SKYMUN II Chair Report Report

Transcription

1 SKYMUN II Chair Report Report Committee: Disarmament Committee Issue: Developing the programme of action to prevent, combat, and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons Student Officer: Jenna Han, Assistant President 1. Description of the Issue Illicit trade in small arms and light weapons is happening in all parts of the world and consequently, illicit proliferation and misuse of these weapons are known to be the world s most pressing security threats. It has been identified that illicit weapon trading is worth an estimated $70 billion and according to Arms Control Association, tens of thousands are killed or wounded each year due to conflicts involving weapons that have been smuggled through the illicit trading. Unlike legal trading of weapons, illicit trading poses a persistent threat due to its lack of transparency. During illegal trading of weapons, when weapons are usually traded in black markets, it is highly likely that the people receiving the weapons are not identified, meaning that the small arms and light weapons might end up in wrong hands like terrorist groups that attack innocent civilians. Thus, illicit trade in small arms and light weapons must be prevented and eradicated as soon as possible to stop the weapons from being attained by unauthorized users. Also, even if the weapons do end up in authorized users such as national military, it is easy for the weapons to be grafted into the wrong hands, as it is difficult to trace down where the weapons end up. That is why many unauthorized individuals as well as approximately half of the international terrorist incidents documented in the 2003 [US] Department of State report on global terrorism [were] perpetrated with small arms and light weapons (armscontrol.org). It is now obvious that illicit weapon trading had posed a serious threat in the past and is still continuing to threaten international peace. All countries must realize that none of the countries are exempt from the threat that illicit trade in small arms and light weapons poses. While individual transactions occur on a small scale, the sum of all the weapons adds up to a large number that can bring on significant damages. In addition, despite the fact that the majority of arms trafficking have been conducted by private entities, some governments have Page 1 of 13 l Chair Report

2 been involved in transferring small arms and light weapons to other countries as well, mostly in Africa and the Middle East. Compared to individual transactions, government-driven illicit trading poses more complex problems since it indicates that past UN efforts to eradicate illicit trading lacked competency. In addition, while most illegal weapon trafficking happened mostly at a regional or local level in the past, there has been an increasing number of black market trafficking at a national and even an international level due to recent globalization. This is what led to deaths in wars such as but not limited to: the Syrian Civil War, the Gulf War, the Lebanon War, and more. As can be deduced from these wars, arms trafficking exacerbates violence, causes conflicts, undermines respect for international humanitarian law and fuels crime and terrorism. The issue of developing the programme of action to prevent, combat, and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons was brought into light again recently as Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) started to threaten international peace. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is known to obtain its weaponry through illicit weapon trading. ISIS mostly buys its small arms and light weapons from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria and Eastern Europe. To make things worse, grafts within the Iraqi army and ISIS has proven to be actually happening as Iraqi officers and lawmakers confirmed that the weaponry sent from the United States to the Iraqi army has already ended up on the black market and in the hands of Islamic State fights. The graft is currently hobbling Iraqi s military in fighting ISIS. Therefore it is crucial that members of the UN put their utmost effort to not only stop the illicit trade of weapons to ISIS but also find measures to prevent the graft. While there has been countless efforts by the United Nations as well as other international organizations to prevent, combat, and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, implementation of programmes were uneven as each country implemented the programmes on different levels. For example, there had been UN treaties trying to regulate weapons of mass destruction but they all failed to stop the death of innocent citizens. Also, as previously mentioned, some governments are trading these weapons, hindering the process of not only keeping track of the transfer of these weapons but also implementing the programmes. Page 2 of 13 l Chair Report

3 One specific example of the efforts done to develop the programme of action to prevent, combat, and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons is the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The ATT was directed by the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the president of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias, when he gathered other Nobel Peace Prize laureates such as Elie Wiesel, Bettty Williams and Dalai Lama to establish moral standards for the arms trade to secure international community in The treaty aims to establish international standards for the trade in conventional arms and prevent illegal arms trading. The ATT covers various weapons: battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, large-caliber artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, missiles and missile launchers, small arms and light weapons (BBC) as well as ammunitions. Although not countries are obliged to sign the treaty, countries who signed the treaty and got it ratified by their parliaments are to report back to the UN secretariat about the actions they are taking to regulate their arms export and their actual exports. US was against the idea of the ATT until Barack Obama was elected president. Iran, North Korea and Syria have voted against the ATT. Iran complained that the treaty has many loopholes, North Korea said that the treaty lacks balance and Syria argued that the treaty will be unsuccessful in stopping the weapons from getting into the hands of terrorist groups and non-state actors. Regardless of the disapproval by these three countries, the ATT will come into effect on December 24 th, 2014 as the ATT was adopted in April 2013 by a 154-to-3 vote. 2. Definition of Key Terms Small arms and light weapons (SALW) Any man-portable lethal weapon that expels or launches, is designed to expel or launch, or may be readily converted to expel or launch a shot, bullet or projectile by the action of an explosive (A/60/88). Small arms refer to weapons designed for individual use. They include, inter alia, revolvers and self-loading pistols, rifles and carbines, sub-machine guns, assault rifles and light machine guns. Light weapons refer to weapons designed for use by two or three persons serving as a crew, although some may be carried and used by a single person. They include, inter alia, heavy machine guns, hand-held under-barrel and mounted grenade launchers, portable anti- aircraft guns, portable anti-tank guns, recoilless rifles, portable launchers of anti- Page 3 of 13 l Chair Report

4 tank missile and rocket systems, portable launchers of anti-aircraft missile systems, and mortars of a caliber of less than 100 mm. Point of Contact Person or a department serving as the coordinator or focal point of information concerning an activity of program. In the 6. Suggested Solutions, point of contact means a person or an agency designated to detect illicit trade of weapons. Graft Graft is a form of corruption used to secure illicit advantages or gains in politics. In regards to this topic, graft was used for ISIS to obtain small arms and light weapons from the Iraqi army. Individual Transaction Individual transaction refers to small-scale exchange or interaction between individuals or individual companies. There is no government involved in the transaction. Government-driven Illicit Trading Unlike individual transaction, government-driven illicit trading refers to illegal trading that happens in government-scale. In regards to this topic, ISIS got its weapons from the government of Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Another example of government-driven illicit trading is when is the Syrian government received its weapons from Iran during the Syrian Civil War despite the fact that the UN Security Council added an embargo on arms exports from Iran in March 2007 under UN Resolution Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) Arms Trade Treaty was drafted under the auspices of the UN to regulate international trade in conventional weapons. About 50 states of the UN General Assembly adopted the Treaty on April The origins of the ATT can be traced back to when Nobel Peace Prize laureate and president of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias, gathered other Nobel Peace Prize laureates such as Elie Wiesel, Bettty Williams and Dalai Lama to establish moral standards for the arms trade to secure Page 4 of 13 l Chair Report

5 SKYMUN II 2015 international community in The ATT was first addressed in the UN in December 2006 when the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 61/89 Towards an Arms Trade Treaty: establishing common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms. The object of the ATT is to establish the highest possible common international standards for regulating or improving the regulation of the international trade in conventional arms and prevent and eradicate the illicit trade in conventional arms and prevent their diversion (The Arms Trade Treaty). The ATT itself was adopted in April 2013 as a resolution by a 154-to-3 vote with North Korea, Iran and Syria voting against. There were 23 abstentions from countries such as China and Russia. 3. Timeline of Key Events May 30, Oscar Arias Sanchez In 1997, Dr. Oscar Arias Sanchez, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and the President of Costa Rica met with former Nobel Peace Prize Laureates such as Dalai Lama and Elie Wiesel to start a campaign to draft an International Code of Conduct on Arms Transfers, which would soon become the base for the Arms Trade Treaty. June 7, Inter-American Convention on Transparency in Conventional Weapons Acquisitions 20 Member States in the Americas signed the Inter-American Convention on Transparency in Conventional Weapons Acquisitions, which highlights the importance of transparency in terms of the exports and imports of weapons covered by the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms. This Convention mandates all signatories to annually report on the exports and imports of their weapons. This convention is similar to the Arms Trade Treaty in that it requires reports on the actual import and export of weapons from its signatories. November Drafting of the Arms Trade Treaty The Arms Trade Treaty emerged to be one of the first legally binding international agreements that established criteria in order to control and monitor the transfer of conventional Page 5 of 13 l Chair Report

6 SKYMUN II 2015 weapons. The Treaty was drafted based on a simple principle that arms traders must be responsible not to provide these weapons in a way that could be used to violate international rights. December 1, 2000 Bamako Declaration All Member States of the Organization of African Unity adopted the Bamako Declaration in 1 December This declaration includes the stance of the African Continent in the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. It also notes the problems that the African Continent had to face due to the proliferation of small arms and light weapons. July 20, United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects During this conference, the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Aspects was adopted unanimously by the UN Member States. This Programme of Action is a politically binding international instrument that aims to curb the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons (Small Arms Review Conference). April 21, 2004 Nairobi Protocol for the Prevention, Control, and Reduction of Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa This protocol established legislative norms within the legal systems of the signatory states of Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Uganda, and the United Republic of Tanzania, in order to better address the problem of small arms and light weapons across the whole region (UNODA). This protocol also requires the signatories to register the arms they are possessing to help regulate illegal crossborder trade. December 8, 2005 International Tracing Instrument Page 6 of 13 l Chair Report

7 SKYMUN II 2015 The UN General Assembly adopted International Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace in a Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons. This instrument has effective ways to mark, keep record and trace the diversion of small arms to unintended users. June 14, 2006 Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, their Ammunition and other related materials This ECOWAS Convention tries to slow down the illegal accumulation of ammunition and arms in West Africa. The convention encourages transparency within the region and suggests control mechanisms. June 26, Small Arms Review Conference The United Nations General Assembly decided to invite all nations for this conference where they reviewed progress made in 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. During the conference, the nations discussed about global efforts to promote disarmament and arms control, further international peace and stability (Small Arms Review Conference) as well as reviewing the progress made in the implementation of the Programme of Action by examining commitments not implemented, exploring problems that hampered implementation and identifying recommendations to address them (Small Arms Review Conference). December 18, 2006 UN Resolution 61/89 and the Arms Trade Treaty UK Ambassador John Duncan requited the UN Secretary-General to draft a legally binding instrument to create conventional standards for the trade in small arms. At this time, the Ambassador of Finland supported Duncan when he said, everyday, everywhere, people are affected by the side effects of irresponsible arms transfers...as there is currently no comprehensive internationally binding instrument available to provide an agreed regulator Page 7 of 13 l Chair Report

8 SKYMUN II 2015 framework for this activity, the EU welcomes the growing support, in all parts of the world, for an ATT. April 2, Adoption of Arms Trade Treaty The ATT was adopted by a 154-to-3 vote with 23 abstentions in UN General Assembly of April North Korea, Iran and Syria voted against the ATT. China and Russia are two of the 23 countries that abstained. December 24, Enforcement of the Arms Trade Treaty The Arms Trade Treaty entered into force on 24 December States that have signed and ratified the ATT will have to start fulfilling the requirements of the Arms Trade Treaty. The Arms Trade Treaty will control the international trade in conventional arms from small arms and light weapons to warships. 4. Positions of Key Member Nations and Other Bodies on this Issue Democratic People s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Democratic People s Republic of Korea is well known to use extremely sophisticated methods to obtain weapons through weapon trafficking while circumventing UN sanction. DPRK gets many of its weapons from the Cuban port. Only senior ship personnel, who communicate through secret codes, know the DPRK ship s cargo. DPRK Embassy staffs in Cuba transfer the weapons onto the ship. Payments are made through a network of shadowy companies. Exact methods of the illicit trading are not known. Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is known to attain its weapons through illegal trading with Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria and Eastern Europe. Although these four countries are not all manufacturers of the weaponry, many small arms and light weapons are sent through these four countries. For example, American-made M60 machine guns from Croatia were sent to Syria through Saudi Arabia. In addition, it was made official that some of the weaponry sent from the Page 8 of 13 l Chair Report

9 United States to the Iraqi army had already ended up on the black market and in the hands of Islamic State fights, according to Iraqi officers and lawmakers. United States of America (US) United States of America is strongly opposed to weapon trafficking. However, as the US is a big manufacturer of small arms and light weapons, some of the weapons being produced in the US are sent to the black markets. Therefore, the United States prepared many national policies to prevent trafficking such as improved licensing and oversight of dealers, screening of all firearm purchasers, mandatory reporting of gun thefts, etc. Russia Russia is the largest legal and illegal exporter of firearms in the world...criminal organizations have taken significant advantage of deep corruption in political and military sectors, trafficking upwards of seven hundred and fifty hundred million USD in small arms and ammunition in a year. In addition, not only are most Russian gun exporting laws too vague to be effective, but in many cases the Russian government offers gun and ammunition manufacturers huge tax incentives and subsidies (CAB039/Russia/Status on Weapons Trafficking In Russia and Ukraine). China China has been one of the world s biggest exporters of small arms and light weapons. It has been involved in smuggling these weapons to countries such as the DPRK. China makes weapons under informal franchises and there is no record of where those weapons were sent to. In total, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security has reported that 150,000 illegal guns were made in just a few months. While China has formally accepted treaties and programmes of action dealing with these illicit trading of weapons, there are still numerous illicit trading in weapons happening in China. Syria Page 9 of 13 l Chair Report

10 SKYMUN II 2015 During the Syrian Civil War, it has been predicted that numerous weapons were illegally traded between the Syrian government and the Chinese and the Russian government. It has also been predicted that weapons that had been transferred to Iran and Jordan were smuggled into Syria. To briefly describe the Syrian Civil War, it is a demonstration by the Syrian citizens seeking for democracy for the country and guarantees of freedom. As the conflict between the Syrian citizens and the Syrian government heightened, 700,000 innocent citizens died or got injured. During the war, the Syrian government got many of its small arms and light weapons through illicit trading as previously mentioned. Syria is one of the three countries that voted against the Arms Trade Treaty. African Union In the African Common Position on the Illicit Proliferation, Circulation and Trafficking of SALW, also known as the Bamako Declaration, Member States of the African Union addressed the need to identify, combat and eradicate illicit trade in weapons. The declaration also deals with some possible measures to regulate the circulation and transfer of small arms and light weapons. The African Union has continued its effort to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons since 1999 when it realized that the illicit trade posed a serious threat to the peace, security, democratization, development and human rights across the African Continent. Consequently, the African Union recently started a 3-year project on the Fight Against Illicit Firearms in Africa, which calls for cooperation of relevant institutional and civil society actors as well as among police to control arms transfers. 5. Suggested Solutions Preventing, combatting and eradicating illicit trade in small arms and light weapons requires a global commitment to not only establish the programme of action but also to implement it once it becomes finalized. There are existing programmes of action as well as new ones that can be created to fulfill the mission. First, reinforcing the system of national points of contact and coordination agencies is crucial. There needs to be identification points of contact to liaise between these national Page 10 of 13 l Chair Report

11 agencies as this step is known by many experts to be one of the fundamental pillars of the eradication of illicit trading. This step was already established by the United Nations, unfortunately however, as of May 2005, only 143 out of more than 190 UN member states designated national points of contact and only 79 established national coordination mechanisms. Until all members designate national points of contact and national coordination mechanisms, complete eradication is impossible in such an interconnected world. Each member state should be informed about the potential dangers of unauthorized people obtaining these weapons and come to a realization that no country will be exempt from the danger. Second, manufacturers of small arms and light weapons should be under watch. One suggestion is to have an agency keep record of how many weapons are being produced, where the weapons are being sent to and who is producing the weapons. There needs to be controls and regulations on the import and export of these weapons to ensure that if any manufacturer is suspected of being involved in illicit trading, they go through an inspection. The regulations on the export of these weapons should be done through shipment inspection using technical instruments for thorough and accurate inspection. If countries cannot afford technical instruments or inspectors, the United Nations should deploy some of its inspectors to take on the job. Third, there should be an internationally unified code on all weapons produced. The codes can include serial number, country and region of manufacture, date of manufacture, etc. This is to make the trading process more transparent and easy to trace. Fourth, as the Arms Trade Treaty recently entered into force on 24 December 2014, efforts should be made to enforce the treaty. There can be many ways to make the ATT effective. One could be encouraging more countries to not only sign the treaty but also get the treaty ratified by their governments. Another could be to suggest ways in which the member states could use to report back to the UN secretariat about the actions they are taking to regulate their arms export and their actual exports. Fifth, as Iran, North Korea and Syria did not sign the Arms Trade Treaty, it is crucial for the member states to figure out why the three countries decided to vote against the treaty as they are major exporters of weapons. Member states need to figure out the statistics regarding illicit Page 11 of 13 l Chair Report

12 trade in small arms and light weapons in these three countries. There are many types of statistics that the member states can collect, from the amount of weapons the three countries are exporting annually to whom the three countries are exporting their weapons to. While this is a crucial step to secure world peace, member states must be careful not to infringe on the three countries national sovereignty. Lastly, efforts must be made to improve the International Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace in a Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in While this instrument is authorized by the United Nations, the United Nations Programme of Action Implementation Support System (PoA ISS) stated, international cooperation in marking and tracing of small arms is in its infancy. Now, the focus should be on international cooperation to make the International Tracing Instrument more effective and widely used. 6. Bibliography in MLA Format "Arms Trade Treaty." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 26 Dec < en.wikipedia.org/wiki/arms_trade_treaty>. "China Seizes 10,000 Illegal Guns In Weapons Raid, As Gun Culture Becomes More Popular." International Business Times. Web. 26 Dec < culture-becomes-more-popular >. "Graft Hobbles Iraq s Military in Fighting ISIS." The New York Times. The New York Times, 23 Nov Web. 26 Dec < 2014/11/24/world/ middleeast/graft-hobbles-iraqs-military-in-fighting- isis.html?_r=0>. "Illicit Trafficking." Small Arms Survey -. Web. 26 Dec < weapons-and-markets/transfers/illicit- trafficking.html>. Medina, Joash. "Graft and Corruption." Graft and Corruption. Slideshare, 20 Aug Web. 26 Dec < and-corruption>. "North Korea's Illicit Arms Trade Unmasked." Forbes. Forbes Magazine. Web. 26 Dec < koreas-illicit-arms-tradeunmasked/>. "Point of Contact." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Nov Web. 26 Dec < "Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects." Small Arms REVIEW CONFERENCE Web. 26 Dec < smallarms2006/pdf/poa.pdf>. "Q&A: Global Arms Trade Treaty." BBC News. 2 Apr Web. 26 Dec < Page 12 of 13 l Chair Report

13 "STATUS ON WEAPONS TRAFFICKING IN RUSSIA AND UKRAINE Warmongers Inc." Warmongers Inc. Web. 26 Dec < ukraine/>. "Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) - African Union - Peace and Security Department." African Union,Peace and Security Department. Web. 28 Dec < salw>. "Small Arms and Light Weapons." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Oct Web. 26 Dec < Small_Arms_and_Light_Weapons>. "Small Arms, Large Problem: The International Threat of Small Arms Proliferation and Misuse: Arms Control Association." Small Arms, Large Problem: The International Threat of Small Arms Proliferation and Misuse Arms Control Association. Web. 26 Dec < SmallArmsFeature>. "Small Arms-they Cause 90% of Civilian Casualties." - Global Issues. Web. 26 Dec < civiliancasualties>. "The Arms Trade Treaty - UN Office for Disarmament Affairs." UN News Center. UN. Web. 26 Dec < "The Illicit Trade Of Small Arms - Geopoliticalmonitor.com." Geopoliticalmonitorcom The Illicit Trade Of Small Arms Comments. Web. 26 Dec < arms-4273/>. "UNODA Disarmament Treaties Timeline." UN News Center. UN. Web. 28 Dec < "UNODA - Small Arms and Light Weapons." UN News Center. UN. Web. 26 Dec < "United Nations Small Arms Review Conference 2006." UN News Center. UN. Web. 26 Dec < "Viability of the Arms Trade Treaty: Comparative Legal Analysis Exercise." Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress. Swedish International Develop- Ment Agency, 1 July Web. 24 Dec < documentos/fa pdf>. Page 13 of 13 l Chair Report