basic system for all Member States to exchange information on arms export licences that are denied, and limited consultations to discourage undercutting. It also provides for an Annual Review of the implementation of the Code, although there are no explicit commitments to make this review public.

Progress to date
Now that the lines of communication between EU governments are open, the information provided through denial notifications is apparently proving a revelation to many EU Member States, fostering reciprocal understanding of the implementation of the Code criteria. The regime also has been successful in attracting the support of a number of countries outside the KU, and has been endorsed by the United States, Canada and EU associate nations. The experience of negotiating the Code has also prompted a review, by EU governments, of some other aspects of their arms control regimes, and a recognition that rules governing inter alia arms brokering agents are inadequate and need to be strengthened.

Further information
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

European Union Joint Action on Small Arms, December 1998

Background
In an effort to contribute to global efforts to tackle small arms the EU Council of Ministers adopted a Joint Action on the European Union's contribution to combating the destabilizing accumulation and spread of small arms and light weapons. This agreement, which builds on the EU Programme for Preventing and Combating Illicit Trafficking in Conventional Arms adopted by the Council on 26 June, 1997, and the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports adopted 8 June, 1998, takes a regional and incremental approach to the problem.

Aim
The Joint Action aims to help further the international effort to combat the excessive and uncontrolled spread of small arms through the support for existing regional and international initiatives.

Criteria and operative provisions
EU Member States agree to develop a co-operative policy, concentrating on the following measures:

• Combating and contributing to measures aimed at ending the destabilizing accumulation and spread of small arms; Contributing to the reduction of existing accumulations to levels consistent with countries legitimate security needs;

• Help solve the problems associated with accumulations of weapons; and

• Making a multifaceted contribution to a range of control and reduction measures.

Progress to date
Implementation of the Joint Action by the EU Member States has focused on publicising the initiative, and encouraging governments with a desire to tackle the problems associated with small arms proliferation to work with them in partnership under the framework of the Joint Action. In addition to extending support for the weapons collection project in Gramsch, Albania, the EU members have entered a dialogue with the Cambodian government on ways in which the EU can assist weapons collection and reduction initiatives in this country.

Further information
European Union

7. Inter-regional Initiatives

7.1 North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)

Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council/Partnership for Peace Work Programme on the Challenge of Small Arms and Light Weapons, July 1999

Background
Under the leadership of Canada, Norway and the United States, NATO's Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) begun to address the spread of small arms in March 1999. One month later, the EAPC, which includes the 19 NATO member countries and the 25 participants in the Alliance's Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme, formed an ad hoc working group on small arms. The group was charged with setting a work programme for the EAPC, which was drafted by summer 1999.

Aim
The EAPC programme aims to "identify ways in which EAPC/PfP might contribute to the challenge of small arms and light weapons." Emphasis is placed on reinforcing existing initiatives rather than duplicating them. In addition, the programme aims to take advantage of NATO/EAPC's specific politico-military knowledge and expertise.

Proposals
The programme identified three areas for examination:

• Stockpile management and security;

• National export controls, mechanisms, enforcement and arms embargoes; and

• Peacekeeping training and development.

Within this work programme, proposals are set out for training and practical assistance on a number of control and reduction measures including:

• Generic training. The development dialogue and training in 'best practice' on stockpile management and security of storage sites, disposal and destruction of weaponry, and reintegration of former combatants in peace support operations;

• Tailored assistance and co-operation. Support for individual nations in areas such a border controls, the development export control regulations and customs and police enforcement; and

• Best practice. Further information exchange and consultation on export control, transparency and weapons marking regimes.

Operative provisions
The work programme calls for the establishment of a Partnership Work Programme 'Chapter' on small arms and light weapons in order to "consolidate all of the related ... activities in one major area, in order to provide an appropriate political focus for subsequent activities, thereby facilitating co-operation and contributing to public awareness of EAPC action this subject".

Progress to date
Since the establishment of the work programme, NATO has convened a series of workshops to further discussion and build consensus on areas such as best practice in export control and common systems of marking weapons. In addition, the Partnership Work Program Chapter, "The Challenge of Small Arms and Light Weapons" was agreed in February 2000. The chapter aims to initiate a response from EAPC counties on small arms and light weapons issues through dialogue on 'best practice'. The annual ministerial meeting of the EAPC, held in Florence on 25 May, 2000, signified acknowledgement of the EAPC's work on small arms. During this meeting, foreign ministers welcomed efforts of the EAPC and the PfP in reference to combat the problems associated with small arms and light weapons.

7.2 The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) first identified the spread of small arms as an impediment to its traditional roles in crisis management, post-conflict reconstruction and democracy-building in November 1998, when the governments of Canada, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland organised an informal exploratory workshop on the issue in association with BASIC.

At the November 1999 summit in Istanbul, the OSCE's Forum on Security Cooperation was mandated to "launch a broad and comprehensive discussion on all aspects of the problem of small arms and light weapons and to study concrete measures to deal with this issue, in order to respond to the challenge of peace and stability stemming from the excessive and destabilizing accumulation and uncontrolled spread of these weapons." The OSCE was further encouraged to organise a seminar to address this issue the following year.

On 3 April, 2000, a three-day seminar on small arms and light weapons took place in Vienna, aimed at addressing the issue of preventing destabilizing accumulation of arms. During the four working sessions, issues such as information exchange, strengthened control, an increase in transparency, stockpile management and destruction, and post-conflict stabilization were discussed. The findings of this workshop will form the basis of a concrete action plan to be agreed this November.

Further information
International Action Network on Small Arms

7.3 United States - European Union

US-EU Statement of Common Principles on Small Arms and Light Weapons, December 1999

Background
In December 1999, the United States and European Union pledged co-operation in addressing the destabilizing accumulation and spread of small arms and light weapons in a "Statement of Common Principles on Small Arms and Light Weapons".

Aim
Recognising that the small arms issue demanded the urgent attention of the international community and that this required a practical response through global, regional and national measures, the United States and EU advocated a comprehensive approach in order to address human security, development, law enforcement, disarmament, arms control and collective defence requirements. The statement focuses particular attention on practical disarmament measures in conflict and post-conflict situations; as such, the United States and the EU agreed to pursue the following measures as part of EU-US "Action Plan on Small Arms and Light Weapons":

• Establish a working group on small arms and light weapons, to promote an increase in co-operation and information sharing;

• Address problem of illicit trafficking in firearms including through the completion by 2000 of the "Protocol to Combat Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition";

• Promote support for the ECOWAS Moratorium on the import, export, and manufacturing of small arms in West Africa;

• Promote observance of UN sanctions governing arms transfers;

• Co-operate in considering measures to combat illicit arms brokering and measures to prevent the unauthorized retransfer of small arms and light weapons;

• Promote the inclusion in UN peacekeeping mandates and other relevant missions of effective measures to deal with the collection and destruction of small arms and light weapons;

• Work together in regional fore, such as the OSCE and EAPC, in efforts to contribute to combating and preventing the destabilizing accumulation and spread of small arms and light weapons, including stockpile management and security;

• Co-ordinate their planning for a successful outcome to the UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, with a view to achieving tangible results at the conference.

The European Union pledged co-operation with the US Comprehensive Initiative on Small Arms and Illicit Trafficking; while the United States agreed to support the EU in terms of the principles listed in the EU Joint Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons. Both parties also agreed to promote the inclusion in UN peacekeeping mandates of collection and destruction of small arms and light weapons.

Further information
http://www.useu.be/summiVarms1 299.html

7.4 European Union-Canada

EU-Canada Working Group on Small Arms, December 1999

Background
Recognising that the availability of small arms leads to an increase in conflict and violence, in 1999 the EU and Canada agreed to work together to address these issues. This commitment included promoting regional and international efforts to ensure small arms and light weapons are only transferred to state or state-authorised entities.

Aim
The aim of the EU-Canada agreement is to strengthen co-operation in order to face the human security dilemma caused by the excessive and destabilizing accumulation and uncontrolled spread of small arms, and to support implementation of initiatives and projects in the most affected regions throughout the world.

• Ensure the UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects brings about a programme of action encompassing all areas of international co-operation in small arms;

• Elaborate a protocol against the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, ammunition, and other related materials;

• Focus on Africa as the region in most need of assistance and support.

The EU nations and Canada aim to further promote international and regional efforts in ensuring that small arms and light weapons are only transferred to states, and to take action to prevent weapons from reaching the hands of oppressive state authorities, terrorists, and criminal paramilitary organizations.

Further information
Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

8. Global Initiatives

8.1 United Nations Economic and Social Council

Draft Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, and other Related Materials.

Background
In April 1998, the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) passed a resolution calling for a legally binding "international instrument" to combat firearms trafficking.. Over the past two years, the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice of the UN ECOSOC has been developing the Draft Protocol Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition and Other Related Materials" (hereafter referred to as the Firearms Protocol). The Protocol will be attached to the UN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime, which is expected to be signed by the end of 2000. If agreed, the Firearms Protocol will be the first legally binding global measure regulating international transfers of small arms and light weapons.

Aim
The aim of the Firearms Protocol is to "prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, ammunition and other related materials" by:

• Promoting common international standards for the import, export and in-transit international movements of firearms, ammunition and other related materials;

• Encouraging international co-operation and information exchange at the national, regional and global levels, including on firearms identification, tracking and tracing; and

• Furthering international co-operation on firearms ammunition and other related materials by developing an international regime for the management of commercial shipments.

Operative provisions
The draft protocol contains provisions for combating the illicit trade through:

• The criminalisation of trafficking related activities;

• Measures to seize and destroy confiscated weapons;

• Record keeping;

• Marking of weapons at the point of manufacture and at import;

• Harmonisation of export. Import and transit licensing requirements;

• Security measures to prevent the theft, loss or diversion of weapons;

• Detailed provisions on the exchange of information, experience, training and technical assistance; and

• Possible provisions for the registration and licensing of brokers.

Progress to date
Although the draft protocol was developed rapidly, many key articles such as those covering the marking of weapons or controls on brokers remain unresolved. A series of formal meetings and informal dialogues in various regional and sub-regional groupings have been held in order to build consensus around key issues. It is expected that the protocol will be finalised at a negotiating session in Vienna in October 2000.

Further information
United Nations

8.2 United Nations Panel and UN Group of Governmental Experts

A vital contribution to furthering understanding of and international commitment to the issue of small arms was made with the establishment of the UN Panel of Government Experts, who were tasked in December 1995 with producing a report on small arms and light weapons.¹⁵ The subsequent report of August 1997 provided comprehensive documentation of the problems, causes and effects associated with excessive and destabilizing accumulations of small arms and light weapons, as well as the mode of their transfer to regions of conflict and tension. It also offered detailed recommendations for both reducing and preventing these destabilizing accumulations of weaponry. These recommendations were overwhelmingly endorsed by the UN General Assembly in Resolution 52/38J.

In 1998, the UN established a Group of Governmental Experts on Small Arms to review implementation of the previous panel's recommendations, and develop further proposals for international action within a UN framework. The UN Group, which was made up of official representatives of 23 states, held a series of consultative meetings between May 1998 and July 1999, and sought the views of academics, NGOs and the small arms industry. The subsequent report for the September 1999 UN General Assembly outlines the incredible progress undertaken at the national, regional and international level and concludes that many of the recommendations of the first UN panel are now being undertaken.¹⁶ The group's report further elaborates on the previous recommendations and outlines specific measures for further controlling small arms within the broader context of post-conflict reconstruction and long term development.

8.3 The United Nations Co-ordinating Action on Small Arms (CASA)

The mechanism for Co-ordinating Action on Small Arms (CASA) was created in mid-1998, in order to provide a "focal point" within the Department for Disarmament Affairs (DDA) in order "to co-ordinate on a UN-wide basis all action on small arms."¹⁷

CASA consolidates UN action on light weapons by emphasising inter-departmental communication and cross-fertilisation of ideas among the different bodies concerned with how the various aspects of light weapons proliferation affect their own work. These departments include: the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Group of Interested States
The Group of Interested States (GIS) was established to address the perceived need to develop practical measures that would meet the challenges posed by small arms proliferation, reintegration, demobilization and demining, that are open critical issues in ensuring successful post-conflict rehabilitation. This need was highlighted by the German-sponsored General Assembly resolution 51/45N ('Consolidation of Peace through Practical Disarmament Measures') of 1996 which laid the foundations for the establishment of the German-chaired GIS in New York in 1998. The raison d'etre of the GIS is to help establish an integrated approach to peace­consolidation through practical disarmament measures that focus upon facilitating projects in partnership with those states directly affected.

The GIS, co-operating with the UN Department for Disarmament Affairs, has attempted to facilitate the exchange of information and to improve the co-ordination of disarmament initiatives. In addition the GIS has also sponsored a number of disarmament projects: in Cameroon, in July 1998, where Central African military experts attended a 'Train the Trainers' workshop; in Guatemala, in November 1998, where a study was carried out on Central America experiences of weapons collection programmes, demobilization and reintegration; in Albania, in May 1998, where the 'Gramsch Pilot Project' was developed. This project merged disarmament and development projects, by encouraging participation in voluntary weapons collection schemes through the provision of community-based development incentives; and a proposed weapons collection and destruction programme in Niger.

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Endnotes

¹ See Annex for a description of the EU Code.

² Information based on a presentation made by the director of PCASED, Ivor Richard Fung, to the seminar on Small Arms and the European Union, Helsinki, Finland, 8-10 October 1999.

³ The Southern Africa Regional Action Programme on Light Arms and Illicit Trafficking emanated from a meeting of EU and Southem African police and government officials hosted by Saferworld and the Institute for Security Studies, May 1998.

⁴ See Annex for an elaboration of the Action Programme.

⁵ The Nairobi Declaration on the Problem of Illicit Small Arms and Light weapons in the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa.

⁶ The Security Research and Information Centre, the United Nations African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, the Institute for Security Studies and Saferworld.

⁷ 0. Greene with E. Clegg, S. Meek, and G O'Callaghan, Framework Briefing, The Un 2001 Conference - setting the agenda, Biting the Bullet Project Briefing No 1; BASIC, International Alert and Saferworld, London, February 2000.

⁸ "The Mali Mission", remarks by M. Goulding, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs to the First Committee, United Nations, 26 October 1994.

⁹ Quotation from Chronology of Events Relating to the ECOWAS Moratorium, Sverre Lodgaard, NUPI, www.nisat.org.

¹⁰ The Wassenaar Arrangement and the Moratonum for West Africa, Ambassador Steffan Sohlmans, Chairman, Wassenaar Arrangement, 5 May 1999, Hemi Dunant Centre, Geneva.

¹¹ The Security Research and Information Centre, the United Nations African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, the Institute for Security Studies and Saferworld.

¹² It defines firearms as: "a) any barreled weapon which will or is designed to or may be readily converted to expel a bullet or projectile by the action of an explosive, except antique firearms manufactured before the 20th Century or therr replicas; or b) any other weapon or destructive device such as any explosive, incendiary or gas bomb, grenade, rocket, rocket launcher, missile, missile system, or mine". Article I, pare. 3, OEA/Ser.P, AG/RES. I, XXIV-E/97.

¹³ Model Regulations for the Control of the International Movement of Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition," Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission, November 1997. Posted on the CICAD web site at http://www.cicad.oas.org/en/legal_development/legal-regulations-arms.htm.

¹⁴ "The Programme for Preventing and Combating Illicit Trafficking in Conventional Arms", A Council Declaration, 9057/97, 26 June 1997.

¹⁵ UN General Assembly resolution 50/70 B of 12 December 1995.

¹⁶ General and Complete Disarmament: Small Arms, United Nations General Assembly, Fifty-fourth session, Item 76 (f) of the provisional agenda, A1541258, September 1999.

¹⁷ Quoted in Jim Wurst, "UN Lobbies for Coordination on Small Arms", BASIC Reports No. 65, 14 August 1998.

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