VII. Summary report of the Expert Group

The widespread availability of arms – particularly small arms and light weapons – has:

1. facilitated violations of human rights, resulting in increased tensions and conflicts within society;

2. facilitated massive violations of international humanitarian law (the law of war) in recent armed conflicts; and

3. hindered post-conflict reconciliation and reconstruction.

Bringing the flow of small arms and light weapons, and their ammunition, under national, regional and international control should be among the highest priorities of governments as well as intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations. As a minimum first step, governments should immediately halt arms transfers to parties committing or preparing grave violations of human rights or international humanitarian law. National legislation on arms transfers should fully reflect each State's commitments under international law.

In the absence of vigorous efforts to address the problem of arms availability, the suffering of civilians both during and after armed conflicts may be expected to increase in the years ahead as new sources of weapons become available owing to reductions in the size of armed forces, privatization of arms industries, the "upgrading" of existing arsenals when accompanied by the transfer of surplus weapons to other regions, and other factors. Under such conditions, providing development aid or relief to people in need and promoting respect for international humanitarian law will grow ever more difficult, dangerous and costly.

The above statement was a central conclusion of a group of 26 experts on various aspects of the problem of arms availability that met in Oslo from 18 to 20 May 1998 under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Norwegian Red Cross. The participants – from 14 countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe – included government officials involved in licensing, limiting and policing arms transfers, military and academic experts, representatives of the United Nations and specialists from a number of international humanitarian organizations.

The expert group met to provide specialist support and advice for a study entitled Arms Availability and Violations of International Humanitarian Law and the Deterioration of the Situation of Civilians in Armed Conflict, which the ICRC was mandated to carry out by the States party to the Geneva Conventions at the 26th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, held in 1995.

The participants were encouraged by the many efforts currently being made to place stricter limits on the availability of small arms, light weapons and ammunition. These include:

• a moratoria on the production, import and export of light arms by members of the Economic Community of West African States, as proposed by the Republic of Mali;

• The Convention to combat illicit trafficking in arms and explosives, adopted by the Organization of American States in 1997;

• the European Union's programme to prevent and combat illicit arms transfers;

• specific proposals made in the framework of the United Nations for the control of small arms and light weapons on the basis of humanitarian, security and crime-control considerations;

• national legislation in a number of arms-producing and exporting countries to regulate their arms transfers; and

• a growing number of dynamic non-governmental and local community initiatives addressing arms availability, small arms transfers and gun control.

The participants considered such efforts to be key initial steps in addressing the humanitarian problems caused by unrestrained arms availability. However, as a matter of urgency these ad hoc responses to the proliferation of weapons in conflict areas must become part of a coherent international strategy for the control of both licit and illicit transfers of small arms, light weapons and ammunition. Such a strategy will not only alleviate the plight of civilians caught up in armed conflict but would bring major benefits in terms of economic development, ensuring national and regional stability and respect for human rights.

The participants stressed that regional action – if supported by civil society, implemented by the governments concerned and bolstered by governments from outside the region – will form the cornerstone of effective strategies to develop norms for the transfer of arms and ammunition and to put an end to illicit transfers. Without a coordinated regional approach, the efforts of any one country to control the presence of arms on its territory can easily be undermined. At the same time, however, regional efforts to limit arms availability are needed and deserve the support of the entire international community. Participants proposed a wide range of measures to be taken at the national, regional and international levels.

1. National measures

a) Legislation should be enacted to require scrutiny of all arms exports on the basis of the proposed recipient's record of respect for international humanitarian law, human rights and other internationally accepted norms.

b) States should adopt legislation to ensure the responsible use, storage, distribution and disposal of arms in their possession, with appropriate penalties for violations and the involvement of civil society in the monitoring process.

c) National databases listing licensed weapons, ammunition-production facilities and commercial arms traders should be established and maintained.

d) Agents engaged in brokering international arms transactions should be licensed and transfers arranged by such agents subject to government approval. Consideration should perhaps be given to entirely prohibiting arms transfers effected by agents and requiring that all sales be made government to government.

e) States should observe international arms embargoes and introduce legislation making the violation of such embargoes a punishable offence for their own nationals even when the breach takes place outside the national territory.

f) Improved controls are needed on cross-border movements of arms and ammunition. These should include "transit countries", i.e. countries that are neither the producer nor the recipient of the arms involved.

g) Within the framework of development and peace-building processes, support should be provided for field surveys (based on a common international survey instrument – possibly a questionnaire – designed to optimize the reliability of the data gathered) by local and national organizations on the human costs of arms availability.

h) Improved inter-ministerial cooperation and information-sharing is needed within both supplier and recipient governments.

i) A tax could be imposed on arms production in order to provide resources to deal with the negative effects of weapons use on people's health and eventually to repurchase and to destroy surplus arms.

j) The system of "end-user" certificates needs to be significantly strengthened. These should be applied to agents as well as to exporting and importing governments. Specific penalties for violation of end-user certification by recipients and the eventual destruction of surplus arms should both be built into end-user agreements. Means should be sought to monitor the further transfer of small arms and light weapons.

k) Greater resources and training are needed for police and customs services.

l) Model legislation should be drawn up to facilitate the implementation of proposals (a) to (e).

2. Regional measures

a) Regional and sub-regional initiatives should be encouraged to ensure greater respect for international humanitarian law and human rights by States facing similar problems due to large-scale arms availability.

b) Moratoria on the production, import and export of weapons, such as that currently being studied in West Africa, should be considered in other regions.

c) Regional mechanisms to support the implementation and verification of both moratoria and other arms-limitations measures should be developed.

d) Significantly enhanced regional cooperation is needed among police and customs agencies for the effective implementation of both national and regional measures.

e) States in regions where international arms embargoes have been declared should respect those embargoes and support them with the necessary implementation mechanisms.

3. International measures

a) States and intergovernmental organizations should draw up global codes of conduct on arms transfers as a means of promoting respect for human rights and international humanitarian law. Such codes should then be translated into law at the national level.

b) Improved early-warning mechanisms should be devised by intergovernmental organizations as a means of alerting States in cases where the use of weapons in violation of international humanitarian law, human rights law and other internationally accepted norms is likely.

c) The immediate destruction of surplus arms and ammunition, to prevent them spreading further, should be an integral part of peace agreements and demobilization processes.

d) A simple guide should be drawn up by non-governmental organizations to facilitate the identification of small arms and light weapons by local and international observers.

e) Organizations with experience in conducting field surveys on the effects of arms availability should develop a common survey instrument.

f) The organizations mentioned in proposal (e) should formulate and propose a set of arms-related questions for use by all national and international agencies that routinely conduct surveys on social-economic problems.

g) When imposed, international arms embargoes should be accompanied by effective implementation and enforcement mechanisms.

h) International assistance should be made available to States for the disposal of surplus arms and ammunition and to enhance the ability of their law-enforcement agencies to curb illicit transfer and use of arms.

i) A global transparency regime, including a reliable system for marking arms and ammunition at the time of manufacture, should be established to make it less difficult to follow movements of small arms and light weapons and to promote confidence and stability.

All participants stressed that what is at stake in the debate on arms availability is the rule of law – both national and international. Respect for legal and societal norms such as those enshrined in international humanitarian law, human rights law and other fields requires limits to be placed on the availability of devices that could be used to undermine the law and to inflict horrendous suffering on the very people whom the law is intended to serve and protect. The growth of a culture of violence – encouraged by the easy availability of small arms – is a major obstacle to developing peaceful, prosperous and just societies, particularly in countries recovering from violent conflict. The availability of arms cannot simply be governed by the laws of supply and demand. The control of arms availability based on humanitarian law, development, human rights and other criteria should be among the international community's highest priorities.

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