PRESS RELEASE

4 May 1998

G8 States to Crack Down on Gun Smuggling

Press Briefings: Tuesday 5 May 1998

The illicit trade in small arms has become a priority for Foreign Ministers at the G8 Summit in Birmingham, UK, on 15–17 May. Media briefings will be held on 5 May in London, Bonn, Brussels, Ottawa, Washington DC, and New York. At the Birmingham summit, the world’s major supplier nations will come together for the first time to consider legally binding measures to combat the illicit trade in small arms. The summit offers these states an historic opportunity to expand on a US-backed ECOSOC resolution on a legally binding global convention against weapons trafficking.

The importance of G8 support for small arms control cannot be underestimated. This high-profile forum includes the world’s five biggest arms exporting nations which together account for nearly 90 percent of global arms exports. Government and NGO support is mounting for a high profile campaign to control small arms. Canadian Foreign Minister, Lloyd Axworthy, has declared that tackling this issue is "the next humanitarian challenge after landmines." Lloyd Axworthy is likely to be joined by UK Foreign Secretary Robin Cook at a press conference on small arms at the summit.

However, tackling the illicit trade is not enough. NGOs will also be calling for the G8 states to endorse an International Code of Conduct governing legal sales of arms to repressive regimes and regions of conflict.

In calling for strong action within the G8, Executive Director of UNICEF Carol Bellamy said, "the manufacture and spread of inexpensive small arms has had one especially pernicious effect; it has made it much easier to turn young children into soldiers. Even a ten year-old can strip and re-assemble these light and easy to use weapons." She called for controls on legal as well as illegal transfers of weapons to conflict zones.

Joost Hiltermann, Director of the Human Rights Watch Arms Division, said, "The illicit traffic in light weapons is only one aspect of the problem. It is mainly governments that supply weapons, overtly or covertly, to clients that abuse human rights, and it is governments that fail to prohibit private arms sales to such clients. Governments, including that of the United States, have a moral responsibility to address the problem of illicit arms trafficking in the wider context of the arms trade generally."

In London, veteran war correspondent Robert Fox called small arms control as "the next big thing." He said, "I have seen the horror and suffering these weapons cause. We must act now to protect innocent civilians from the effects of illegal guns." Geraldine O’Callaghan added "we must not forget that legally traded guns are just as responsible for conflict and crime. It is not so easy to separate the legal and illegal weapons trade. The G8 must commit itself to controls on the legal trade as well."

New York: United Nations Correspondents Association, Tuesday 5 May, IPM

Speakers: Carol Bellamy, Executive Director, UNICEF; Andras Vamos-Goldman, Counsellor, Canadian Mission to the UN; Jean du Preez, Counsellor, South African Mission to the UN.

Washington, DC: National Press Club, Tuesday 5 May, 8AM

Speakers: H.E. Claude Heller, Mexican Ambassador to the OAS; Joost Hiltermann, Director, Human Rights Watch Arms Division; Steve Rickard, Director, Washington Office, Amnesty.

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