July 9, 2001. Copyright 2001. Graphic News. All rights reserved.

World conference to restrict use of small arms

LONDON, July 9, Graphic News: An international conference organized by the United Nations is scheduled to end on July 20 with the adoption of a global action plan against illegal trafficking in small arms. The UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons is expected to call for national restrictions on arms brokers and for the adoption of marking and tracing systems to help law enforcement authorities track illegal weapons deals.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan told reporters that the main goal of the conference is Òto try and ensure that we control illicit arms trade, to ensure that guns do not get into the wrong hands.Ó

ÒWhen 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,Ó Annan said.

ÒWeÕve worried a lot about nuclear disarmament, which is important,Ó he said. ÒBut 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.Ó

More than 500 million small arms, a category that includes handguns as well as powerful weapons with military applications such as grenades, mortars, assault rifles, machine guns and shoulder-fired anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, are in circulation around the world -- one weapon for every 12 people, Annan said.

They were the weapons of choice in 46 out of the 49 major conflicts since 1990, causing four million deaths, of which 90 percent were civilians and 80 percent of those women and children.

The U.N. General Assembly voted in 1999 to hold the conference, blaming small arms for some 300,000 deaths a year from armed conflicts and 200,000 from murders, accidents and suicides.

Although there are no universally accepted definitions of Òsmall armÓ and Òlight weapon,Ó a U.N. study in 1997 came up with a working definition that has wide support. Simply put, a small arm is one that can be fired, maintained and transported by one person; a light weapon is used by a small crew and transported on a light vehicle or pack animal. Because small arms are so easy to use and maintain, these weapons have led to the rise in the use of child soldiers in conflicts, especially in Africa and Asia. 

There is no single method for dealing with the impact of small arms and light weapons. A ban is impossible because, unlike anti-personnel land mines or chemical weapons, which the international community widely regards as illegitimate, small arms and light weapons are necessary for a countryÕs legitimate right of self-defence. Yet it is also clear that the millions of arms washing across the world are far in excess of what is needed for national self-defence. The U.N. goal is how to balance the rights of national self-defence with other rights, especially those of unarmed civilians.

Three in four member states of the U.N. already recognize the severity of the problem. In 1997, the Organization of American States implemented the worldÕs only legally binding treaty regulating small arms. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Union, the Organization for African Unity, and the Southern African Development Community have also established principles guiding arms exports.

But the conference is not without its critics. U.S. gun rights activists, including the powerful National Rifle Association -- a lobbying group that staunchly defends AmericansÕ right to own guns -- have bombarded the U.N. with angry letters and e-mails claiming that the world body is trying to take guns away from their legal owners.

Jayantha Dhanapala, U.N. undersecretary-general for disarmament affairs, said the activists were mistaken in charging that a U.N. conference was eyeing restrictions on private gun ownership.

ÒWhat disturbed me was that there was this widespread misconception about the conference,Ó Dhanapala told reporters. ÒIt will have no effect on the rights of civilians to legally own and bear arms.Ó
/ENDS
Sources: United Nations, Associated Press, Reuters