June 14, 2006

Ask Amnesty: Small Arms and Light Weapons Proliferation

Hundreds of thousands of men, women, boys and girls are killed every year because of the uncontrolled proliferation of small arms and light weapons. Many more people are maimed, tortured or forced to flee their homes. The United Nations will evaluate and propose a global response to this threat at the end of this month.

Please join our guests, Colby Goodman and Susan Waltz, on Wednesday, June 14th from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. EDT for an online discussion about the upcoming U.N. conference. Find out what Amnesty International is doing to help prevent irresponsible and illegal arms transfers and learn how you can take action and raise awareness in your community.

Colby Goodman is the Advocacy Associate for Military, Security, and Police issues for Amnesty International USA. Mr. Goodman has written testimony for hearings in both the U.S. Congress and the United Nations and has been interviewed for documentaries and quoted in news articles on arms trafficking.

Susan Waltz is Chair of the AIUSA Military, Security, Police Transfers Working Group and Professor of Public Policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. Alongside her academic work, Professor Waltz has been active in human rights advocacy and non-profit governance. From 1993-1999 she served on Amnesty International's International Executive Committee and since 2000 has served on the national board of the American Friends Service Committee.

Featured Guest: Amnesty International Control Arms Campaign

From our featured guest: "We look forward to speaking to you on the 14th."

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Question Submitted by Jerome:

How effective do you think the U.N. can be right now given it's current woes,the apparent lack of influence it has on the U.S. and the fact that the major arms suppliers are part of the Security Council? How can the average person help overcome these seemingly overwhelming odds?

Amnesty International Control Arms Campaign answers:

It is commonly observed that the UN can only be as strong or effective as its member states, and during the Cold War years there was general despair that the UN could ever achieve any effective action. Yet it was during this time that the UN hammered out the international human rights covenants, and the Convention Against Torture, that provide normative standards today. It is naïve to think that states on their own are likely to curtail behavior that appears to serve their narrow interests, but states are nevertheless sensitive to critiques that point up differences between their word and their deeds. The "average person" has a voice, and voices combined make a clamor.
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Question Submitted by MIla Buz Reyes-Mesia:

What is the deterent of Gangs Violence on the Street, Turf Rivalry, distribution of arms in inner cities used by gang menbers? How can we rehabilitate Gang members to become a productive, model citizen in their community? Thank you, Mila Mila Buz Reyes-Mesia NGO Member/ AI, U.S.A

Amnesty International Control Arms Campaign answers:

Thanks for the questions, Mila. I'll answer the second part of your question. International governmental and non-governmental organizations often set up programs to disarm and rehabilite members of armed groups in post conflict situations such as in Liberia to help these individuals learn new skills and acquire employment. In many cases, this has helped.


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Question Submitted by Megan:

If Canada blames the homicidal deaths in Canada on guns being brought in from the US, who's fault is that if the Canadians are the ones patrolling their own border? I cross the border every weekend. If I may, I have a second question. Do you think schools around the world should teach gun safety?

Amnesty International Control Arms Campaign answers:

Hey Megan

You bring up an important point. Amnesty International is encouraging governments to be more responsible with the import as well as the export of arms to ensure that weapons don't fall into the hands of human rights violators. So in other words, it's the responsibility of the United States and Canda.
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Question Submitted by Daphne:

How will the introduction of global guidelines make a difference?

Amnesty International Control Arms Campaign answers:

Daphne

Excellent question. If governments were to agree to strict guidelines on the international transfer of small arms and light weapons, here are some of the likely positive effects. First, it would be the first time that many governments in regions such as the Middle East and Asia commit themselves to restrict arms transfers to grave human rights violators or deadly conflict zones. Second, such an agreement would provide a strong basis for governments seeking to adopt new national laws on arms exports.
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Question Submitted by Milo, Moderator:

So what is one thing that all of us participating in this online discussion can do today to stop the deaths of civilians that result from the illegal or irresponsible weapons trade?

Amnesty International Control Arms Campaign answers:

You can do more than one thing! Firstly, you can encourage your U.S. Representative to sign a Dear Colleague letter circulated by Congressman Schiff urging Secretary of State Rice to support stronger guidelines on the international transfer of small arms and light weapons. Here's the link: http://www.amnestyusa.org/arms_trade/index.do. Secondly, if you haven’t already, you can sign the Million Faces Petition at www.controlarms.org.
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Question Submitted by Carol:

Is there any way of knowing how many legally transfered arms turn up missing every year world wide?

Amnesty International Control Arms Campaign answers:

The short answer to your excellent question is "no," at least not now. Here's a few of the things we do know. The US tracks American "defense articles" sold or given to other countries on a "cradle to grave" basis, so at least theoretically there is a possibility for keeping a count of such weapons that go missing. Most other countries do not have such a tracking system, and many of the great powers—including the US —have historically supplied weapons from other countries to their allies, in what is known as the gray market trade. There is little control, and no reliable count of the leakage from this segment of the market. Finally, it's important to note that several million weapons are held privately.
The US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) has a program for tracking transferred weapons used in crimes internationally, and every year they receive about 200,000 requests to track such weapons.
The Small Arms Survey (located in Geneva ) has been trying to develop a comprehensive statistical profile on small arms for several years. You might want to consult their annual report.
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Question Submitted by Laura:

What would be the best outcome at the UN conference and how can local activists help make it happen?

Amnesty International Control Arms Campaign answers:

Thanks Laura. There are so many different sub issues governments are working on at the UN that one could fill up a few pages. For the Control Arms Campaign, the best outcome would be for governments to agree to strict guidelines on the international transfer of small arms. See this link for guidelines recently adopted by some 30 governments, which are similar to those proposed by the Control Arms Campaign: http://www.amnestyusa.org/arms_trade/pdfs/guidelines.pdf . We would also like to see this UN Conference continue their important work. At the moment, the U.S. government is opposing some suggestions on future work. What can local activists do? I would encourage you to check out the above answer. In addition, individuals can hold a screening party of the movie Lord of War, which shows how easy it is for small arms to reach grave human rights violators. In addition, folks can volunteer to participate at events (concert, rally, for example) the Control Arms Campaign is sponsoring at the UN Conference on small arms in New York stating June 26.
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Question Submitted by Scott:

What countries are currently selling the most weapons to conflict zones?

Amnesty International Control Arms Campaign answers:

Thanks Scott. While there is no official list that shows which governments have the worst record in this regard, Amnesty International reports on governments that have allowed weapons transfers to conflict zones and human rights abusers. For example, just last Monday, AI published a report on Chinese arms exports to conflict zones such as Sudan. In this report, we also highlighted the existence of Chinese made AK-47s found with abusive armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Amnesty International has also mentioned irresponsible or illegal arms transfers from the United States, France, Russia, Iran and several governments from Eastern Europe, but this doesn’t mean that other governments haven't been involved. This exactly why the Control Arms Campaign is pushing for a global agreement on small arms transfers so that everyone is committed to the same rules.
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Question Submitted by C-DAWG:

How can we in the US stop other countries from selling weapons to human rights offenders?

Amnesty International Control Arms Campaign answers:

Thanks for this question. At one level – the basic citizen level – we Americans can let our government know that we consider this an important issue of US foreign policy. At the practical level of what our country can do, there is actually a surprising lot that can be done. After a shoulder-fired missile nearly brought down an Israeli charter jet over Kenya in 2002, the US began to put a lot of energy, and muscle, into making agreements with other countries to limit the trade in this particular class of lightweight weapons. Through an informal grouping of arms trading countries known as the Wassenaar Arrangement, as well as through the UN, the US has the possibility of pursuing strong and principled policies.
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