Small arms, big killers

2001-07-08 08:44

New York - The United Nations is holding its first international conference on the illegal trade of small arms, used in more than 90 percent of the world's conflicts and the biggest global killer apart from Aids.

But getting the 189 UN member-states to agree on ways to prevent, combat and ultimately eradicate trafficking in pistols, assault rifles, machine guns and other light weapons is going to be tough, diplomats and arms experts say.

As a result, the programme of action to be adopted by consensus at the end of the two-week conference, which starts Monday, is unlikely to include any of the tough measures in the latest draft.

Among the most hotly debated proposals are calls for governments to pass laws to control the legal manufacture, transfer, and possession of small arms; to require manufacturers to mark all weapons so they can be identified and traced; to supply small arms and light weapons only to governments; and to agree to standardised export criteria.

"I think that perhaps the document is not going to be as strong as we would have liked, but it is a step in the right direction," UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Thursday. "It is a recognition by the international community that we need to do something about these weapons."

Proliferation spotlighted

Many diplomats, UN officials, and anti-gun activists agree that at a minimum, the conference will spotlight the proliferation of these cheap, easily transportable weapons.

"When you look at the history of the last 20 years or so, most of the killing in the world, apart from the Aids epidemic, is being done by small arms," Annan said. "These arms are doing incredible damage in cities, in war-torn areas, and I hope we can get the manufacturers and governments to work with us in controlling the flow of these illicit arms."

The United Nations first put the issue on its agenda in the mid-1990s when it became increasingly involved in peacekeeping and post-conflict missions where vast quantities of weapons moved freely among combatants, ex-combatants and civilians.

According to UN estimates, between 40 and 60 percent of the more than 500 million small arms and light weapons in the world are illicit. They were the weapons of choice in 46 of the 49 major conflicts fought during the 1990s - conflicts in which 4 million people died, 90 percent of them civilian, the vast majority women and children.

But arms are also a major money-spinner, an important consideration for many governments.

Second largest illicit business

The legal arms trade is one of the biggest global businesses, conservatively valued at more than $20 billion annually. Arms trafficking is the second largest illicit business after drugs. As for small arms, the legal trade is estimated at $4 billion to $6 billion annually and the illegal trade at about $1 billion, according to the UN Development Programme.

In the debate over curbing the illegal trade, arms experts say some countries want to ensure that their profits are not touched. Some oppose any interference in their right to self-defense, and some want to reserve the right to supply any group with weapons û not just governments.

"The US already has laws that control small arms ownership," said Rachel Stohl, senior analyst at the Centre for Defence Information, a Washington-based non-profit organisation, "but others don't have even basic norms for civilian ownership, licensing, exporting or importing laws, or ways to make sure those weapons do not make it into the wrong hands."

A senior US official said the United States would encourage other nations to adopt the US export control system, particularly guarding against the transfer of weapons to third parties.

"We are not looking to give lessons to the world," the official said on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We are saying the US has one of the most effective control systems in the world."

Representatives from more than 120 countries have signed up to speak at the small arms conference, with Colombia's vice president and the foreign ministers of Belgium, Netherlands, Iran and Ireland on Monday's schedule along with John Bolton, the US undersecretary of state for arms control and international security.

Supporters and opponents of gun control and human rights activists are among the 177 non-governmental organisations taking part, a microcosm of the official debate.

'Standing for freedom'

"We're going to be there standing for freedom," said Wayne LaPierre, chief executive officer of the National Rifle Association. "They fully intend, as I see it, to put a global standard ahead of an individual country's freedom."

Human Rights Watch said its expectations for the conference are low because the scope was limited to illicit weapons.

"Most illicitly traded weapons start out as legally traded weapons," said Joost Hiltermann, executive director of Human Rights Watch's arms division. "If you do not control what happens to legally traded weapons, they slip into the black market. Then, if you decide to take steps against the illicit trade, you're basically trying to cure the disease without preventing the disease from occurring in the first place."

Bangladesh's UN Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury, a member of the UN Security Council, admitted there are problems and stumbling blocks.

"But I believe that this is a major initiative coming out of the UN," he said. "Whatever we get out of this conference - whatever minimum even - would add on to the efforts that are being made globally to contain small arms." - Sapa-AP

- SAPA