Action Against Small Arms: A Resource and Training Handbook

Coe, Jim; Smith, Henry

ISBN 10: 085598497X ISBN 13: 9780855984977

Verlag: Oxfam GB, 2003

Inhaltsangabe

The uncontrolled spread and misuse of small arms and light weapons constitute a crisis of global proportions. They destroy both lives and livelihoods; they are a threat to peace and development, to democracy and human rights. Since the mid-1990s, civil-society groups and some progressive governments have begun to develop measures to combat the crisis. This handbook is a resource which draws together lessons from successful campaigns in many parts of the world. It is primarily designed to be a resource for civil-society organizations, but should also be of use to anyone seeking to develop more effective action against the spread and misuse of small arms. The book is divided into four main sections. Part one sets the policy context for action, giving a concise and informative survey of the major national, regional and international initiatives to combat the proliferation and abuse of small arms. Parts two and three provide a set of easily adaptable, practical tools and techniques to help with strategic planning and action, supported by case studies of positive impact achieved by activists around the world. Part four provides a directory of organizations currently working on the small-arms issue.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Henry Smith is Head of Export controls and Small Arms at Saferworld. He has developed and delivered training and capacity-building programmes for civil-society organisations and government officials in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.

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Action Against Small Arms

A Resource and Training Handbook

By Jim Coe, Henry Smith

Oxfam Publishing

Copyright © 2003 International Alert, Oxfam GB, and Saferworld
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-85598-497-7

Contents

List of figures and tables, vi, 
Preface, vii, 
Acknowledgements, ix, 
Abbreviations and acronyms, xii, 
Part 1: The Policy Context, 1, 
Introduction, 2, 
1 Definitions and statistics, 5, 
2 The effects of small arms and light weapons, 9, 
3 Recommended measures to address the proliferation and misuse of small arms and light weapons, 21, 
4 Existing initiatives to address the proliferation and misuse of small arms and light weapons, 40, 
5 Summary, 61, 
Part 2: Planning for Action, 63, 
Introduction, 64, 
Phase 1: Assessing the situation, 70, 
Phase 2: Establishing goals, 89, 
Phase 3: Developing a strategy, 96, 
Phase 4: Planning the activity, 117, 
Phase 5: Implementation and monitoring, 128, 
Phase 6: Evaluation, 135, 
Part 3: Taking Action, 139, 
Introduction, 140, 
1 Working with others, 141, 
2 Security and risk, 148, 
3 Gathering information through research, 152, 
4 Obtaining funds, 158, 
5 Audiences and communications, 163, 
6 Mobilising support, 168, 
7 Lobbying, 175, 
8 Using the media, 179, 
9 Taking action: a summary, 186, 
Part 4: Contacts, 189, 
Notes, 196, 
Index, 201, 

CHAPTER 1

Definitions and statistics

What are small arms and light weapons?

Although there is no universally accepted classification of these weapons, a report by a UN panel of experts in 1997 contained the most commonly used definition. Light weapons is a generic term which is used to cover a range of weapons portable by man, animal, or machine – from revolvers and machine guns to anti-tank and anti-aircraft missile systems. Small arms are a sub-set of the category of light weapons which includes only those weapons that can be fired, maintained, and transported by one person. In this handbook, small arms, light weapons, firearms, and weapons are generally referred to as SALW. Furthermore, unless the context dictates otherwise, no distinction is made between commercial firearms (such as hunting rifles) and small arms and light weapons designed for military use (such as assault rifles).

How many small arms are there?

According to the Small Arms Survey (Counting the Human Cost, 2002), there are estimated to be 639 million small arms and light weapons (SALW) currently in circulation around the world. Perhaps surprisingly, civilian possession accounts for almost two thirds of the global total, with at least 378 million firearms in private hands.

What are SALW transfers?

The definition of an arms transfer is relatively simple. A transfer is the reallocation of small arms from the possession of one actor to another. There are always at least two principal actors involved in any transfer, namely the originator and the recipient. These actors can be individuals, groups such as companies or armed opposition groups, criminal organisations, or States. However, other actors, such as arms brokering and transportation agents, are also often involved in facilitating transfers.

In general there are three main types of small-arms transfer:

• 'Legal' transfers: These occur with either the active or passive involvement of governments or their authorised agents, and in accordance with both national and international law. However, where the end use of the weapons transfers is in contravention of national and/or international law, then the transfer becomes illicit.

• 'Illegal' transfers: These are in clear violation of national and/or international laws such as United Nations arms embargoes. Without official government consent or control, these transfers may involve false or forged paperwork, or corrupt government officials acting on their own for personal gain.

• 'Grey-market' transfers: These are often the most problematic to define, because they are neither unarguably legal nor clearly illegal but may contain elements of both definitions. For example, a transfer of weapons that eventually reaches a destination covered by a UN arms embargo may have started its journey as part of a legal State-sanctioned deal, but it has been diverted from its stated destination during the export stage. Grey-market transfers often involve governments, their agents, or individuals exploiting loopholes or unintentionally circumventing national controls.

Some have sought to define such transactions as 'illicit', although there is no international legal definition of the term. However, international consensus is starting to emerge on this issue. For example, the UN Conference on Disarmament has itself put forward a wider definition of the illicit trade in conventional arms, which includes 'that international trade in conventional arms, which is contrary to the laws of states and/or international law'. Many non-government organisations (NGOs) have argued that those weapons that are transferred and used in violation of international legal norms should also be considered illicit.

Although certain governments believe that international action on the proliferation and misuse of small arms should be restricted solely to combating the illicit trade, without consideration of the State-sanctioned trade, many in the international community believe that this narrow approach is insufficient for tackling the problem, for two reasons. Firstly, numerous studies have shown that arms from State-sanctioned transfers (or the 'legal' trade) have been diverted into illicit markets, fuelling crime, terrorism, and the trafficking of illegal drugs. In order to effectively combat the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, it is also important to implement strategies to control the State-sanctioned trade.

Secondly, although some governments have defined the illicit trade as covering only those transfers that were not sanctioned by the exporting or recipient State, many governments and civil-society actors believe that this definition is too narrow, since it does not take into account the legality of the ultimate use of the weapons.

Indeed, years of research by NGOs and the UN have shown that some small arms and light weapons legally exported by States have ultimately been used to violate international law, through their use in violations of human rights, and breaches of international humanitarian law, by fuelling conflict and violent crime, and undermining democratic governments.

The differing interpretations of the definition of the illicit small-arms trade came to a head as the international community began to make preparations to deal with small arms at the global level for the first time, at the UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects in 2001. In an attempt to reconcile these differing interpretations, the international community agreed that the conference would seek to 'prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects'.

CHAPTER 2

The effects of small arms and light weapons

Small arms are used to kill and injure civilians and combatants alike. They are used in the commission of rape and other forms of sexual violence, to harass and intimidate, and to perpetrate other violent crimes; and they undermine the effects of post-conflict...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Oxfam GB
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2003
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 085598497X
• ISBN 13: 9780855984977
• Einband: Spiralbindung
• Anzahl der Seiten: 220
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: preigu GmbH & Co. KG; mail@preigu.de; ; Lengericher Landstr. 19; Osnabrück; Niedersachsen; 49078; Deutschland