25 AUGUST 1997 •
NUMBER 59 • ISSN 0966-9175
After Discord, Consensus on UN Small Arms
Report
By Dr. Natalie J.
Goldring
After months of
discordant talks, the United Nations Panel of Governmental Experts
on Small Arms finally agreed to a consensus report, just as its
final meeting was scheduled to adjourn on 18 July. Diplomats
interviewed by BASIC Reports as late as 16 July said their chances
of reaching agreement were no better than 50-50. Points of
contention during the 7-18 July plenary included how much to
emphasize regional options for controlling light weapons transfers
and reducing illicit light weapons transfers, as well as whether
the panel should endorse efforts to increase transparency in
armaments. The chair of the panel, Ambassador Mitsuro Donowaki,
has submitted the panel's report to UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan, who is expected to approve it for publication.
Key Recommendations
Many of the preliminary recommendations made by panel members were
reflected at least in part in the final report, including:
destroying surplus weapons and weapons remaining after conflicts
end, improving border controls and training for customs officials,
continuing and expanding regional buyback programs, and using the
Mali destruction effort and proposed regional moratorium as a
model for other areas. (See BASIC Reports #54 and #56 for
additional coverage of these proposals in previous panel
meetings.) In addition, the report urges states to ensure
effective control over possession and transfer of small arms and
light weapons. It also endorses studying problems associated with
ammunition, and evaluating the feasibility of marking weapons at
the time of manufacture and restricting manufacture and sales of
small arms and light weapons to government-authorized
manufacturers and dealers.
Consensus Elusive
Many of the issues pinpointed as contentious in the first meeting
of the panel remained so throughout its tenure. One key issue was
the role of supply and demand in creating or exacerbating light
weapons problems. According to the Canadian representative,
"The most controversial issues stemmed from supply and demand
factors. Many of the non-Western panel members saw the issue as
more of a supply factor while the Western side saw it as at least
50 percent demand." The Colombian representative agreed,
saying, "It was difficult to deal with the demand and supply
side of these weapons because when you come down to it you find
that demand is spurred by the supply and vice versa."
Discussions of the
relative importance and feasibility of global, regional, or
national options for controlling light weapons were also heated.
The Western representative told BASIC Reports that there were
"a lot of little side battles going on, one of which was the
emphasis on things regions could do versus what the state could do
versus what the UN could do....It was a dogfight in the end, right
down to the last comma and semicolon. These non-aligned members
who had been relatively academic turned viciously political."
Even the definition of
excessive accumulations of light weapons remained undecided. The
Colombian representative noted that the panel "had a very
difficult time also dealing with what excessive accumulation is. A
small number of weapons transferred illicitly to the wrong people
can cause a great deal of havoc."
Transparency measures
were also controversial. According to the Western representative,
"You had interests on the panel that don't like the word
transparency. Every time we tried to get some references to
transparency except the few that you see there, it got beat
back." Small arms panel members also said that the concurrent
evaluation of the UN Register of Conventional Arms allowed them to
devote little attention to transparency issues. (See article on
page 3 for coverage of the register panel.) Ironically, members of
the register panel interviewed by BASIC Reports said they had not
paid much attention to light weapons transparency issues because
they felt that the light weapons panel would address them. The
Colombian representative, disappointed with the failure to focus
on light weapons transparency, told BASIC Reports: "When we
negotiated the resolution on the register I stressed we wanted
included in the register small arms and light weapons. This was
not admitted at the time and was not admitted now."
Destruction Efforts
Endorsed
The panel devoted significant attention to the destruction of
surplus weapons and weapons that remain after conflicts end. In
particular, it called for an end to the practice of placing
surplus weapons in poorly guarded warehouses. It also urged that
the mandates for UN peacekeeping forces include destruction of
captured weapons, rather than merely storage. According to the
Canadian representative, "What the panel has tried to do is
institutionalize the issue and ensure that it is part of every
internal conflict peace initiative."
Illicit Weapons
Conference Proposed
Early in its proceedings, the panel discussed endorsing a global
conference on light weapons to highlight the issue for the
international community. By the end of its deliberations, the
panel decided to focus the conference on illicit weapons
transfers, which feature prominently in the report. The Colombian
representative praised the report's emphasis on illicit weapons,
saying, "It corroborates what we have been saying all along
about the consequences of this trade."
NRA Role Still
Controversial
The National Rifle Association's (NRA) continued efforts to affect
the panel's deliberations were viewed by several members with
hostility. They told BASIC Reports that an NRA representative gave
a brief presentation at the panel's July meeting, but was
unsuccessful in his attempt to engage the panel in dialogue. The
Colombian representative said, "He went out of there with his
tail between his legs. What they wanted from us was a debate and
nobody wanted to debate. We didn't even comment on it....I don't
think that had any influence on our work. We all know what these
people are about." The Western representative, also a harsh
critic, said, "He started by telling us what was wrong with
the [panel's] mandate. He didn't know a damned thing about the
mandate."
Report Agreed, but
Next Steps Unclear
Several panel members said that the desire for a consensus report
eventually forced compromise. The Colombian representative
acknowledged this process, saying, "I think at some point we
all became level headed...We couldn't all get all of our ideas in
and certainly we wanted to get a report and the report had to have
consensus." Describing the final document, the Canadian
representative said, "The report is as good as one could
expect given the complexities of the issues, its relative newness
as an arms control subject, and the diversity of the panel
members."
Panel members
expressed considerable uncertainty over the United Nations' next
steps on this issue. They expect at least one General Assembly
resolution to endorse the report and suggest ways to implement its
recommendations. The Western representative indicated that
"[Ambassador] Donowaki may put in some language suggesting
the panel's mandate be extended..." He supported extension of
the work, saying that, "At the global level I think it's
clear to everybody that we have no norms and we need norms."
An African representative stressed that outside funding would be
required to make progress in his region. The Canadian
representative followed a similar line, noting that, "Much of
what is required is dependent on national will and national
resources - something that is frequently lacking in one or both
areas where the problem of destabilizing surpluses exist."
Register Review Produces Limited Results
By Dr. Natalie J.
Goldring
Following the example
of the UN Group of Governmental Experts on Small Arms, the 1997
Group of Governmental Experts on the United Nations Register of
Conventional Arms agreed on a consensus report just as the panel
was scheduled to adjourn on 15 August. However, the panel failed
to agree on any substantive measures to expand or strengthen the
register.
Many Proposals,
Little Agreement
During its earlier meetings, panel members suggested several
significant changes to the register, including expanding it to
include new categories of weapons, changing the definitions of the
existing categories of weapons, requiring countries to provide
information on procurement through national production and weapons
holdings, and requiring countries to indicate the specific types
of weapons transferred. (See BASIC Reports #57 for additional
background on the panel.) The panel did not reach consensus on any
of these measures. Instead, the panel adopted a modest package of
technical measures, including publishing the voluntary information
that countries provide on military holdings and procurement
through national production, and giving the UN Secretariat a more
active role in implementing the register.
The Canadian
representative provided an overview of the panel's failure to
reach consensus on the major substantive proposals, saying,
"The report has eight or ten recommendations, but there was
no agreement on holdings and procurement, no agreement on adding
types and models, no upgrading of the register..." He added,
"We wanted holdings and procurement or types and models but
for those who held a WMD [weapons of mass destruction] position,
it was basically all or nothing."
Most participants
interviewed by BASIC Reports indicated that several countries
supported Egypt's proposal to include weapons of mass destruction
in the register. However, one representative argued that,
"There was no support [for the Egyptian proposal] from the P5
countries [the five permanent members of the UN Security Council],
from the Central and East European countries. Even from the
African countries there was not support." In contrast, the
South African representative said that he and other panel members
supported including all weapons in the register, from light
weapons to nuclear weapons. "Some of the countries that are
normally adversaries were finding common position on one issue.
There was a single view that you cannot have true transparency if
you do not include all weapons. A weapon is a weapon is a weapon -
it's designed to destroy, maim, and kill," he said.
With respect to
disclosure of military holdings, a panel member said,
"Military holdings is a different thing. That's always a
difficult issue to address in terms of its relationship to the
register. It's harder; there are more sensitivities."
Confirming this perspective, the South Africa representative told
BASIC Reports, "We had no objection to expanding the register
to local production because we do that in our parliamentary
process. But we objected to expansion to holdings....They have all
the nuclear weapons they don't want to disclose but they're
willing to disclose their holdings of other weapons."
Modest Technical
Improvements
By the beginning of the group's May workshop, it was clear that
reaching consensus on expansion would be difficult. Accordingly,
some panel members prepared fallback strategies, advocating
technical improvements that were considered less controversial.
However, these proposals were also hotly contested. According to
the Canadian representative, the panel considered proposals to
lower the calibre of artillery included in the register, lower the
tonnage on ships, include ground-to-air missiles, reduce the range
of missiles, and separate missiles and launchers, which are
currently reported together. However, panel members did not accept
any of these proposals.
Ultimately, the panel
agreed on a modest package of technical improvements. Perhaps most
important, it agreed to publish the information that countries
provide on their procurement through national production and
military holdings. The panel also agreed to strengthen the role of
the UN Secretariat.
Some members objected
to the amount of time spent on technical issues. The South African
representative said, "It does you no good to plaster a house
if it has a major crack. You need to deal with the crack. Instead,
we worked on the carpets." In sharp contrast, one panel
member emphasized the importance of such measures as having
national points of contact and a more prominent icon for the
register on the UN home page, saying, "The icon was
significant. That will improve the process. In the long run that
practice and the points of contact will lead to an increase of
information."
Panel Concludes
With Consensus Report
The panel held three formal meetings in New York from 3-7 March,
16-27 June, and 4-15 August 1997. Most panel members also attended
a regional workshop in Tokyo on 12-14 May which included
presentations by academic experts and analysts as well as a panel
meeting. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is expected to review the
panel's findings and issue a report to the UN General Assembly in
fall 1997.
As detailed above, the
panel had great difficulty achieving consensus. According to one
panel member, "It wasn't easy. I didn't think we had a
consensus report when I woke up on the 14th, or even the
15th." Most panel members interviewed suggested that there
were two main reasons they compromised in order to reach
consensus: first, they did not want the panel to be perceived as a
failure, as was the 1994 register review panel; second, they had
tremendous respect for the panel's chair, Rafael Grossi of
Argentina, and did not want to disappoint him.
Assessments
One panel member was relatively optimistic about the outcome.
"A firm foundation for some future development for the
registry is in place," he said, adding, "We are
capturing about 98 percent of the conventional arms trade so the
registry has been successful." He also cited the importance
of Egypt having signed on to the final report, citing that as a
building block for the future.
However, several other
panel members described the effort as a waste of time. Asked
whether there was anything in the report that he liked, the South
African representative responded, "How can you like a report
that has nothing in it?" The Brazilian representative took a
middle path, saying, "I have mixed feelings about it [the
review], and I guess almost everybody does." He also
suggested that the United Nations wait before doing another
review, cautioning, "I do not think it would be profitable to
gather people again just to disagree."
Report of the Panel of Governmental Experts
on Small Arms
New York,
July 1997
[excerpts]
V. RECOMMENDATIONS
78. The Panel's
recommendations are comprised first of measures to reduce the
excessive and destabilizing accumulations and transfers of small
arms and light weapons in specific regions of the world where such
accumulations and transfers have already taken place. These are
followed by measures to prevent such accumulations and transfers
from occurring in future.
REDUCTION
79. The Panel
recommends the following:
-
The United Nations
should adopt the proportional and integrated approach to
security and development, including the identification of
appropriate assistance for the internal security forces
initiated with respect to Mali and other West African States
and extend it to other regions of the world where conflicts
come to an end and where serious problems of the proliferation
of small arms and light weapons have to be urgently dealt
with. The donor community should support this new approach in
regard to such regions of the world.
-
The United Nations
should support, with the assistance of the donor community,
all appropriate post-conflict initiatives related to
disarmament and demobilization, such as disposal and
destruction of weapons, including weapons turn-in programmes
sponsored locally by governmental and non-governmental
organizations.
-
Once national
conciliation is reached, the United Nations should assist in
convening an inter-Afghan forum to prepare, inter-alia, a
schedule to account for, retrieve and destroy the small arms
and light weapons left unaccounted for in Afghanistan.
-
In view of the
problems stemming from an excess of small arms and light
weapons left over from many internal conflicts and the lessons
learned from peacekeeping operations by the United Nations,
two sets of guidelines should be developed:
- to assist
negotiators of peace settlements in developing plans to disarm
combatants, particularly as it concerns light weapons, small
arms and munitions, and to include therein plans for weapons
collection and disposal preferably by destruction.
- to provide
assistance to peacekeeping missions in implementing their
mandates based on peace settlements.
Former peace
negotiators and members of peace-keeping operations of the
United Nations should be consulted in the preparation of such
guidelines. In this connection, consideration should be given
to the establishment of a disarmament component in
peacekeeping operations undertaken by the United Nations.
-
States and
regional organizations, where applicable, should strengthen
international and regional cooperation among police,
intelligence, customs and border control officials in
combatting the illicit circulation and trafficking of small
arms and light weapons and in suppressing criminal activities
related to the use of these weapons.
-
The establishment
of mechanisms and regional networks for information sharing
for the above purposes should be encouraged.
-
All such weapons
which are not under legal civilian possession, and not
required for the purposes of national defense and internal
security, should be collected and destroyed by States as
expeditiously as possible.
PREVENTION
80. The Panel
recommends the following:
-
All States should
implement the recommendations contained in the 'Guidelines for
International Arms Transfers' adopted by the UNDC in 1996.
-
All States should
determine in their national laws and regulations which arms
are permitted for civilian possession and under which
conditions they can be used.
-
All States should
ensure that they have in place adequate laws, regulations and
administrative procedures to exercise effective control over
the legal possession of small arms and light weapons and over
their transfer in order, inter-alia, to prevent illicit
trafficking.
-
States emerging
from conflict should, as soon as practicable, impose or
re-impose licensing requirements on all civilian possession of
small arms and light weapons on their territory.
-
All States should
exercise restraint with respect to the transfer of the surplus
of small arms and light weapons manufactured solely for the
possession and use by the military and police forces. All
States are recommended to also consider the possibility to
destroy all the surplus of such weapons 15/.
-
All States should
ensure the safeguarding of such weapons against loss through
theft or corruption, in particular from storage facilities.
-
The United Nations
should urge relevant organizations such as Interpol and the
World Customs organization as well as all States and their
relevant national agencies to closely cooperate in identifying
the groups and individuals engaged in illicit trafficking
activities, including the modes of transfer they use.
-
All States and
relevant regional and international organizations should
intensify their cooperative efforts against all aspects of
illicit trafficking mentioned in this report which are related
to the proliferation and accumulation of small arms and light
weapons.
-
The United Nations
should encourage the adoption and implementation of regional
or sub-regional moratoria, where appropriate, on the transfer
and manufacture of small arms and light weapons as agreed upon
by the States concerned.
-
Other regional
organizations should take note, and make use, as appropriate,
of the work of the OAS in preparing a Draft Inter-American
Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and
Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and Other
Related Materials.
-
The United Nations
should consider the possibility of an international conference
on illicit arms trade in all its aspects based on the issues
identified in this report.
-
To assist in
preventing the illicit trafficking and circulation of small
arms and light weapons, the United Nations should initiate
studies on the following:
- feasibility of a
reliable system of marking of all such weapons from the time
of their manufacture;
- feasibility of
restricting the manufacture and trade of such weapons to the
manufacturers and dealers authorized by States, and of
establishing a database of such authorized manufacturers and
dealers;
-
The United Nations
should initiate a study on the problems of ammunition and
explosives in all their aspects.
_______________________
15// The term
'surplus' is meant to indicate those serviceable and unserviceable
small arms and light weapons held in stockpile by military and
police forces and those illicit weapons seized by such forces
which they no longer have a need for.
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