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UN Tackles Small Arms Trade - UN Security Council - Global Policy Forum UN Tackles Small Arms Trade
BBC
July 9, 2001A United Nations conference opens in New York on Monday aiming to curb the illegal trade in small arms that are blamed for half a million deaths a year. Campaigners are calling for tougher restrictions on the export and manufacture of light weapons, and some believe the conference must also address the issue of legal guns which then fall into the wrong hands.
But even before the two-week conference began, there were signs that the United States Government, under pressure from the domestic gun lobby, was ready to block any proposals to limit a person's right to bear arms.
More than 500 million small arms and light weapons are in circulation around the world and are considered the weapons of choice in 90% of conflicts. Gun activists and weapons manufacturer will rub shoulders with campaigners seeking tighter control on the flow of weaponry around the world.
Some organisations, like Oxfam International, say that if the conference is going to be successful, it will have to address the legal as well as the illicit trade in small arms. But this is likely to be resisted by countries like the US which say they see no reason to include legitimate exporters of guns.
Freedom
Gun activists are angry at what they see as attempts by the UN to take guns away from their legal owners. "We're going to be there standing for freedom," said Wayne LaPierre, chief executive officer of the National Rifle Association (NRA) in the United States.
"They fully intend, as I see it, to put a global standard ahead of an individual country's freedom," he said. The UN denies these accusations, accepting that small arms are necessary for a country's legitimate right of self-defence.
But the UN says it is also clear that the millions of arms across the world are far in excess of what is needed for national self-defence.
"These arms are doing incredible damage in cities and 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," UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said ahead of the conference.
Illicit Sales
The UN puts the value of the illicit arms trade at $1bn a year. Most small arms and light weapons begin their existence as legal weapons which are subsequently sold illicitly.
To tackle this situation, draft proposals for the meeting include:
Better control of the legal manufacture and possession of weapons
Creation of a standardised marking system to trace arms used illegally
Tighter export controls
Tighter controls over possession and access to small arms by police, armed forces and civilians According to the UN, some 300,000 child soldiers around the world are carrying pistols and machine guns. Many more are used by people living in deprived and dangerous areas where carrying a weapon is a matter of survival.
Countries beset by violence are prime black markets for such weapons. The UN estimates that Afghanistan is home to 10 million light weapons. Seven million small arms are circulating in countries such as Sierra Leone and Angola and another two million are in Central Africa.
UN statistics show that of the 500 million small arms in circulation:
40% - 60% are illicit
They were weapons of choice in 46 of 49 major conflicts since 1990
Of four million war deaths, 90% were civilians, 80% of those were women and children Given the deep differences of opinion over the small arms trade, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has already acknowledged that the impact of the conference will be limited. "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," he said.
Whatever happens, the programme of action due to be adopted will not be legally binding, and it will be left to UN member states to decide what aspects of gun control they wish to adopt.
More Information on Small Arms and Light Weapons
