Global Policy Forum

Presidential Statement on Small Arms (September 4, 2001)

Security Council Open Debate on the SALW conference (UN Press Release August 2, 2001)

Final Report of the Monitoring Mechanism on Angola Sanctions (December 21, 2000)

"Fowler Report" on Angola (March 10, 2000)

Final Report of the UN Panel of Experts on Violations of Security Council Sanctions Against Unita.
UN Document S/2000/203 (2000)

Security Council Meeting on Small Arms (September 24, 1999)

UN Document S/PV.4048 (1999)

Security Council Resolution on Illicit Arms Flow to and from Africa (November 1998)

UN Document S/RES/1209 (1998). In this resolution, the Council recognizes the close relationship of the problem of illicit arms flows to and in Africa with international peace and security and the commercial and political motives in the illicit transfer and accumulation of small arms in Africa. The resolution also points out the "challenge of illicit arms flows to and in Africa" as affecting social and economic development.

General Assembly Committee on Disarmament and International Security Resolution (October 12, 2006)

At a meeting of the UN General Assembly Committee on Disarmament and International Security, 139 nations, including major arms producers with the exception of the US, agreed to begin work towards a binding instrument on arms trade. The Committee's resolution aims to improve the respect of arms embargoes and reduce conflicts by establishing a treaty which includes "common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms." The resolution requests a report from the UN Secretary General in a year time on the feasibility and scope of common international standards for conventional arms trade.

Revised Draft Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition and Other Related Materials (February 2, 2000)

UN Document A/AC.254/4/Add.2/Rev.4

Resolution 54/54V (December 15, 1999)

The UN General Assembly resolution which called for convening a conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in 2001.

Rocard-Konare Report (December 5, 2000)

Report by the Eminent Persons Group on "The Role of Small Arms Control Regime in Stemming Small Arms and Light Weapons Proliferation".

Expert Report on Small Arms (August 19, 1999)

UN Document A/54/258

Report of the Secretary General on Small Arms (April 17, 2008)

Security Council members fail to reduce small arms flows, says Ban Ki-moon. Despite UN arms embargos, small arms remain widely available in countries like Somalia and Sudan. Ban urges member states to share data on the sale and flow of these weapons, and recommends that the Security Council incorporate embargo-monitoring units to peacekeeping missions and create an international mechanism to trace arms transactions.

Report of the Secretary General on Assistance to States for Combating Small Arms Trade (July 25, 2005)

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan praises regional and sub-regional action on curbing illegal trading of small arms and light weapons, noting special efforts by African countries to hold conferences on the matter and to ask for assistance from UN agencies. The report is a follow-up on previous General Assembly resolutions asking states to assist with small arms control and setting up an Open-ended Working Group on tracing illegal weapons sales. Annan expresses hope in the report that progress within regions will spur "further action at the global level."

Reports of the Secretary General on Small Arms (February 7, 2005)

This report reflects on the Security Council's involvement in tackling "illicit trade in small arms." UN Secretary General Kofi Annan acknowledges that some progress has been made in areas such as "the adoption of more vigorous measures against violations of arms embargos." Nevertheless, he notes that the Council needs to interact more with the General Assembly and work further towards "the reintegration of former combatants into their communities."

Reports of The Secretary General on Small Arms (September, 2000)

Report of the UN Secretary General on Illicit Traffic in Small Arms (August 25, 2000)

UN Document A/55/323

Report of the UN Secretary General on Small Arms (July 28, 2000)

With replies from Brazil, China, Colombia, Jordan and Ukraine. UN Document A/55/189

Report of the UN Secretary General on Illicit Traffic in Small Arms (October 22, 1999)

UN Document A/54/404

Report of the UN Secretary General on Small Arms (July 7, 1998)

UN Document A/53/169

Picture Credit: UNICEF

Time for an Arms Trade Treaty (November 11, 2009)

How Human Rights Rules in an Arms Trade Treaty Can Help Deliver Real Security (October 2009)

Dying for Action (October 7, 2009)

Small Arms Survey 2009: Shadows of War

Blood at the Crossroads – Making the Case for A Global Arms Trade Treaty (September 17, 2008)

This Amnesty International report outlines examples of human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law in different countries resulting from the illicit arms trade. The General Assembly adopted resolution 61/89 in 2006, which calls for common international standards on importing, exporting and transferring conventional arms. China, Russia, India, the US and many other weapon exporters and recipients, try to undermine the creation of such a treaty.

Africa's Missing Billions: International Arms Flows and the Cost of Conflict (October 2007)

This report shows how the illegal arms trade can disable development in African countries. The report estimates around US$300 billions have been spent since 1990, during African civil wars, money that could have been used to solve problems of HIV, education, water and diseases. The authors believe that Africa needs an effective Arms Trade Treaty a step to resolve this crisis. (IANSA, Oxfam and Safeworld)

United Nations Arms Embargoes: Their Impact on Arms Flows and Target Behavior (September 2007)

This report states that the P5 (US, France, Russia, China, UK) were responsible for violating several UN arms embargoes between 1990 and 2006. The report argues that the P5 undermined efforts to impose arms embargoes around the world by allowing their own arms industries to smuggle weapons into countries like Sierra Leone, Rwanda and Liberia. The authors recommend that the Security Council hold the P5 accountable for undermining the Council's mandates and establish review panels that will regularly asses the success of UN embargoes. (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute)

Arms without Borders (September 2006)

This report released by Amnesty International, Oxfam and International Action Network on Small Arms urges governments from countries producing arms to adopt new international standards and regulations for an effective control of global arms trade. With weapons commonly assembled from components originated from across the world, no single company is responsible for the production of each weapon. This necessitates international cooperation to effectively ensure that global trade of small arms does not supply embargoed destinations including Sudan and Uganda.

Shooting Down the MDGs (October 8, 2008)

This report states that irresponsible arms trade hinders developing countries from achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Arms trade drains the governments' national budget by utilizing the money for weapons instead of for public services, such as health, education and infrastructure. Furthermore, unregulated arms trade often leads to huge national debts and fuels armed violence. This report calls for all governments to agree on an international Arms Trade Treaty to ensure that the arms trade does not undermine Millennium Development Goals.(Oxfam)

Banking on Bloodshed: UK High Street Banks' Complicity in the Arms Trade (October 2008)

In 2006, global expenditure on weapons amounted to US$1,158 billion, whereas countries only gave US$104 billion in development aid. The US accounts for 46 percent of global military spending, with US$528,7 billion in 2006, and the P5 – the US, China, France, the UK and Russia – account for 90 percent of the world's arms exports. War on Want gives an overview of how UK banks invest in arms companies, and thereby contribute to civilian suffering in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan.

Arms Transfers to Sudan, 2004-2006 (September 25, 2008)

This report by Human Rights First gives an overview of the arms transfers to Sudan from 2004-2006. China, Russia, Spain, Turkey and other countries violated the 2004 Security Council arms embargo that requires all governments to prevent the sale or supply of weapons to Sudan. The US, the UK, France and Sweden also possibly violate the embargo because they did not take all possible measures to prevent the transfer of arms by third countries to Sudan.

Violence in Karamoja: Armed Violence and the Failure of Disarmament in Uganda's Most Deprived Region (June 2008)

This Small Arms Survey report warns of the high levels of small arms violence in eastern Uganda, which has impaired communities' socio-economic development. The report claims the Ugandan government provides inadequate security, forcing communities to use small arms as the main means of protection. The author argues that violence will only end when the government changes its strategy from forced disarmament to effective policing and economic development.

Security Council Report Update: Small Arms (April 18, 2008)

The US blocks proposed UN Security Council action on small arms and light weapons control, according to Security Council Report. The US remains one of the largest exporters of these weapons, and the small arms industry is worth an estimated US$5 billion globally per year. The report shows that small arms and light weapons account for over half a million deaths a year, primarily in Africa.

Development and Security in Exchange for Small Arms (November 28, 2007)

Keith Krause, director of the Small Arms Survey, said that international cooperation and security strategies to diminish small arms circulation have been improving. However the greatest difficulty results from civilians, fearful of violence, who hold the majority of small weapons around the world. Krause criticizes government initiatives, and affirms that only development programs to increase security and stability will lead people to hand over their weapons. (Inter Press Service)

Global Military Spending Set to Top Cold War High as Conflict Causes Record Hunger (September 22, 2006)

Global military spending will break Cold War records by the end of 2006, reaching US$1,059 billion, warns Oxfam. While the world spends more on weapons, military conflict has become a leading cause of hunger, triggering a growing number of food crises. Ongoing conflicts in Africa, Afghanistan and Gaza hamper relief efforts, leaving people without enough food. Aid money would better serve peaceful development rather than "dealing with the humanitarian fall-out of wars," says Oxfam's campaign director.

Global Military Spending Set to Top Cold War High as Conflict Causes Record Hunger (September 22, 2006)

Global military spending will break Cold War records by the end of 2006, reaching US$1,059 billion, warns Oxfam. While the world spends more on weapons, military conflict has become a leading cause of hunger, triggering a growing number of food crises. Ongoing conflicts in Africa, Afghanistan and Gaza hamper relief efforts, leaving people without enough food. Aid money would better serve peaceful development rather than "dealing with the humanitarian fall-out of wars," says Oxfam's campaign director.

Arms without Borders (September 2006)

Small Arms: The Real Weapons of Mass Destruction (May 2006)

This Integrated Regional Information Networks report argues that, because small arms are easily available and simple to use, they have a disproportionate impact, killing "far more than any other conventional weapons." Yet the global trade of small arms and light weapons is largely unregulated, allowing widespread access to these weapons and large profit for arms producers. This piece condemns arms exporting countries, mainly wealthy nations, for their lack of controls and regulations, which allows guns to easily be diverted into the black market and circumvent embargoes.

Fuelling Africa's Turmoil (May 27, 2006)

This Toronto Star article explains how the trade in small arms has resulted in young gunmen being willing to cross borders to fight in Africa's many conflicts as "hired guns." As guns become "part of the culture" in Africa, demand for small arms is fast catching up with supply. The article stresses that without investment to create jobs, many young men will take advantage of the booming trade in small arms to become career fighters, leaving countries recovering from war more susceptible to slipping back into conflict.

Dead on Time - Arms Transportation, Brokering and the Threat to Human Rights (May 10, 2006)

UN Arms Embargoes: An Overview of the Last Ten Years (March 16, 2006)

The Call for Tough Arms Controls - Voices from Haiti (January 2006)

Irresponsible arms exports still fuel atrocities in Haiti. Armed groups in poor areas – some loyal to former President Aristide, some loyal to rival political factions, and some criminal gangs – battle against the Haitian National Police (HNP) and UN peacekeepers, and against each other. This Control Arms Campaign report records the voices of some of the Haitian people who bear the cost of the world's continuing failure to control the arms trade and asks responsible arms exporters and arms-affected states to begin negotiations on an Arms Trade Treaty.

The Call for Tough Arms Controls: Voices from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (January 2006)

UN "Deal" on Arms Controls Means Business as Usual for the World's Worst Arms Dealers (July 14, 2005)

A UN agreement on tracking small arms will do little to stop sales to human rights abusers because of loopholes and the absence of a legally binding system, warn Amnesty, Oxfam and the International Action Network on Small Arms. Due in part to resistance from the United States, Iran and Egypt, the agreement does not track ammunition, shells and explosives, and it allows states to keep information classified on the grounds of "national security." Such loopholes render the agreement almost "voluntary."

Democratic Republic of Congo: Arming the East (July 5, 2005)

G8 Countries Defying Arms Embargoes, Says Report (June 22, 2005)

Small Arms: The Weapons of Mass Destruction in Today's Conflicts (June 8, 2005)

Ambassador Pasi Patokallio of Finland, Chair of the 2005 UN Biennial Meeting of States, highlights the devastating death toll caused by small arms and light weapons in civil wars in the developing world. The "widespread misuse and proliferation of small arms" perpetuates conflicts and threatens "the realization of human rights" – yet illegal arms trade continues to grow. Patokallio urges the UN to increase "public and governmental awareness of the small arms problem" and notes the need for an international treaty governing the "marking and tracing of illicit arms." (SmallArmsNet.org)

The World is Winning the Landmine War (December 6, 2009)

Cluster Bombs Trade Funded by World's Biggest Banks (October 29, 2009)

UN Big Powers World's Top Military Spenders (June 11, 2009)

Fuelling Conflict: Foreign Arms Supplies to Israel/Gaza (February 2009)

A Recipe for Survival (February 16, 2009)

United States Re-emerges as Leading Arms Supplier to the Developing World (December 30, 2008)

A report by the Congressional Research Service shows that in 2007 the US was the world's leading arms supplier with US $24.8 billion (41.5 percent) of all global arms agreements. With Russia and the UK ranking as the second and third largest suppliers these members of the P5 make up for 75.2 percent of the global arms flow to developing countries. (Truthout)

Cluster Bomb Treaty and the World's Unfinished Business (December 13, 2008)

The US, Russia, China, Pakistan, Israel and India do not want to sign a treaty that bans the production and use of cluster bombs because these countries are actively trading and using the weapon. Without these countries signing the cluster bomb treaty, the effort to diminish victims of exploding munitions – of whom 98 percent are civilians – will remain largely symbolic. (Common Dreams)

Laos Reaps Deadly Harvest (December 10, 2008)

During the "secret war" between 1964 and 1973, the US attacked Laos, leaving 80 million unexploded cluster bombs in the country. Every day, the weapons kill poor citizens who try to make a living by collecting metal parts and selling them. Laos has only cleaned up 400,000 cluster munitions and is unlikely to meet the goals of the cluster bomb treaty, which demands that member states remove all cluster bomb remnants before 2010. (Mail & Guardian)

Momentum for Signing of Ban Treaty Grows (November 14, 2008)

The US, Russia, China, Israel, and other major weapon traders are pushing for a new protocol to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), which would allow for the use of all cluster munitions for up to 20 years. Countries like Belgium, Ireland and New Zealand oppose the CCW, and instead support the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which seeks to ban these weapons. The Convention opens for signature in Oslo on December 3, 2008 and will enter into force 6 months after 30 countries have signed it. (Human Rights Watch)

UN Charter 26 and Disarmament (November 17, 2008)

Article 26 of the UN Charter gives the Security Council the task of formulating plans to establish a system that regulates armaments. Political Affairs Magazine argues that the Council has failed to create legally binding armament regulations and instead pushed off this task to the General Assembly. Moreover, since the permanent members of the Council are the world's main weapon exporters, the lack of binding arms agreements benefits them.

An Arms Trade Treaty: In Our Sights Or In Our Dreams? (November 2008)

On October 31, 2008, countries voted to create an Arms Trade Treaty, establishing common legally binding standards that govern states' decisions to sell arms. However, the practical realization of such a treaty will encounter difficulties since China, Egypt, the US, Russia and other countries oppose an agreement that hampers their arms trade. In addition, it will be difficult to establish a body that independently assesses country's treaty infringements and punishes violators, because not all states will accept this. (International Relations and Security Network)

UN Register Captures Expanded Small Arms Trade (October 2008)

In 2006, the UN opened a register for data on countries' trade in small arms and light weapons. Although the number of countries filing voluntary reports increased, the US - recipient of 75 percent of exported small arms- did not submit any information to the register. Other large importers of weapons are Mexico, Russia and South Africa, which all imported more than 10, 00 weapons.(Arms Control Association)

International Arms Trade Treaty: Gun Control (October 2008)

The number of civilian casualties during wars has grown from five percent at the start of the century to approximately ninety percent during the 1990's. Several countries including Argentina, Japan and Mexico, introduced a General Assembly Resolution in 2006, to establish a treaty with common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms. This Chatham House article argues that such a treaty will be difficult to enforce since it is not clear who will impose sanctions on treaty violators and what these sanctions will consist of.

Human Rights Watch Observations on the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) Draft Protocol on Cluster Munitions (September 2008)

Human Rights Watch argues that the draft protocol to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) only seeks to regulate the use of cluster munitions instead of banning them. The protocol also does not apply to all cluster weapons, which allows countries to use of certain types of munitions without limit. Moreover, because the protocol does not prohibit the use of cluster munitions on agricultural lands and farms, unexploded weapons threaten civilians.

Binding Treaty Eludes Small Arms Trade (August 8, 2008)

US Position Complicates Global Efforts to Curb Illicit Arms (July 19, 2008)

Since 2001, UN member states have implemented various programs to halt the illegal trade of small arms around the world. These programs encourage governments to tighten controls on manufacturing, marking, tracing and exporting small arms, and to restrict illicit flows into regionsin conflict. The US, though, resists these programs and continues to abstain from any formal commitment. This complicates effective global disarmament since the US arms industry is currently the largest in the world. (New York Times)

‘Craft Guns' Fuel West Africa Crime Epidemic (July 8, 2008)

Despite the UN restriction on international arms trade in West Africa, the number of illegal weapons circulating in the region has soared. Locally made "craft guns" are replacing the unattainable industrial weapons, fueling the trade of small arms and increasing crime rates in Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone. This Independent article urges the region's governments to implement programs to change the gun culture in the region, and provide incentives for gun manufacturers to seek alternative work.

Banning Cluster Bombs: Light in the Darkness of Conflicts (June 5, 2008)

According to this Newropeans Magazine article, 111 countries attended a Cluster Munitions conference in Dublin on May 30, 2008. Unexploded cluster bombs continue to kill many civilian victims, long after the conflict has ended. Australia and Iceland as well as other participating countries, plan to officially meet and sign a treaty in December 2008 to end the use of these munitions. Unfortunately, the US, Russia, China, Israel, India and Pakistan, all major producers and users of cluster munitions, deliberately did not attend the Dublin conference and are ambivalent towards banning the trade and use of these deadly weapons.

UN Fully Exempts Congo Government from Arms Ban (March 31, 2008)

France has drafted a resolution at the Security Council exempting the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo from a UN arms embargo. Previously, the embargo prevented the government from purchasing arms for military units that had not been through a national integration program. Amnesty International criticized the exemption as premature, noting that the army and police use arms and munitions "to commit daily abuses against civilians, including widespread killings and rapes." (Reuters)

Cluster Munitions at a Glance (February 2008)

UN Arms Embargoes Can Be Potent Symbol – Study (November 26, 2007)

Arms Continue to Flow into Darfur, Security Council Expert Panel Finds (October 10, 2007)

The UN Security Council sent experts to analyze the arm embargo in Darfur. The mission ended in August 2007. The Expert Panel report indicates that the Sudanese government and rebel groups do not respect the UN arms embargo, and continue to traffic weapons through Chad and Eritrea's borders. Constant hostilities among the parties, the Sudanese government and rebel groups, lessen the possibility of peace. Because these groups violated international humanitarian and human rights law, the experts recommend a stronger UN presence in the whole of Sudan. (UN News)

UN Security Council Will Not Impose Strict Restrictions on Arms Deals (October 6, 2007)

Amnesty International urged the UN Security Council to impose an arms embargo on Myanmar. Ironically "all the permanent nation members within the UN Security Council are profiting lucratively from the sales and transfer of weapons to other countries." If the Council takes any action on this issue of arms, which seems unlikely, it will act against its own arm trading. International organizations like the International Peace Research Institute, consider the US and Russia as the ‘biggest global arms dealers.' (Readings From A Political Duo-ble)

UN Initiates Arms Trade Agreement (October 27, 2006)

Bullets in the Congo: New Research (October 16, 2006)

The Role of Small Arms in African Civil Wars (September 21, 2006)

Of the 640 million small arms circulating in the world, estimates state that 100 million circulate in Africa. Despite the efforts by some African governments to deal with the menace caused by small arms, arms brokers and governments undermine these efforts by providing small arms to "non-state actors" often to gain control over an area with valuable mineral resources. The author of this Pambazuka article calls on the United Nations to challenge and to pressure weapons manufacturers to slow production in the hope of protecting children from small arms.

WMDs in Slow Motion (July 11, 2006)

A Shot in the Dark (June 27, 2006)

Can UN Stem Flow of Small Arms? (June 15, 2006)

Arms Dealer Bust Embargoes With Impunity (June 11, 2006)

Global Arms Trade: Africa and the Curse of the AK-47 (April 6, 2006)

One Death Every Minute (January 25, 2006)

International Gun Trade Targeted at UN (January 11, 2006)

In the wake of the June 2006 UN Summit on small arms control, human rights groups demand that governments agree on a treaty that would ban the illegal trade of guns. Oxfam International believes that in the absence of a legally binding treaty, the existing arms controls are powerless to protect innocent civilians from violence. The G8 countries, who account for more than 80 percent of the global supply of arms, sell guns to regimes with a history of human rights violations or to countries where weapons will go to war criminals, such as in Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sierra Leone. (OneWorld)