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Monday, 2010-07-19 Side Event – “Deadly Movements: Transportation Controls in the ATT” |
Martin P. Slawek and Verena Simmel
On Monday July 19, 2010, Amnesty International, TransArms, and IPIS hosted an event entitled “Deadly Movements: Transportation Controls in the Arms Trade Treaty.” The event featured Oliver Sprague of Amnesty International and Sergio Finardi of TransArms, and focused on the role of transportation of the arms trade.
Mr. Finardi began by asserting that as the inadequate regulation of arms transport is a global problem, it should be addressed by the ATT rather than on a state level. Finardi elaborated on specific transportation problems, suggesting that the ATT negotiations should identify logistics networks in relation to the location of arms manufactures, identify sea, air and land corridors to monitor sensitive crossing points, identify the logistics of different types of weapons and munitions, identify the sensitive free-trade zones for better regulation , and document needs to be expanded for better monitoring.
Finardi highlighted that in establishing comprehensive controls of arms transportation, one has to look at the actors in between the supply and demand side, which are mainly authorities such as licensing agencies, and intermediaries like arms brokers or financial institutions. According to Mr. Finardi, these actors are vital components in supply chains of arms and munitions.
Furthermore, Mr. Finardi said that ATT “must require States to establish controls and reporting requirements on the arms supply chains,” most importantly focusing on brokering and logistics. He pushed for the treaty to require States to report the names of trading companies, the supporting financial institutions, and value of the intermediary services and defense cooperation programs, thereby making the seller responsible for the supply chain. To guarantee comprehensive reporting by all states, Finardi said that there is the need for a “standardized multi-modal declaration” for achieving a comprehensive reporting system on arms transportation, which would track a shipment’s routes and methods in a single document.
Mr. Sprague stated that by cooperating with existing parties such as customs or maritime organizations there establishment of a working transport control system could be achieved more easily. Mr. Finardi concluded by saying that the control of supply chains is achievable if the ATT has common standards that allow regulation, monitoring and control all along the supply chain.
Martin P. Slawek is an intern with the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security. Verena Simmel is an intern with the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security. |
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