Small Arms - International Treaties

Treaties and regimes dealing with the control of SALW can either have a global or regional character.

Concerning global treaties these are:

The question of SALW control and disarmament was first raised at the UN level in the 1995 General Assembly resolution A/RES/50/70B. It was not until the July 2001 United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (UN Small Arms Conference) that national governments approved of a Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects. These goals are to be achieved by the individual signatory states. States have pledged to:

• I) Regulate the activities of brokers
• II) Require licensed manufacturers to put traceable markings on every weapon produced
• III) Set strict export criteria
• IV) Identify and take action against violators
• V) Keep comprehensive and accurate records "for as long as possible" on the manufacture, holding and transfer of small arms and
• VI) Cooperate and coordinate efforts at global, regional, sub-regional and national levels.

  For states this means:

  • a) Putting in place adequate laws, regulations and administrative procedures to exercise effective control over the production, export, import, transit or retransfer of SALW.
  • b) Identify groups of and individuals engaged in the illegal manufacture, trade, stockpiling, transfer, possession, as well as financing for acquisition, of illicit SALW, and take action under appropriate national law against them.
  • c) Ensuring that licensed manufacturers apply appropriate and reliable marking on each SALW as an integral part of the production process.
  • d) Ensuring responsibility for all SALW held and issued by the State and effective measures for tracing such weapons.
  • e) Putting in place and implementing adequate laws, regulations and administrative procedures, including the use of authenticated end-user certificates, to ensure the effective control over the export and transit of SALW.
  • f) Making every effort in accordance with bilateral agreements to notify the original exporting State before the re-export of SALW (This would be without prejudice to the right of the States to resell the weapons.)
  • g) Developing adequate national legislation or administrative procedures regulating the activities of those who broker sales of SALW.
  • h) Taking appropriate measures against any activity that violates a United Nations Security Council arms embargo.
  • i) Ensuring the destruction of confiscated, seized or collected SALW.
  • j) Ensuring that adequate and detailed standards and procedures are established for the management and security of SALW in the possession of armed forces, police and other authorized bodies.
  • k) Where possible in areas of conflict, developing and implementing programs for effective disarmament, with demobilization and reintegration of combatants.
  • l) Addressing the special need of children affected by armed conflict.

  For regional action this means:

  • a) Encouraging regional negotiations with the aim of concluding legally binding instruments to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in SALW. Where such agreements exist, their ratification and full implementation should be encouraged.
  • b) In areas of conflict, establishing and strengthening moratoria on the transfer and manufacture of SALW.
  • c) Establishing sub-regional or regional mechanisms to share information among law-enforcement, border and customs and control agencies.
  • d) Encouraging regional transparency to combat the illicit trade in SALW.

  At a global level this means:

  • a) Cooperating with the UN system to ensure effective implementation of Security Council arms embargoes.
  • b) Encouraging disarmament and demobilization of ex-combatants and their re-integration into civilian life.
  • c) Encouraging States and the World Customs Organization to enhance cooperation with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to identify groups and individuals engaged in the illicit trade in SALW.
  • d) Encouraging international and regional organizations and States to facilitate the "appropriate" cooperation of civil society, including non-governmental organizations, in activities related to the prevention, combat and eradication of the illicit trade in SALW.
  • e) And finally promoting dialogue and a culture of peace by encouraging education and public awareness programs in the problems of the illicit trade in SALW.

  (adopted from: Bhaskar Menon 2001: Small Arms, Light Weapons & the United Nations, NGO Committee on Disarmament, NY)

After two Biennial Review Conferences, one in 2003 and one in 2005 the 2006 Review Conference on the Programme of Action did not create any results in terms of a final document, hence leaving the Program of Action active in its pre- review conference form. Yet, as Ambassador Kariyawasam, the President of the Small Arms Review Conference, pointed out in his Disarmament Times (Volume 29, Number 2) article: "(…), the proceedings of the conference made quite clear that the international resolve to confront the scourge of the illicit small arms trade remains strong." For further information please look at the Committee's coverage on the Review Conference by going here.

The Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies came into force in December 1995 and was signed by Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Russian Federation, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States in Wassenaar, the Netherlands. It focuses on exports controls for conventional weapons and materials of dual-use.

The Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition, from June 2001 requires signatory states to pass legislation that criminalizes the illicit transportation and manufacturing of small arms. It also leads to an export control system that obliges states to keep a record of their arms production and transfer, allowing the tracing of firearms internationally. It has not yet been signed by the US.

Moreover, the UN General Assembly has since 1995 issued resolutions concerning production, trafficking, effects, etc. of small arms and light weapons. There have also been statements by the President of the Security Council on the subject of small arms, as can be seen here.

Regional treaties have been signed in almost all regions of the world:

• Africa:
  

  The Central and East African states of Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania met in Nairobi in 2000 and signed a legally non-binding declaration on illicit small arms trade named the Nairobi Declaration on the Problem of the Proliferation of Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Great Lake Region and the Horn of Africa.

  This convention was followed up in 2004 by the Nairobi Protocol for the Prevention, Control and Reduction of Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Great Lake Region and the Horn of Africa (Nairobi Protocol). The further reaching and legally binding protocol is considered one of the most progressive sub-regional SALW agreements. Controls were introduced for issues like: "Illicit manufacturing; import, export and transit; civilian possession; controls on state-owned small arms; marking; recordkeeping; brokering; enforcement of arms embargoes; destruction; capacity-building; public education and awareness-raising; information sharing and co-operation. The Nairobi Protocol also contains commitments relating to the harmonisation of legislation and requires states to incorporate specific provisions into their national laws." (Bourne, Godnick, et al. 2006: Reviewing Action on Small Arms 2006. Assessing the First Five Years of the UN Programme of Action. IANSA).

  Furthermore the more far-reaching ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, their Ammunition and Other Related Materials from 2001. Signatory states are Benin, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. The convention creates an import, export and production moratorium for small weapons.

  The Southern African Development Community's (SADC) Protocol on Firearms, Ammunition and Related Materials (2002) is designed to help prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit manufacturing of firearms, as well as their accumulation and distribution.

• Americas:
  

  The Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials from 1997 was signed by all member states of the Organization of American States.

• Asia up to this point has no treaty that is connected to SALW control.

• Europe:
  

  The OSCE issued the so called OSCE Document on Small Arms and Light Weapons in November 2000.

  Within the context of the European Union the Council of the European Union adopted a joint action on small arms in 1998 (1999/34/CFSP).

  The EU's Code of Conduct for Arms Exports from 1998 includes SALW and dual use equipment. EU Member States are supposed to check all arms export by applying 8 criteria:

  • I. International Commitment of EU Member States
  • II. Respect for Human Rights in country of final destination
  • III. Internal situation in country of final destination
  • IV. Preservation of regional peace, security and stability
  • V. National security of Member States
  • VI. Behavior of importing state towards the international community
  • VII. Risk of diversion or re-export
  • VIII. Compatibility with importing state's economic and technical capacity