|
|
|
 |
Research Reports | BASIC Reports | BASIC Papers | BASIC Notes | Joint Publications |
|
BASIC REPORTS
NEWSLETTER ON INTERNATIONAL SECURITY POLICY
17 JANUARY 2000 • NUMBER 73 • ISSN 0966-9175OSCE and NATO Take Aim at Small Arms By Kate Joseph Transatlantic multilateral institutions have stepped up efforts to address the proliferation of small arms, and despite early reservations and uncertainty among participant states, new initiatives were passed recently to tackle the challenges associated with their widespread presence and use. At the November 1999 Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Summit in Istanbul, member states agreed to develop a work plan on small arms, while NATO's Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC), which began focusing its attention on small arms shortly after the OSCE, adopted in November its own program for small arms work. 'Flexible'
Decision Draws Praise In a statement after the decision passed, Canada and the EU called it "a sound but flexible basis for our future work." A Canadian official in Vienna told BASIC Reports that while some countries had been reluctant to make progress on the issue, "we are satisfied with the outcome." States Propose
Further Initiatives The decision's language also leaves room for differing interpretations of scope and action. Many of these uncertainties will be cleared up during the seminar in April 2000. However, a number of countries have already begun to fill in the blanks with potential ideas for the OSCE to implement. An official from the Mission of the Netherlands told BASIC Reports that the Dutch government will propose activities that draw upon existing arms control regimes. The official noted that although there is some reluctance on the part of some Central and Eastern European states, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovenia have been developing their own initiatives. Meanwhile, other governments have been taking a more cautious approach to initiating discussions in the OSCE. The US Mission said in a formal statement, "The development of Norm- and Standard-Setting Measures (NSSMs) strikes us as both a logical and practical area for discussion in the FSC given our comparative advantage in this area." NSSMs may include guidelines for arms exports, for example. EAPC Program
Stresses Safeguards EAPC's program, negotiated over several months by all 44 NATO and Partnership for Peace member states, addresses three areas: stockpile management and security and surplus weapons destruction; national export control mechanisms, enforcement and arms embargoes; and peacekeeping training and development. Within these, some programs will be classified as "generic training," some will take the form of "tailored assistance and cooperation," and others will be "best practice" standards. NATO will also help countries destroy weapons that are surplus to national requirements. Some states, including Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Georgia, have already made formal requests for assistance in destroying weapons, but a Western government official pointed out that their requests may have more to do with the fact that the weapons are Russian, and therefore unwelcome. According to an official from the US State Department, the program is intended mainly to help governments from Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States develop and implement better safeguards on weapons stockpiles. The official emphasized to BASIC Reports the need to address the lack of safety around weapons stockpiles in these countries and noted, "Many governments are unaware that they have a stockpile security problem because they don't even have a stockpile security program." In a related initiative, members of the Balkan Stability Pact signed a declaration on small arms at the Summit. As yet, Pact members are unclear on how to implement the measure, which focuses on illicit transfers, weapons safeguards and post-conflict destruction. While the declaration will be administered in conjunction with the EAPC, the OSCE has been invited to monitor weapons destruction. US, RUSSIA Y2K Monitoring Lays Ground for Shared Early Warning Measures By Martin Butcher Potential problems resulting from the millennium date rollover spurred the US and Russia to establish a shared early warning center, preceding a joint endeavor mandated in a 1997 agreement. However, despite concern about Russian monitoring capabilities, the two states maintain their strategic nuclear arsenals at an alert status comparable to that during the Cold War. The US-Russian Center for Y2K Strategic Stability (CY2KSS), based at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado from 28 December 1999 until approximately 15 January 2000, "covers for the fact that the agreed joint early warning center in Moscow has not yet been established," according to US Army Major Michael Birmingham, spokesman for the US Space Command at Peterson. Russia and the US agreed at their Helsinki Summit in March 1997 to create an early warning center in Moscow, which will establish systematic cooperation between the two countries on a permanent basis. Major Birmingham added that, if necessary and if the Russians agreed, the Center could reopen to cover another potential rollover problem date, the leap day of 29 February 2000. Mutual
Confidence Emphasized In assessing the long term implications of the CY2KSS for US-Russia relations, Major Birmingham noted that establishing the Moscow early warning center sooner than its projected opening in 2001 would be beneficial for international security. He pointed out that negotiations on implementation of the Helsinki Summit agreement had been slowed by, amongst other issues, Russian fears that the US would use the Center to obtain sensitive data on the gaps in Russian early warning capabilities. Russia had also broken off contact with the US in March 1999 on such matters because of the Kosovo war, although talks resumed during the autumn. Arsenals
Jointly Monitored for Glitches In the event of a warning, the Center determines whether there has actually been a launch, and if there has, whether the launch is threatening or harmless. In doing so, it evaluates seven pre-agreed data points, including location of launch, time of launch, azimuth (direction), whether a missile or space launch has actually occurred, projected time and location of impact, and the type of rocket involved. At the time of writing, the only unexpected launches detected during the millennium date rollover period were Russian SCUD launches against Chechnya. In addition to this Center, the US has taken steps to work with Russia on the Y2K and nuclear weapons question. Pete Verga, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Support, told a 16 December 1999 Department of Defense press briefing that the US has provided technology assistance to the Russians, special communications links between the US and Russia, and Y2K verification of existing hotlines. US Reluctant
to Predict Progress On Disarmament OSCE Summit Upholds Greater Regional Role By Jack Seymour November's Summit of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) concluded with support for the potential role of the OSCE amid mixed signals from states about the level of monetary and political support they were willing to extend to the 54-member body. REACT
Approved; Implementation Soon Controversy
Present in Proceedings The OSCE Summit did not change the situation in Chechnya, but it did assert a "right of review" by the OSCE. A State Department official, speaking anonymously to BASIC Reports, pointed to the Charter's language as establishing an important principle and "opening up a process" for the future. The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Norwegian Foreign Minister Kurt Vollebaek, visited Chechnya in December with Russian approval to offer "assistance and advice" as allowed by the Charter. However, his appeal for political dialogue and safe access for humanitarian assistance has not yet been honored. Additionally, Russia agreed to troop reductions and the dismantling of several military bases in Georgia and Moldova. Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov also agreed that future deployment of forces into another Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member would now require the approval of the host country, according to the Summit declaration. The Istanbul Summit was the last of 1999's "triple crown" of summits intended by the United States to emphasize the complementary roles of NATO, the European Union (EU), and the OSCE as the "three pillars" of US policy in relations with Europe. According to State Department officials speaking to BASIC Reports, the Summit was meant to affirm the organization's place alongside NATO and the EU as central to US policy toward Europe. Officials said that although the meeting was "almost derailed" by the crisis in Chechnya, they were satisfied with the Summit's outcome. International
Attention Boosts OSCE NEWS BRIEFS States Deliberate Action on Small Arms Representatives from 18 countries met in Oslo on 6-7 December 1999 to further international discussion and understanding on the problems associated with small arms and light weapons. Leaders in the global effort to control small arms, including Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, Japan and Switzerland were joined by representatives from the Non-Aligned Movement, such as Mexico and Brazil. Although the US and the UK participated in discussions, leading arms suppliers including France, Russia and China did not attend. The December Oslo discussions followed a July 1998 meeting, which opened dialogue and issued a declaration calling for improved controls of manufacture and transfer of small arms and increased efforts to combat illicit trafficking (See BASIC Reports #65). Although the communiqué‚ from the December 1999 meeting is not yet public, sources told BASIC Reports that the meeting reviewed progress and further developed agreements reached during previous discussions. Sources indicated that while the previous meeting prioritized the need to control illicit trafficking, greater emphasis was given to controlling the legal trade in the most recent talks. Although no concrete initiatives were agreed, delegates singled out arms brokering as a priority to address, devoting half of their discussions to the issue. Sources noted that only limited progress was made during the meeting. However, one delegate commented that the Oslo meeting was seen as a "dress rehearsal," as states explore the issues and discover areas of consensus before the preparatory meetings for the UN 2001 Conference on illicit trade in all its aspects, which will begin early next year. - G. O'Callaghan
Gorbachev
Urges International Community Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev cautioned against using old frameworks to solve new security problems in his address to a small group of policy makers and academics at the Woodrow Wilson Center on 7 December 1999. He encouraged all countries to "adapt international organizations to new times" and recommended restructuring the UN Security Council. "No G-7 or G-8 or G-22 can solve today's problems. We need a reformed UN Security Council that can address problems based on equality rather than just the will of the strong," Gorbachev said. The comments come a little more than ten years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, an event in which Gorbachev played a key role. - J. Smith
Commonwealth
Recognizes Small Arms The Commonwealth Heads of Government recently acknowledged the "destabilising accumulation and proliferation of small arms, ammunition, and light weapons" for the first time ever in its final communiqué‚ from the 12-15 November 1999 meeting held in Durban, South Africa. The Communiqué‚ highlighted "the intensity and duration of armed conflicts as well as to international terrorism" caused by small arms, which in turn affected security, development, and humanitarian initiatives in member states. The declaration also noted that member states confronted further difficulties caused by illicit weapons flows, and called for member governments to "support and encourage the initiatives underway globally and regionally, and particularly in the United Nations on this complex problem, including the international conference scheduled to be held in 2001." Speaking at a symbolic destruction of weapons held on the eve of the Commonwealth Summit, Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy pointed out that the small arms issue was particularly relevant to this Commonwealth meeting, which focused on development for people. He noted, "People can't develop if they're afraid... one of the reasons for fear has been the tidal wave of small arms that have swept around this world." H.E. Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Commonwealth Secretary General, told BASIC Reports that the Commonwealth was an effective grouping for promoting consensual views, and that member states can take any agreement reached on small arms back to their regions to create a basis for global consensus. - S. Chin BASIC Note BASIC regretfully bids farewell to Sally Chin and Val Kemball, who departed the London office in December 1999. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors. This edition of BASIC Reports was edited by Christine Kucia in Washington.
|
|
|
HOME
| NUCLEAR AND
WMD | EUROPEAN
SECURITY | WEAPONS
TRADE |