Global Week of Action Calls for Advance on an Arms Trade Treaty
A Global Week of Action Against Gun Violence took place from the 15th to the 21st of June 2009. The annual campaign aims to draw attention to the proliferation and misuse of small arms and light weapons worldwide, and to lobby for stricter controls over arms and the arms trade.
A Global Week of Action Against Gun Violence took place from the 15th
to the 21st of June 2009. The annual campaign aims to draw attention
to the proliferation and misuse of small arms and light weapons
worldwide, and to lobby for stricter controls over arms and the arms
trade.
More than 80 countries took part in the 2009 campaign - carrying out
various activities, including radio interviews and debates, press
conferences, and civil society meetings. While numerous events were
held, these seem to be focussed more on talk than action.
The arms trade treaty (ATT) initiative was a major focus area of this
year’s campaign, with many government, civil society and international
organisations advocating for its development. The ATT initiative calls
for the establishment of common international standards to regulate the
legal arms trade to ensure more responsible arms transfers by
preventing weapons transfers to conflict zones where they might
contribute to further instability and human rights abuses. There have
been several reports of supposedly legal arms transfers that have been
rumoured to be destined for countries in conflict or with high crime
rates. These include transfers to South Africa, Kenya, and more recently
to Equatorial Guinea.
While states have a legitimate right to procure arms to maintain
their national security, arms flows to conflict zones or countries that
experience high crime rates can contribute to escalating and
prolonging armed violence. The envisaged principles of an ATT would aim
to, amongst other things, enforce stricter regulations over arms
transfers to ensure that states’ obligations under international law,
humanitarian law and UN arms embargoes are respected. African countries
have for the most part shown considerable support for an ATT and if
such a treaty is successfully negotiated and implemented, it may hold
many benefits for the continent.
Apart from the global week of action, several other campaigns and
initiatives are being carried out to promote and advance the ATT
initiative. The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research
(UNIDIR), with the support of some civil society organisations,
launched a project in 2009 to promote discussions and increase
participation from all stakeholders in the ATT process. The project
involves hosting regional seminars to facilitate the exchange of views
between governments, regional organisations and civil society groups,
with the intent of national and regional views then being integrated
into the international process to develop an ATT. The first of these
seminars was held in April this year in Dakar, Senegal, for Central,
Northern and West African countries.
A report was released at the end of last year by a group of
governmental experts (GGE) tasked to assess the feasibility, scope and
draft parameters of an ATT. The report stated that there were differing
views amongst participants on an ATT, and ‘also recognised that
numerous unresolved issues in the global conventional arms trade
required further discussion’. To facilitate further development of the
initiative, an open-ended working group (OEWG) was established this
year. The group is tasked with considering certain elements of the GGE
report to assess where further consensus could be developed for
inclusion of these elements into an eventual ATT. The OEWG met for a
first substantive session in New York in March this year and is
preparing to meet for a second session from the 13 - 17 July.
While support for the development of an ATT has been significant,
actual negotiations on the details and parameters of a treaty need to
take place, and these are likely to be lengthy and complex. Little
progress was made at the first substantive meeting of the OEWG, so it
is yet to be seen whether the group will be able to develop any
consensus on the scope, feasibility and parameters for a treaty and
forward the ATT process.
Dominique Dye, junior researcher, Arms Management Programme, ISS Pretoria
