Regional, International, and Governmental Efforts
to Combat the Illicit Traffic in Small and Light Arms

UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects
In 1999, the UN General Assembly agreed to convene the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (A/RES/54/54 V). The goal of the Conference was to examine how the international community can collectively address the illicit small arms trade. Three preparatory committee meetings were held in February 2000, January 2001, and March 2001, and the actual Conference was held from 9-20 July 2001 in New York.

In the end, the Program of Action was agreed to by consensus and did move the debate on small arms proliferation forward in several significant areas. It contains repeated references to the humanitarian impact of small arms violence, a relatively new development that will help enlarge the group of government agencies and NGOs involved in the issue. It calls on states to assess small arms exports based on their "responsibilities under international law," a critical phrase for NGOs trying to get states to integrate human rights and humanitarian law into their export decisions. It also recognizes the importance of demobilization, disarmament, and reintegration of ex-combatants; the need for international rules on the activities of arms brokers; and the responsibility of governments for keeping close watch over their weapons stockpiles and international borders.  Finally, conferees agreed to hold a review conference in 2006, plus biennial meetings along the way. These meetings will allow NGOs and governments to keep the momentum moving on the small arms issue and to revisit the Program of Action formally in a short time frame. 

• Second Biennial Meeting of States to Consider the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, New York, 11-15 July 2005.

• FAS in the News

  • Thalif Deen, "Disarmament: U.S. a Key Supplier of Surplus Weapons, Says Report," Inter Press Service, 16 July 2001.

  • Richard Norton-Taylor, "Britain leads with cash to curb illegal weapons," The Guardian, 12 July 2001.

  • Ian Bruce, "Curbs on illegal sales of arms blocked," The Herald (Glasgow), 11 July 2001, p. 11.

  • Howard LaFranchi, "Small wars, small arms, big graft.  This week UN meets to staunch global flow of illegal weapons.  Traffickers profit increasingly in small conflicts," Christian Science Monitor, 10 July 2001, p. 1.

  • Mei-Ling Hopgood, "U.S. says: Let world Bear arms.  Bush won't Ok measures to ban guns," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 10 July 2001, p. A1.

  • Mei-Ling Hopgood, "U.S. Rejects Arms Plan that Limits Gun Trade, Owner's Rights" Cox News Service, 9 July 2001.

Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations/Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
The Economic and Social Council was established by the Charter as the principal organ, under the authority of the General Assembly, to promote: (a) higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social progress and development; (b) solutions of international economic, social, health, and related problems; and international cultural and educational cooperation; and (c) universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion. ECOSOC has been working on a draft protocol on illicit firearms trafficking to be attached to the Convention on Transnational Crime.  The Convention was finished in the fall of 2000 and the GA adopted the Firearms Protocol on 31 May 2001.

• Protocol against the Illicit manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, 8 June 2001

• Measures to regulate firearms for the purpose of combating illicit trafficking in firearms,            28 July 1998

European Union (EU)
The 15 member European Union (EU) is engaged in customs and police cooperation under the rubric of Justice and Home-Affairs, with. a focus on curbing the drug trade and trafficking in humans. Until recently there were few references to illicit arms transfers (Article 223 of the European Community's Treaty of Rome denotes the sovereignty of states over legitimate defense activities.) A clause in the EU's June 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam, however, alluded to the need to expand the EU's mandate to address illicit arms.                                                                                                                                           In June 1997 the EU passed the Dutch inspired EU Program for Preventing and Combating Illicit Trafficking in Conventional Arms (EU Resolution EU/9057/97 DG E/CPSP IV). 

• U.S.-EU Statement of Principles on Small Arms and Light Weapons, December 1999
• Joint Action on Small Arms, 16 December 1999
• EU Code of Conduct for Arms Exports, 8 June 1998

Organization of American States (OAS)
On April 30 1948, 21 countries of the hemisphere met in Bogotá, Colombia, to adopt the Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS), which affirmed their commitment to common goals and respect for each nation’s sovereignty. Since then, the OAS has expanded to include the nations of the Caribbean, as well as Canada. 

• The Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and Other Related Materials,  November 1997

• Small Arms, Terrorism and the OAS Firearms Convention FAS Occasional Paper No. 1, March 2004

• The OAS Firearms Convention: Curbing Illicit Arms Flows for a More Secure Future ASMP Issue Brief, January 2004

• Inter-American Convention on Transparency in Conventional Weapons Acquisitions, July 1999

• Model Regulations for the Control of the International Movement of Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition

• Report of the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States on the Diversion of Nicaraguan Arms to the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia, 6 January 2003

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
The OECD is the international organization of the industrialized, market-economy countries. At OECD headquarters in Paris, representatives from member countries meet regularly to exchange information and harmonize policy with a view to maximizing economic growth within member countries and assisting non-member countries to develop more rapidly. In the ministerial council meeting of 26-27 May 1997, there was a formal acknowledgment of illicit light arms sales, outlined in the DAC Guidelines on Conflict, Peace, and Development Co-operation.  

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is a regional security organization whose 55 participating States are from Europe, Central Asia and North America. The OSCE has been established as a primary instrument for early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation under Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations.                               The OSCE approach to security is comprehensive and co-operative. It addresses a wide range of security-related issues including arms control, preventive diplomacy, confidence- and security-building measures, human rights, election monitoring and economic and environmental security.

• OSCE Handbook of Best Practices on Small Arms and Light Weapons, December 2003
  
• OSCE Handbook, U.S. State Department Press Statement, 1 December 2003
  
• OSCE Document on Stockpiles of Conventional Ammunition, 1 December 2003
  
• OSCE Document on Stockpiles of Conventional Ammunition, State Department Press Statment, 1 December 2003
  
• OSCE Document on Small Arms and Light Weapons, November 2000
  
• CHAIRMAN’S REPORT: Seminar on Small Arms and Light Weapons, Vienna 3-5 April 2000 

1. WORKING SESSION I: Seminar on Small Arms and Light Weapons
2. WORKING SESSION II: Seminar on Small Arms and Light Weapons

• OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation: Small Arms Statement, 16 November 1999

United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR)
UNIDIR, based in Geneva, operates as an autonomous institution, working within the framework of the U.N. It was established by the General Assembly for the purpose of undertaking independent research on disarmament and related problems, particularly issues of international security issues, and it works in close relationship with the New York-based Center for Disarmament Affairs.

• Current Projects
• Recent and Forthcoming Research Reports
• Removing military weapons from civilian hands, Christophe Carle and Patricia Lewis 
  August 2000
• Coordinating Small Arms Control

The Wassenaar Arrangement
The Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls and Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies, headquartered in Paris, was established in Vienna in July 1996. Thirty-three states, including most of the major arms suppliers, are members. Its purpose is to contribute to regional and international security by:

1) promoting transparency in arms transfers among participating states;
2) ensuring that transfers of relevant items do not contribute to excessive and destabilizing accumulations of arms;
3) complementing existing control regimes for weapons of mass destruction;
4) reducing the need for states to acquire advanced weapons or technologies.

• List of Dual Use Goods and Technologies, and Munitions List
• Best Practices for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons

World Customs Organization
The World Customs Organization was founded in 1952 to study all questions relating to cooperation in customs matters in international trade. WCO examines all technical aspects of customs operations, with a view to attaining the highest possible degree of uniformity. Activities include: preparation of conventions and recommendations; ensuring uniform interpretation and application of customs conventions (on valuation, tariff and statistical nomenclature, and customs procedures); and conciliatory action in case of dispute; circulation of information and advice regarding customs regulations and procedures; co-operation with other international organizations.