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6-12-2003 Small arms and human security: Humanitarian impacts and options for action Workshop 5, 28th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, Geneva, 2 to 6 December 2003 Note : The present report doesn't necessarily reflect the views of the ICRC. The workshop was chaired by Mr Lassana Traoré, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Mali and current Chair of the HSN, and facilitated by Mr Martin Griffiths, Director of the Centre. Mr Traoré emphasized the particular interest Mali has always shown in the issue of small arms, notably by spearheading the 1998 adoption of the ECOWAS Moratorium on the Importation, Exportation and Manufacture of Small Arms and Light Weapons. A lack of resources had prevented the Moratorium from functioning effectively, demonstrating that political will and technical resources were two essential elements of controlling arms availability across borders. Some 640 million weapons and 16 billion rounds of ammunition were in global circulation, with an additional 8 million new weapons entering the market annually. It was therefore vital to address the issue of arms availability and misuse with regard to non-State armed groups. Mr Dennis McNamara, Inspector General at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, spoke of the pervasive impact of weapons availability. Small arms had a direct impact in terms of injuries and deaths – 500,000 victims of gun violence yearly – and an indirect impact on sustainable development, education and health care, and in terms of displacement, sexual violence, the militarization of refugee camps, and the deliberate targeting of humanitarian and development workers. In the last decade compelling evidence had been brought to light. The first major study was the 1999 ICRC study, Arms Availability and the Situation of Civilians in Armed Conflict, which clearly stated that weapons availability posed a grave threat to the security of civilians, and indeed the entire humanitarian enterprise. Mr McNamara mentioned other valuable studies produced by the Small Arms Survey and drew attention to the publication produced by the Centre with the support of the HSN, Putting People First: Human security perspectives on small arms availability and misuse, which had further helped identify the human security priorities for action. Mr McNamara concluded by commending the HSN for its vision and commitment on this issue. He called on all States and on the humanitarian community to translate the considerable amounts of information at hand into urgent action, in particular with a view to developing and implementing coherent legal norms, planning programme activity to take weapons out of circulation and address the root causes for the demand for weapons, and tightening export control regimes to cut transfers to irresponsible users – be they States, non-State armed groups or civilians. Mr Arthur de-Winton Cummings, Secretary General of the Sierra Leone Red Cross, contributed a presentation entitled In the Line of Fire: Humanitarian workers’ safety and security. Mr de-Winton Cummings spoke of the impact of arms availability and misuse on the activities and security of Red Cross staff during the bitter ten-year civil war. Neither the arms embargo placed on Sierra Leone in 1997 nor the regional Moratorium which had come into force in 1998 had made a significant difference, as neither measure was sufficiently implemented. Mr de-Winton Cummings also provided a global snapshot of the situation for humanitarian personnel, which was particularly significant in the light of the numerous assaults on humanitarian workers that had occurred during this year alone. He gave examples of things the National Societies could do to help build the global momentum for action: gather data and witness accounts, share experiences in terms of risk prevention and participation in disarmament efforts. In particular, he urged humanitarian agencies to support the 2004 phase of the global survey implemented by the Centre and the Small Arms Survey, which sought to develop an evidence base on the impact of small arms on personnel and operations. Various participants agreed about the challenges small arms posed to human security, and about the need for inclusive processes to tackle the problem comprehensively. Others commented on the need to reduce the vast numbers of weapons in circulation and to limit new supplies of weapons. Reference was also made to the valuable framework human security perspectives offered in addressing the small arms crisis by prioritizing peoples’ safety and security as policy and programme objectives. In closing, Mr Traoré reiterated the crucial need for political will to address this issue, adding that partnerships between civil society and governments were the only effective way of seriously addressing all dimensions of the problem. He affirmed Mali’s commitment to the recently launched Arms Trade Treaty, which calls for the development of international laws and regulations to address transfers and misuse of weapons by irresponsible users. Finally, he urged that the impact of weapons availability be considered in the same light as other health risks, such as tobacco – a call that typifies a human security approach. The workshop called for: - arms production and transfers; - effective stockpile management; - comprehensive disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes in post-conflict situations; - the strict enforcement of arms embargoes and the development of legislation to regulate arms brokering activities; |
