small arms survey 2008: risk and resilience

Small Arms and Light Weapons Proliferation and Misuse: The Issues

European Parliament, Brussels, 29 May 2012

Keith Krause, Small Arms Survey

Why are we having this discussion?

Small arms and light weapons defined

Small arms: handguns, rifles and carbines, sub-machine guns, assault rifles, light machine guns

Light weapons: heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns, AT/AA missile and rocket launchers, light mortars

Source: UN Panel of Governmental Experts, 1997 (A/52/298)

Trade and production

Authorized trade is greater than $8 billion per yearMore than 1,130 companies in 98 countries have been involved

in some aspect of production

Exports: more than 40 countries have conducted authorized trade in small arms and light weapons of more than 10 million USD in a single year

Global stocks and distribution

875 million weapons held worldwideMore than two-thirds are in civilian hands

About one-quarter with the armed forces

Relatively few with the police

…and less than one per cent with armed groups

Illicit trade: black markets, black holes

Brokering: actors, routes and loopholes

Stockpile diversion: the big picture

• Many pathways

• Fuels crime, insurgency and terrorism

• Mostly stems from negligence

Stockpile diversion

• Countries more likely to export than destroy surplus

• Surplus ammunitionkey in illicit trade

• Low cost to improve accounting, physical security, monitoring, and destruction

• 76 million surplus military small arms

Small arms proliferation:recirculation of weapons holdings

•• From poorly From poorly planned DDR planned DDR initiativesinitiatives

•• From From neighboringneighboringcountries armed countries armed forcesforces

•• From From peacekeeperspeacekeepers

•• From armed From armed groupsgroups

Global instruments

• UN Programme of Action (2001)

• UN Firearms Protocol (2001)

• International Tracing Instrument (2005)

• UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials (1990)

• Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development (2006)

• Arms Trade Treaty (2012?)

Regional regulation

• OAS Firearms Convention/Model Regulations

• European Union initiatives (code of conduct)

• ECOWAS Moratorium/Convention

• OSCE Document/other instruments

• SADC and Nairobi Protocols

• Wassenaar Arrangement

• Pacific Islands Forum model legislation

Measures and responses

• Global, regional and national regulation: export/import transparency, customs control, marking and tracing, brokering controls, transfer controls, codes of conduct, etc;

• Practical small arms controls: stockpile management, national legislation, surplus destruction, weapons collection, ammunitionregulation, etc;

• Transparency, implementation assessment and information sharing: state-to-state cooperation and national commissions, etc;

• Evidence-based policy and programming: mapping and monitoring, diagnostics and baseline data-generation

The UN Programme of Action: A “wish list”

• Establish a mechanism for assessing progress in implementation

• Formalize the process of providing international cooperation and assistance

• Propose negotiations on such issues as brokering and harmonized end-user certification

• Strengthen the International Tracing Instrument• Ensure a robust process with periodic Review

Conferences, and a practically-oriented agenda for Biannual meetings of states

www.smallarmssurvey.org