The problem

The international Arms Trade is out of control! There is as yet no coordinated mechanism or global criteria to be used in a harmonised fashion and applied equally to all arms exporters and importers.

Irresponsible arms transfers foment violent conflicts, perpetuate poverty and underdevelopment, and contribute to countless violations of human rights and humanitarian law. Every day, thousands of people around the world are tortured, injured, or sent fleeing from their homes by forces armed with deadly weapons. Every minute of every day, someone is killed by armed violence. Further, a person living in the developing world is twice as likely to die from arms violence as a person in the industrialized world.

The violence - whether crime or conflict-related - stemming from the widespread availability of arms increases violence and deters foreign investment and tourism, a key source of income for many developing states. Injuries related to weapons place a heavy burden on a state's health care system. Not only must the affected communities endure a lack of security, but they must also bear the high cost of treating victims and supporting the disabled and their families.

Although important steps have been taken toward regulating the 'illicit' trade in weapons, such efforts are bound for limited success unless they are accompanied by a strict normative framework for controlling the 'licit' trade of arms. As part of a comprehensive approach to enhancing human security, states must work to establish strict national, regional and international arms transfer criteria that are consistent with their existing responsibilities under international law, based on common global principles. The development of such national criteria was mandated in the United Nations (UN) Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects (hereinafter the "PoA"). Various other international, multilateral, and regional processes further the promotion of these global principles. There is still much to do.

Read more...