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Illicit Small Arms Trafficking
The growth of international interest in the
dangers caused by the spread of small arms is a welcome development.
Many governments have seized the initiative to agree measures
to curb the illicit small arms trade, and have begun a process
to agree an international instrument on arms trafficking.
Progress in this arena has been rapid, although it has not
been matched by a similar commitment to restrain government
to government small arms sales. This is in spite of the fact
that many weapons that initially transferred legally are used
to fuel conflict and arm human rights abusers, or are diverted
into the black market.
OAS Convention
Against Illicit Trafficking in Firearms, November
1997
Addresses the common regional concerns of narcotics trafficking
and organized crime. With the leadership of Canada, Mexico,
and the United States, the convention was agreed in an exceptionally
short time.
ECOSOC Resolution
on Criminal Justice Reform and Strengthening of Legal Institutions:
Measures to Regulate Firearms, April 1998
The OAS approach has gained widespread support from the
Group of Eight Industrialized Nations (G-8) and the United
Nations' Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The Council's
Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice has been
using the convention as a model for a global agreement in
illicit trafficking.
The OAS agreement is expected to form the basis
of a Firearms Protocol to the UN Convention against Transnational
Organized Crime, and is likely to be signed by the end of
2000. Current drafts of the build on an April 1998 ECOSOC
resolution. BASIC has closely followed the negotiations and
has made presentations to the Crime Commission workshops on
a number of different occasions.
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
(advance copy of the authentic text)
Convention
against Transnational Organized Crime (including the Firearms
Protocol): Eleventh session, 2-27 October 2000, Vienna,
Austria
In a separate process, the UN Panel of Governmental
Experts on Small Arms called for an international conference
on illicit trafficking in "all of its aspects" as part of
its 1997 report on Complete and General Disarmament.
The Panel's successor, the Group of Experts, reiterated this
commitment in its August 1999 report, and pledged to hold
the conference in 2001. In the meantime, the United Nations
Department for Disarmament Affairs has held regional consultations
on illicit trafficking in Lima, Peru (June 1999) and Lomé, Togo (August 1999).
BASIC prepared a and made a presentation to the Lomé
workshop.
OSCE Document on
Small Arms and Light Weapons
24 November 2000. This document sets concrete norms,
principles and measures to be followed by OSCE participating
States on the issue of small arms and light weapons, including
information exchange on the export and import of weapons.
BASIC Publications
One Size Fits All: Prospects for a Global
Convention on Illicit Trafficking by 2000 April 1999.
BASIC's "One Size Fits All", is a report examining the advantages
and disadvantages of the OAS approach to illicit trafficking
within the global context. The report concludes that although
the OAS Convention was a ground-breaking initiative, it would
not provide an appropriate model for an international agreement.
BASIC recommends a more comprehensive approach to illicit
trafficking that covers government to government sales as
well as those carried out by private individuals.
Comparison of
Measures to Combat Illicit Trafficking
Although the range of initiatives to combat illicit
weapons trafficking are all welcome, the regulations and agreements
undoubtedly vary in their effectiveness and practical use.
For a comparison of the Firearms Protocol, the Organization
of American States (OAS) Convention, the CICAD Model Regulations,
the EU Programme and the EU Joint Action.
Submission
to the UN Department of Disarmament Affairs on the Illicit
Trafficking of Small Arms, July 1999. The European
Union has also addressed illicit trafficking in the Programme
To Combat Illicit Trafficking and the Joint Action on Small
Arms. Although only frameworks for action, the EU initiatives
use a holistic and integrated approach to the problem, which
acknowledges that illicit trafficking undermines peace, security
and long-term development.
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