Civilian populations trapped in armed violence in settings of
crime and conflict, in conditions of poverty, deprivation, extreme inequality
suffer most in a world of unregulated arms ─ ATT essential
Editing, re-reporting, brief comment by
Carolyn Bennett
U
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nfortunately, the United States of America together with its
arms industry ─ while leading the world in global arms transfers (sales, exports,
trafficking) ─ obstructs progress. As it tried to do with the cluster bomb treaty
and the convention on the rights of the child, the United States is standing in
the way of the United Nations international Arms Trade Treaty.
A March 2013 United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs paper
“The impact of poorly regulated Arms transfers on the work of the United
Nations” lays out the essentiality of the treaty. The paper leads:
The poorly regulated arms trade has
devastating, multifaceted effect.
These include fueling violence and
armed conflict, hindering efforts to promote socioeconomic development and
creating a permanent atmosphere of fear and instability in conflict settings.
While millions of civilians have
paid the high price of the lack of legally binding rules in the area of arms
trade, women and children are among the most vulnerable groups affected by this
gap.
Flows of arms into conflict and
post-conflict situations, not only impede the ability of the United Nations to
discharge its mandates and assist the governments and populations that it is
called to assist; but flows of arms also pose a direct threat to United Nations personnel and
assets.
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he ready availability of weapons and ammunition in all parts
of the world has led to human suffering, political repression, crime and terror
among civilian populations. Irresponsible transfers of conventional weapons can
destabilize security in (geographical or geopolitical) region(s); enable the
violation of Security Council arms embargoes and contribute to human rights
abuses. Investment is discouraged and development disrupted in countries
experiencing conflict and high levels of violence. The situation also affects
countries’ ability to attain the UN Millennium Development Goals.
Eight UN Millennium Development Goals for 2015
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development
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any areas of world trade are covered by regulations that
bind countries into agreed conduct. An eclectic set of national and regional
control measures and a few global instruments on arms transfers exist. But there
is no global set of rules governing the trade in conventional weapons; and the
absence of a global framework regulating the international trade in all
conventional arms has obscured transparency, comparability and accountability.
Interfere with the domestic arms
trade and the way a country regulates civilian possession
Ban or prohibit the export of any
type of weapons
Impair States’ legitimate right to
self-defense
Lower arms regulation standards in
countries where these are already at a high level
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| United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs |
Why Arms Trade Treaty matters
The writers of the UNODA paper continue, “Most present-day
international challenges—from global warming and the financial crisis to
terrorism and underdevelopment— have complex origins. Similarly, there is no (single)
relationship between the poorly regulated arms trade on the one hand, and
conflict, crime and insecurity, armed violence and grave human rights abuses on
the other. Often, however, connections can be established between the misuse of
arms by national armed and security forces and the poor judgment ─ or lack of
responsibility ─ on the part of the original providers of such arms.
Similarly, one can establish a link between massive amounts
of illicit arms and ammunition in circulation and lax national controls.
W
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eapons are force multipliers and thus enable the user to
enhance the ability to project power and to exercise coercive control within
and across borders. With every transfer it authorizes, a government deciding on
exporting weapons must realize the profound international responsibility of
that decision. And, conversely, an importing government must ensure that it
will use these weapons only to provide for the safety and security of its
citizens and that it has the capacity to safeguard all weapons within its
possession throughout their life cycle.
Working to improve lives and livelihoods around the world,
the United Nations system is directly confronted with the consequences stemming
from the often brutal repression of political dissent, armed conflict, rampant
crime or armed violence and the widespread human suffering that they cause.
Whether it is maintaining international peace and security, protecting human
rights, providing humanitarian aid, promoting social and economic development,
conducting peacekeeping, assisting in crime prevention and criminal justice, promoting
women’s empowerment, protecting children, improving public health or building
safer cities, all too often armed insecurity fueled by poorly regulated arms
transfers prevents [the UN] from reaching the goals laid out by Member States.
In these contexts, United Nations personnel also face security risks on an unprecedented
scale—from drivers of trucks transporting food aid, peacekeepers on patrol,
United Nations personnel running refugee camps to international and local staff
working at United Nations compounds.
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ivil society organizations concerned about the misuse of
weaponry around the world mobilized governments and parliamentarians to call
for the global regulation of the conventional arms trade. Countries have
discussed this matter within the UN since 2006. The UN Department for
Disarmament Affairs extends as far back as the 1980s.
The first round of UN negotiations on the United Nations Arms
Trade Treaty held in July of 2012 produced no agreement on treaty text. The Final
Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty is being held this week and next (March
18-28) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
In statements leading into this year’s conference, UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon recalled that armed violence every year in the world kills 66,000
women and girls, a total of more than half a million people.
The Arms Trade Treaty further complements and supplements
existing international tools from the Program of Action on Small Arms to the
United Nations Register of Conventional Arms and beyond, he said; and it “will
strengthen the rule of law by contributing to the development of an emerging
network of international norms against trafficking, misuse, and the illicit
proliferation of weapons and ammunition.”
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| UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon(center) Arms Trade Treaty Conference March 18-28, 2013 |
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ast year’s conference in New York, the Secretary-General
said, “came close to reaching an agreement on a draft treaty text.
We must now build on this work and
conclude our historic journey over the next nine days.
Now is the time to overcome past
setbacks and deliver.
Now is the time for the focus and political will to negotiate the final
details of the treaty and arrive at a consensus outcome by the 28th March.
U
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| Final Conference on Arms Trade Treaty March 18-28 New York |
NODA’s March paper concludes, “Unlike other areas of world trade, which are covered by
rules that bind countries into agreed conduct, the transfer of weapons is
currently not covered by binding global rules other than Security Council arms
embargoes. The absence of a global framework regulating the
international trade in conventional arms makes it easier for weapons and ammunition
to fall into the wrong hands.
“Those suffering most are civilian populations trapped in
situations of armed violence in settings of both crime and conflict, often in
conditions of poverty, deprivation and extreme inequality, where they are all
too frequently on the receiving end of the misuse of arms by State armed and
security forces, non-State armed groups and organized criminal groups, many of
which are subject to United Nations Security Council sanctions. Small arms are
the weapons of choice in modern-day intra-State armed conflict and armed
violence.
“Civilian populations, including children, bear the brunt of
armed conflict more than ever. But there is plenty of evidence of heavier
categories of weapons being used against civilians as well. Therefore, the Arms
Trade Treaty (ATT) should cover all conventional arms. But regulation of the
international arms trade should not be limited to regulating transfers of
weapons.
“While arms can have a lifespan of decades and are often
recycled from conflict to conflict, their value and the ability to sustain
armed conflict or violence depend on the availability of an uninterrupted
supply of ammunition. Thus, for the ATT
to be effective, it should also regulate the international trade in ammunition.”
We in the United States of America must finally grow up. Cease in our self-inflicted crisis and attendant paranoia, and destructive self-centeredness. Courageously join the world in nonviolence, in cooperation, in mutual coexistence for the good of all.
Sources and notes
UNODA Occasional Papers, No. 23, March 2013, THE IMPACT OF
POORLY REGULATED
ARMS TRANSFERS ON THE WORK OF THE UNITED NATIONS, United
Nations Coordinating Action on Small Arms (CASA) 2013,
http://www.un.org/disarmament/HomePage/ODAPublications/OccasionalPapers/PDF/OP23.pdf
This paper aims to develop a
coherent United Nations approach to support the international community’s
efforts to improve the regulation of international transfers of conventional
arms. It records the United Nations Organization’s advocacy over the past years
of a robust and comprehensive Arms Trade Treaty that covers the full array of
conventional weapons as well as ammunition and that includes provisions that arms
not be transferred where there is a clear risk that they will be used to commit
violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law or seriously undermine
development.
United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA)
The Department for Disarmament Affairs was originally
established in 1982 upon the recommendation of the General Assembly’s second
special session on disarmament (SSOD II). In 1992, its name was changed to
Centre for Disarmament Affairs, under the Department of Political Affairs. At
the end of 1997, it was renamed Department for Disarmament Affairs
In January 1998 UNODA was established as the Department for
Disarmament Affairs, part of the Secretary-General’s program for reform in
accordance with his report to the General Assembly (A/51/950), the United
Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA). In 2007, it became the United
Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs. United Nations Office for
Disarmament Affairs promotes:
Nuclear disarmament and
non-proliferation
Strengthening of the disarmament
regimes in respect to other weapons of mass destruction, and chemical and
biological weapons
Disarmament efforts in the area of
conventional weapons, especially landmines and small arms, which are the
weapons of choice in contemporary conflicts
“UNODA supports the development and implementation of
practical disarmament measures after a conflict, such as disarming and
demobilizing former combatants and helping them to reintegrate in civil
society.”
http://www.un.org/disarmament/HomePage/about_us/aboutus.shtml
Secretary-General’s remarks to Final United Nations
Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) (UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon), New
York, March18, 2013 - http://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=6662
UN chief voices support for arms trade treaty ahead of
upcoming conference
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=44410&Cr=arms+trade&Cr1=&Kw1=arms&Kw2=&Kw3=
The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) will not:
Interfere with the domestic arms trade and the way a country
regulates civilian possession
Ban, or prohibit the export of, any type of weapons
Impair States’ legitimate right to self-defense
Lower arms regulation standards in countries where these are
already at a high level
An Arms Trade Treaty
will aim to create a level playing field for international arms transfers by
requiring all States to abide by a set of standards for transfer controls,
which will ultimately benefit the safety and security of people everywhere in
the world.
http://www.un.org/disarmament/ATT/
http://www.un.org/disarmament/convarms/ArmsTrade/
The Millennium Development Goals
In September of the year 2000, leaders of 189 countries met
at the United Nations in New York and endorsed the Millennium Declaration, a
commitment to work together to build a safer, more prosperous and equitable
world.
The Declaration was translated into a roadmap setting out
eight time-bound and measurable goals to be reached by 2015, known as the
Millennium Development Goals, http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/mdgoverview.html
For more information, please visit:
www.un.org/millenniumgoals
http://www.un.org/en/mdg/summit2010/pdf/List%20of%20MDGs%20English.pdf
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Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire http://www.facebook.com/#!/bennetts2ndstudy
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