General Assembly 1: Disarmament and International Security. Prevention of illegal trafficking of weapons in combat zones. Nil Cebeci & Ece Karagül

Transcription

1 General Assembly 1: Disarmament and International Security Prevention of illegal trafficking of weapons in combat zones Nil Cebeci & Ece Karagül Alman Lisesi Model United Nations 2018

2 Introduction The illegal arms trade is a significant factor in the ongoing conflicts as the illegal trade in arms increases the violence even more. Multiple actions have been taken by the international community to stop the illicit arms trade. However, we are yet to see any improvements. The United Nations Office for Disarmament claims the problem as a worldwide scourge. The illicit trade of weapons is a threat to already at-risk security of the people in the combat zones. Illicit arms trafficking fuels civil wars contributes to sky-rocketing crime rates and feeds the arsenals of the world's worst terrorists. Particularly troubling the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons (SA/LW). Participants of the conflict would obtain weapons mostly through black markets. Therefore, most of the illicit weapon trade takes place in South East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America. There are several motivations to get involved in illicit arms trade which one of them being money. The illicit gun trafficking value is estimated to be over 1 billion USD. Since weapons can be a great source of money, illegal trade continues to exist until this very day. On 27 August 2012, in New York, Ban Ki-Moon, the former United Nations Secretary-General, stated, Illicit small arms remain the weapons of choice for those who seek to challenge legitimate State power, to spread fear and insecurity, or to pursue criminal goals. Illegal weapon trade has been a severe and constant threat to the international community. To destroy this threat and maintain global peace, the root of illicit arms. The Member States of the UN should recognize this problem and work towards preventing it in cooperation under the frames of the United Nations. Key Vocabulary Illicit arms trade: Illicit arms trade refers to illegal actions in which weapons are trafficked. It is also known as the international weapons blacks market. Illicit arms trade happen all around the world but occur more frequently in areas afflicted by armed conflict, violence, and organized crime, where the demand for illicit weapons is often highest. Stockpiling: A stockpile is a large store or supply accumulated for future use. In this context stockpiling is also used for stocking weaponry that is in excess at the time of the given country's military activity. This leads to unattended weapon piles and eases the process of arms brokering. These Government stockpiles are four prominent sources of illegal small arms in circulation. In this case, these weapons are better destroyed than stored. Black Market: The black market isn t a single person or country, nor is it an organization. The black market is the illegal network of traffickers, terrorists and criminal organizations where the arms are sold. They are of course heavily involved, since a lot of illegal transactions take place via the black market. ALMUN 2018 Study Guide - GA1: Disarmament and International Security 1

3 Small arms: There is no official definition for small arms, but the accepted definition is revolvers and self-loading pistols, rifles and carbines, assault rifles, sub-machine guns and light machine guns. Heavy arms: There is no official definition of heavy arms too. Accepted as Heavy machine guns, hand-held under-barrel and mounted grenade launchers, portable anti-aircraft guns, portable antitank guns, recoilless rifles, portable launchers of anti-tank missile and rocket systems; portable launchers of anti-aircraft missile systems; and mortars of calibres of less than 100 mm. Ammunition: shells and missiles for light weapons; mobile containers with missiles or shells for single-action anti-aircraft and anti-tank systems; anti-personnel and anti-tank hand grenades; and landmines. General Overview of The Issue In the 21st century, technology allowed the production of diverse armaments. Small arms and light weapons (SALW), out of all the weapons used today, are the most widely trafficked weapons.the reason for their popularity is because of their affordable price and minimal weight. Stemming the flow of these weapons is incredibly difficult. Small arms and many light weapons have legitimate military, law enforcement, and sporting and recreational uses unlike weapons of mass destruction. These uses prevent the types of bans on the manufacture, stockpiling and sales imposed especially on landmines and chemical and biological weapons. SA/LWs are easy to conceal, and lethal which are the qualities that make SA/LWs a smuggler's dream and a law enforcement s nightmare. When those weapons are obtained by traffickers, there is no possible way of controlling or estimating the damage it can cause. They can even be transported internationally in a hidden way and can be used in combat zones and cause deaths of civilians. Thousands of small weapons which can kill thousands of people, when acquired by terrorists or other criminals, in government arsenals are vulnerable to theft and loss. Even a couple of $100 assault rifles can inflict horrendous casualties, as evidenced by the November 1997 terrorist attack in Luxor, Egypt, during which six terrorists armed only with assault rifles, pistols and knives systematically slaughtered 58 tourists. Illicit arms trade went undetected for many years. The first time the United Nations recognized the problem was in 2001 when the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects took place in New York, between 9th and 20th of July. During the conference member nations unanimously adopted Program of Action (PoA) to combat and stop Illicit Trade of small arms in all aspects. Adopting the PoA meant that the Member States agreed upon working on strategies and their implementation on limiting this growing problem. ALMUN 2018 Study Guide - GA1: Disarmament and International Security 2

4 Furthermore, Member States also came to a consensus on submitting a report annually on the status of the PoA in their nations. Between 2002 and 2010 out of 192 member nations, 152 submitted yearly reports. However, this count decreased gradually, and by 2013 only 37 nations submitted their report on the PoA. After adopting the PoA, the United Nations General Assembly established a Working Group that formed an official definition for SALW. This definition was formed to facilitate dealing with the problems and scenarios during the illicit trade of small arms. They were also responsible for creating prosecution guidelines for perpetrators convicted under the legal provisions of the PoA. In the report submitted to the UN General Assembly by the Working Group in 2005, they defined SALW as "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." To review the progress made by member nations, the UN called a conference on 8 December 2005 where the United Nations General Assembly adopted A/60/88 International Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace, in a Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons that defined SALW as "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." Simply put, "small" includes weapons designed for individual use, such as rifles. On the other hand, light weapons, which are designed for two or three people serving as crew members, include weapons such as portable antitank guns. The conference terminated without a valid result and further decisions regarding the future steps of PoA; and surprisingly, member states such as China, Cuba, India, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, Russia, and the United States, openly opposed any development in the implementation of the PoA. They discussed the significance and effectiveness of implementing previous programs rather than adopting the new ones. Whereas the European Member States and countries of Latin America, Pacific, and Africa asked for new regulations. They supported the fact that implementing more laws would significantly stop illicit arms trade. Additionally, they agreed on intensifying laws in crucial areas such as control on arms transfers, ammunitions and civilian possession of arms. Arms trafficking takes place through some methods. One of them is stockpiling of weapons Even though the lifespan of small arms and light weapons are long; many states choose to avoid using them again because they are relatively old. That is when they become attractive to arms traffickers because weapons which are unwanted are easier to locate and sell. As pointed out by some UN Panels' reports, weapons originating from existing government stocks, mainly but not exclusively from Eastern European countries, have found their way to African countries under embargo. ALMUN 2018 Study Guide - GA1: Disarmament and International Security 3

5 Many states have poor management of weaponry due to a lack of systematic planning and adequate resources to guarantee safe transport, storage, and disposal of weapons. Therefore by November 2008, the UN General Assembly agreed to mark legal Small arms and ammunition with a specific identity so that they could be easily traced. However, only 53 member states agreed to mark small arms and weapons within their arms production. In 2006, Control Arms presented the UN Secretary-General with a petition signed by 1 million people who supported the provisions and developments under ATT. In October 2006, the UN General Assembly called for a vote to pass a resolution that states the forming of an Arms Trade Treaty. The Resolution was passed, which stated the right of all States to manufacture, import, export, transfer and retain conventional arms for self-defence and security needs, and to participate in peace support operations." The need for a treaty not only for small arms but also for heavy arms has always been debated throughout the world, but effectively, it began when three international organizations, Amnesty International, the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA), and Oxfam came together and started the Control for Arms Campaign. Major Parties Involved: Middle East Currently, Middle East is in a chaotic state. Both extremist groups and civil conflicts are harming the region by destabilizing it. After the fall of Qaddafi in Libya, smugglers appeared and plundered the country s armament stockpiles. After that, Libyan weapons turned up in Egypt. Libya, thus, became a supplier of weapons for the Middle East. Several of these armaments entered Egypt and remained in the hand of jihadists and radicals residing in the Sinai Peninsula, further inflaming the resistance between the central government and the insurgents. However, some arms travelled beyond Egypt, passing the borders. The illicit flows have made an appearance in the Gaza Strip, and that infuriated Israel Also, various countries such as China, Italy, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States supplies Middle Eastern countries with weapons. The main problem is the lack of adequate instability of the recipient countries. Armaments shipped into Jordan by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Saudi Arabia supplied for Syrian rebels were captured by the Jordanian bureaucrats. The seized weapons were sold to weapon brokers on the black markets. Mexico Mexico, a Latin American country hosts the world's most severe drug offences. About 80% of the firearms used in offences were smuggled. The United States of America plays a crucial role in arms trafficking in the region as Mexico shares border with the US. Over 212,000 illegal firearms cross ALMUN 2018 Study Guide - GA1: Disarmament and International Security 4

6 the border each year because of straw purchases. US weapons were used in the battles between the security forces and drug cartels causing the death of 100,000 people since The US and Mexico attempted to combat arms trafficking. However, they failed due to their lack of cooperation. The weapon trafficking in Mexico doesn't only include the trafficking through the US border but it also includes the country. For the past decade, 13,000 guns went missing in Mexico. China China, a great manufacturer of small arms, implements strict regulations to make sure that a slight number of citizens are allowed to possess a weapon. Penalties for illicitly manufacturing, vending, or possessing a gun may result in minimum three years of incarceration, or at worst, a death penalty. China was among the 22 member states that abstained to vote for the Arms Trade Treaty. However, Beijing's position has been altered. China originally was opposed to incorporate SALW and ammunition in the treaty. Therefore, China expressed that the range of the ATT should correspond to the seven major classifications of weapons under the UN registry of Conventional Arms, which omits SALW and ammunition. However, on July 2013 in New York, Beijing did not object to include SALW and ammunition in the treaty. Russia Owning a substantial stockpile of guns from the Cold War and a huge ongoing production of armaments and ammunition, Russia is believed to possess more guns even China and the USA. Criminal organizations have taken significant benefit from deep corruption in political and military sectors, smuggling up to seven hundred and fifty hundred million USD in small arms and ammunition a year. Furthermore, in numerous cases, Moscow offers firearm and ammunition producers huge tax incentives and subsidies. According to last year s annual account from the International Firearms Anti-Trafficking Organization (IFATO), approximately 90% of the guns used in internal conflicts throughout Africa, Eastern Europe, Mexico, and the Middle East stem from Russia and Ukraine. United States The USA is currently the leading exporter of weapons all around the world. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that the arm exporting countries are selling their weapons to criminals. However, it is often believed that these organizations do get their hands on new equipment via the black market. The US government does have an interest in keeping the export, due to the fact that a part of the money earned goes into research and development. Additionally, United States has made regulations including: ALMUN 2018 Study Guide - GA1: Disarmament and International Security 5

7 Reviewing, existing or implementing new laws to control the ownership and use of firearms by individuals, Improving laws on exports; cracking down on suspected gun dealers, Destroying stocks of weapons more than national needs. European Union On 16 December 2005, the European Council has adopted EU Strategy to Combat Illicit Accumulation and Trafficking of SALW and Their Ammunition. This strategy is a combined response to the illegal trafficking of SALW that aids the lawfully binding Arms Trade Treaty. United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs repeatedly promotes the Arms Trade Treaty. On their site, they state the following: The landmark Arms Trade Treaty, regulating the international trade in conventional arms from small arms to battle tanks, combat aircraft and warships entered into force on 24 December The swift entry into force of the ATT would be a clear indication of its signatories willingness and determination to address the poorly regulated international arms trade. The United Nations is committed to supporting the full and effective implementation of the ATT. The Arab League The illicit arms trade is most prevalent in Arab League countries for a fact. Therefore these relevant nations must gather and cooperate to be able to solve this problem. Arab League's 1997 strategy on illicit arms brokering reads as the following: To issue a Model law on weapons, ammunition, explosives and hazardous material, including regulations for their imports, exports, storage, transport, trade, possession, and use. And coordinate customs and border monitoring to prevent their transfer from one State to another State other than, for lawful purposes." African Union Africa is also one of the regions that this issue is prevalent. The AU has demonstrated several strategies on this issue. The overall objective of their strategy is to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit proliferation, circulation, and trafficking of small arms and light weapons in an integrated and holistic manner across all regions of Africa. ALMUN 2018 Study Guide - GA1: Disarmament and International Security 6

8 Delegates should also bear in mind that, some member states such as the USA and Russian Federation are weapons sellers as much as they are opposing the illegal arms trade. Previous Actions Taken Concerning the Issue The UN Programme of Action The UN PoA was adopted by consensus in 2001, in the framework of UN arms control efforts. It constitutes a politically binding set of commitments to develop and implement practical measures at national, regional and global levels for SALW control and for curbing the illicit trade in SALW. PoA signatories have pledged to undertake measures relating to national controls on production and transfers; criminalizing the illegal manufacture, possession, stockpiling and trade of SALW; marking, record- keeping and tracing; stockpile management; surplus disposal; brokering; disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, public awareness programmes and international cooperation and assistance. However, it includes loopholes as some of the important areas of action falls short of taking up some commitments, demonstrated by the legally non-binding character of the UN PoA such as the absence of language on human rights and international human rights violations that result from the excessive accumulation of SALW; the refusal to agree on the concept of restraint in the legal acquisition or export of SALW; and no reference to ammunition. The Firearms Protocol The UN Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, their Parts and Components and Ammunition, supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime was enforced in 2005 and was the first legally binding global action taken on small arms. The Protocol was adopted in the framework of the fight against organized crime. The Firearms Protocol criminalizes the illicit manufacturing and trafficking of firearms and provides a framework for states to control legal arms flow and facilitate cooperation about investigation and prosecution of offences. One of its requirements is for the countries to introduce and enforce domestic regulations and legislation to ensure the legitimate manufacturing and effective control of transfers of firearms. The Arms Trade Treaty The primary goal of the treaty is to regulate international trade in every different type of weapons from conventional arms to small arms. It entered into force in December countries have adopted this treaty and therefore legally bound by its terms. The Arms Trade Treaty includes that ALMUN 2018 Study Guide - GA1: Disarmament and International Security 7

9 the state parties to assess the risks of transferring weapons in combat zones as the availability of arms, subsequently illicit trades disrupts the work of the UN. The UN has established a voluntary trust fund, the UN Trust Facility Supporting Cooperation on Arms Regulation (UNSCAR), to help fund projects by member states to implement the Arms Trade Treaty. Related Documents and UN Resolutions General and Complete Disarmament, 10 January 2002 (A/RES/56/24) Assistance to States for curbing the illicit traffic in small arms and collecting them, 8 January 2003 (A/RES/57/70) Promotion at the regional level in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe of the United Nations programme of action on the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects, 17 December 2003 (A/RES/58/55) Addressing the negative humanitarian and development impact of the illicit manufacture, transfer, and circulation of small arms and light weapons and their excessive accumulation, 6 January 2006 (A/RES/60/68) Towards an Arms Trade Treaty, 6 December 2006 (A/RES/61/89) Promoting development through the reduction and prevention of armed violence, 16 December 2008 (A/RES/63/23)l Points to Consider First of all, delegates must realize the prevalence of this issue and that for some countries arms trade is a source of money. A step that must be taken is the adopting a global treaty that all the Member States would sign and ratify in cooperation. The ATT does not cover SALW. Since in many regions the production of SALWs is through available items, it is quite hard to be able to trace them. In order to reduce the number of illegally produced weapons, a proper tracing system should be implemented. The UN does not have any enforcement capabilities for such treaty to be implemented in a country, so a treaty would require states to prosecute on the UN s behalf. Another aspect of this issue can be resolved by enacting strong export and border controls, safeguarding stockpiles, dismantling trafficking networks, and addressing the root causes of the civil conflicts governments can reduce the supply of, and demand for, these weapons. The main point here is of course to regulate the trade. When trade is regulated, it is easier to make sure that the weapons will not be used for illicit purposes. ALMUN 2018 Study Guide - GA1: Disarmament and International Security 8

10 Bibliography Arms Control Today. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2018, from Small arms and light weapons. (2017, January 09). Retrieved February 27, 2018, from proliferation/conventional_arms/small_arms_and_light_weapons (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2018, from New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. (n.d.). Preventing illegal transfers. Retrieved February 27, 2018, from al-transfers/ ILLICIT SMALL ARMS TRADE IN AFRICA FUELS CONFLICT, CONTRIBUTES TO POVERTY, STALLS DE- VELOPMENT, SAY SPEAKERS ON SECOND DAY OF UN REVIEW CONFERENCE Meetings Coverage and Press Releases. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2018, from Human Cost of Illicit Flow of Small Arms, Light Weapons Stressed in Security Council Debate Meetings Coverage and Press Releases. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2018, from Small Arms: No Single Solution UN Chronicle. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2018, from ALMUN 2018 Study Guide - GA1: Disarmament and International Security 9