The ARMS TRADE TREATY and the UN Small Arms Process
This bulletin provides an update of debates and resolutions and is provided by IANSA (International Action Network on Small Arms)
The annual First Committee of the UN General Assembly was held during October, focussing on disarmament and international security. Part of the First Committee was devoted to conventional weapons, including small arms.
Contents:
1. Glossary of terms
2. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) process at the UN
3. UN small arms process
4. Other resolutions adopted at the First Committee
5. IANSA activities at the First Committee
6. UN Firearms Protocol
7. Calendar of important dates
1. Glossary of terms
ATT = Arms Trade Treaty. There is no text yet for this treaty, but a UN process has been underway since 2006.
BMS = Biennial Meeting of States to Consider the Implementation of the PoA
Conventional weapons = Tanks, fighter planes, small arms, ammunition, etc.
First Committee = All UN member states are part of First Committee, which focuses on disarmament and international security. There are 5 other committees, dealing with other specialised aspects of the work of the General Assembly. Resolutions adopted in First Committee are subsequently debated in the plenary of the General Assembly, and are typically adopted as General Assembly resolutions.
GGE = UN Group of Governmental Experts
ITI = International Tracing Instrument (International Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace, in a Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons, 2005)
ODA = UN Office of Disarmament Affairs
OEWG = Open-Ended Working Group
PoA = UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, 2001
RevCon = Conference to Review Progress Made in Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons, 2006
SALW = Small Arms & Light Weapons
UNIDIR = UN Institute for Disarmament Research
2. Arms Trade Treaty process at the United Nations
In the two years since the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) process started at the UN it has developed considerable momentum.
· October 2006: First Committee adopts a resolution to establish a group of G ATT. 139 votes in favour.
· December 2006: General Assembly adopts the resolution with 153 votes in favour.
· 2007: 100 states submit views on an ATT to the UN Secretary-General, a record for disarmament consultations. The majority support the inclusion in the treaty of issues such as human rights and sustainable development
· September 2008: Report of a 27-member Group of Governmental Experts on the feasibility, scope and parameters of a treaty. The report contained no specific conclusions on those matters. Instead, the unanimous report recommended that the UN hold “further consideration of efforts to address the international trade” in conventional weapons.
The ATT resolution adopted at the 2008 First Committee establishes an Open-Ended Working Group, which will meet for a maximum of six sessions, beginning in early 2009. Two one-week sessions have been mandated during 2009 at UN Headquarters in New York between 2–6 March and 13–17 July. A one-day organisational session will be held in New York on 27 February. 145 States voted in favour of the resolution, “Towards an arms trade treaty: establishing common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms”. 18 States abstained and the US and Zimbabwe voted against. Find out how your state voted:
www.iansa.org/un/1com08-results.htm
IANSA welcomes the adoption of this resolution and the widespread support it received. However, we share the concern of many states that the text of the resolution was quite weak. For example, the resolution does not explicitly require the OEWG to discuss an ATT based upon human rights, international humanitarian law and sustainable development.
Read the presentation by Widad Akrawi on behalf of IANSA at First Committee:
www.iansa.org/un/documents/ATT-IANSA-Eng.pdf
During First Committee, UNIDIR announced an initiative to organise regional meetings on the ATT during 2009, in parallel with the OEWG sessions in New York. These regional meetings, funded by the European Union, will be organised in Africa, Latin America, Asia, Middle East and Eastern Europe/Central Asia.
3. UN small arms process
The annual ‘omnibus’ small arms resolution endorsed the report of the 2008 BMS and proposed a calendar of meetings for the UN small arms process:
· Another BMS in 2010 for reporting on the implementation of the UN PoA
· an experts meeting in 2011 to address “key implementation challenges and opportunities relating to particular issues including international cooperation and assistance.”
· a Review Conference in 2012.
166 States voted in favour of the resolution, “The Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects”, with no abstentions and only the US voting against.
4. Other resolutions adopted at the First Committee
Small arms control was central to 4 further resolutions at the First Committee.
· Preventing and combating illicit brokering activities. This resolution calls on States to establish national laws and measures to prevent illicit arms brokering activities.
· Problems arising from the accumulation of conventional ammunition stockpiles in surplus. This resolution strongly encourages States to implement the recommendations of the 2008 Group of Governmental Experts on Surplus Ammunition. It also encouraged States to review their ammunition stockpile to determine the size and nature of their surplus stock.
· Assistance to States for Curbing the Illicit Traffic in Small Arms and Light Weapons and Collecting Them. This resolution encourages sub-Saharan African States to facilitate effective functioning of their National Commissions on Small Arms. It also calls for international support to these efforts, and encourages States and other international organisations to cooperate with and support the work of civil society on small arms control.
· Transparency in Armaments. This resolution reaffirms states’ commitment to provide information on international transfers of small arms and light weapons to the UN Register on Conventional Arms.
Information on the voting record for these resolutions:
www.iansa.org/un/FirstCommittee2008.htm
5. IANSA activities at the First Committee
As part of the Control Arms campaign, IANSA members organised a number of activities successfully highlighting conventional arms control.
· Report on ATT and Millennium Development Goals (8 October). Valentino Deng, a former Sudanese refugee, was one of the guest speakers at the launch of this report by Oxfam International.
· Impact of arms transfers on public health (13 October). A panel of four health experts chaired by Dr. Diego Zavala of Amnesty US presented a session on the impact of arms transfers on public health.
· Handover of signatures from over 2000 parliamentarians (20 October). Parliamentarians in 124 countries endorsed the Parliamentarian's Declaration Supporting an ATT. The compilation of endorsements was delivered to the Chair of First Committee.
· Race for an ATT (21 October) – Campaigners raced to 192 Missions and Embassies within 192 minutes delivering a video message from South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu urging them to vote for the resolution.
· Military leaders (23 October). Senior military leaders, experienced in some of the world's worst conflict zones, spoke in favour of a strong Arms Trade Treaty at this event organised by Amnesty International.
· NGO Presentations at the First Committee. Since 2006, the First Committee has permitted a small number of NGOs to address the meeting directly. IANSA has coordinated the activities of civil society focussing on conventional weapons. This year Widad Akrawi (Defend International) spoke about the ATT, and Rebecca Peters (IANSA Director) spoke about the UN small arms process. The presentation texts are available online at www.iansa.org/un/FirstCommittee2008.htm
Photos and reports from the events can be found online:
www.iansa.org/un/1comHighlights08.htm
6. UN Firearms Protocol
At the same time as the First Committee was being held in New York, the Conference of Parties for the UN Convention on Transnational Organised Crime was held in Vienna (Austria), 8-17 October. This included a session on the Firearms Protocol, the only legally-binding global agreement on small arms control. IANSA was the only civil society organisation to give a presentation to the plenary, focussing on the need for a monitoring mechanism for the Convention and all its Protocols, including the Firearms Protocol.
Read IANSA’s presentation in Vienna:
www.iansa.org/un/documents/UNTOC-COP08-IANSA.pdf
7. Calendar of upcoming events
Date Description Location
2008
25 November Start of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender –Based Violence, culminating in Human Rights Day
10 December Human Rights Day – 60 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
2009
27 February Informal organisational meeting for the OEWG on ATT New York
2-6 March OEWG on ATT: session 1 New York
2-13 March UN Commission on the Status of Women New York
June/July (dates to be decided) Global Week of Action Against Gun Violence
9 July International Gun Destruction Day
13-17 July OEWG on ATT: session 2 New York
Source - International Action Network on Small Arms, UN Bulletin November 2008
