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Arms availability
29-10-2010 Overview
In many conflict zones, civilians live in fear of being killed, injured, sexually abused or forced to leave their homes. "Small arms and light weapons"— assault rifles, machine guns, grenades and mortars — are among the weapons most frequently used. Yet there are few international rules to control the availability of these and other conventional weapons.
The unregulated widespread availability of arms contributes to violations of international humanitarian law (IHL). Today, weapons are easily accessible to a wide variety of actors who may have no knowledge of or respect for IHL. When insecurity and threats prevent humanitarian agencies from providing aid, the situation may further deteriorate for the civilian population.
Even when armed conflicts end, large numbers of weapons often remain in circulation, fuelling tensions, hindering reconciliation and making it more difficult to maintain peace. In many post-conflict settings, people may see no other option than to use their weapons for crime and extortion to sustain themselves.
However, it is not only in war or its aftermath that people suffer the effects of widespread arms availability. The rates of violent death and injury in areas thought of as being "at peace" are among the highest in the world.
Yet most conventional arms are not in themselves unlawful. Most have legitimate uses, including law enforcement and national defence. Prohibition is therefore not a solution.
What is required instead is global regulation of the availability of all conventional weapons, including small arms and light weapons. The ICRC has called for comprehensive and urgent action to reduce the massive human cost of unregulated arms availability.
Since 2006, States have been discussing a global "Arms Trade Treaty" (ATT). In January 2010, the UN General Assembly decided to convene the 2012 UN Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty to elaborate a legally binding instrument on the highest possible common international standards for the transfer of conventional arms.
The ICRC supports the elaboration of a comprehensive, legally binding ATT that establishes common international standards for the responsible transfer and brokering of all conventional weapons and their ammunition. An ATT should include, among other obligations, a duty to deny a transfer of arms or ammunition if there is a clear risk that they will be used to commit serious violations of IHL.
In 2001, the first United Nations conference to address the availability of small arms and light weapons adopted a global Programme of Action to “prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects”. While not legally binding, the Programme of Action commits governments to take a variety of measures to control the availability of these weapons.
Among other measures, the Programme of Action calls for secure management of national stocks of arms, regulation of arms brokering activities, and collection and destruction of surplus small arms and light weapons after conflicts.
In addition to these efforts at the global level, instruments regulating arms availability have been put in place by governments at regional and sub-regional levels.
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