Issue: the Question of Limiting Access to Arms by Terrorist Organizations

Forum: Disarmament

Issue: The question of limiting access to arms by terrorist organizations

Student Officer: Anabella Prosperi

Position: Mentor Chair

Introduction of Topic

Terrorist attacks have taken the life of many people, especially during the past few years. Illegal trafficking of arms makes it possible for terrorist groups to commit frequent attacks by giving them the key to violence. They obtain the money they need to buy ammunition by donations from supporters, by scamming banks, from ransoming hostages, by smuggling oil and selling it in Turkey, and finally by taxing. They also use the money raise to pay their soldiers.

The Syrian Civil War involves many countries as well as terrorist groups. In 2003 after the invasion of the US the Iraqi war officially started. At first the conflict was against the Baathist government of Saddam Hussein, but currently the conflict is against the Islamic State of Iraq, the Levant, and al-Qaeda associates. The most recent event involves the Civil war in Yemen which, according to the UN, has led to the death of over 10,000 people. The conflict is between Houthi rebels, al-Qaeda and Yemen's internationally- recognized government. Yemen’s government is supported by countries like France, UK, US, and Saudi Arabia. The amount of deaths that came from these conflicts could have been much less if the access to guns was limited.

Definition of Key Terms

Arms

Weapons made to destroy infrastructure or kill living beings. Including small arms, Light weapons, and Ammunition/ explosives.

Terrorism

Defining the word terrorism has proven to be a difficult task, and many different definitions have been created. According to Oxford dictionary, terrorism is the use of violence often toward civilians to intimidate and terrify, especially for political, social, or economic purposes.

Background Information

Terrorism is a major problem in today’s world. It has claimed the life of many innocent civilians, and threatens to continue. In many countries buying or trading any kind of arms is illegal. Still many terrorist groups are able to obtain such weapons through the black market. For example when the Soviet Union fell military equipment was stolen from warehouses and later sold in the black market. The same problem also occurred when Albania fell. Another access to arms can be found in today’s post-war zones were terrorist organizations can easily get their hands on weapons let by the army. In countries like Serbia, Afghanistan, Libya or Syria war has left weapons in the hands civilians. As a result smaller terrorist groups can get guns and ammunition at lower prices.

Another popular method that gun traders can use to acquire weapons is through governmental corruption. In some cases, officials buy weapons from arm manufacturers and pretend that they are for the use of the police or army. Later depending on their interests officials can donate this weapons to rebel groups outside of the country. This can offer officials benefits if such group is to win the conflict. During the Syrian civil war many countries donated weapons to the rebels which later fell into the hands of various terrorist groups. Other corrupt officials are willing to sell weapons to terrorist organizations in order to make a profit. According to Transparency International, corruption in arms trade makes up about 40% of corruption worldwide.

Since 2010 exporters of weapons have not made any effort to keep their exports away from illegal purposes. In April 2013, the General Assembly voted to adopt the arms trade treaty. The treaty was supposed to control the exportation of weapons by monitoring arms exports, checking that the weapons are not being sold to countries undergoing embargoes, that they are not being used by terrorist organizations, or that they are not violating human - rights. However it has not being efficient since 5 out of the top 10 arms exporters have not ratified including the US. Also China and Russia have not signed, and are both abstaining in voting procedure.

Major Countries Involved

United States of America

The US is the biggest arms producer in the world. One of the government bureaus named the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have been known to arm groups in war zones. For example during the Soviet- Afghan war in the 1987, the United States supported the Mujahidin resistance led by Osama Bin Laden with weapons in order to help them win the war. Later this rebel group joined the Taliban officials that ruled over Afghanistan spreading fear and violence. Other countries like China, UK, Russia, and France have followed similar policies during the Cold War and also on conflicts today.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

UNODC is a United Nations organization was founded to fight against illegal drugs and international crime. The UNODC have the authority to provide technical and legal support to countries fighting against illegal drugs, crimes, and terrorism problems. Its foundation consist of the following goals. First the organization wants to provide collaboration projects to expand the capacity of Member States to act against illicit drugs, crimes, and terrorism. Second the organization wants to increase knowledge and understanding of drugs and crime issues. Lastly UNODC desires to assists member states in implementing international treaties, and developing laws on drugs, crimes, and terrorism.

Terrorist Groups

Please note that the following list is taken by the U.S. Department of State, and that such lists will vary depending on the different member states. See the link below to access a full list.

● https://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/other/des/123085.htm

Russia

Russia is the second biggest gun exporter. It manufactures the AK-47, which is a gun used frequently around the world. Russia is also known for supplying countries like Kosovo, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Viet Nam with arms, and openly bringing its support to Bachar Al Assad’s regime in Syria.

China

China is the third biggest gun exporter. They are able to produce weapons at low cost and copy designs from Russia and the US. They mainly focus on selling smaller weapons through the black market, but they also sell to Asian militaries.

India

India ranks as the number one importer of guns. For about a decade now India has been collecting weapons and military equipment. It has also been arming the Kashmir conflict for many years, as well as The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam group in Sri Lanka.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia ranks as the second biggest gun importer. It is the country in the Middle East with the most imports, and has been accused of arming Sunni terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda.

Timeline of Events

Date Description of event

July 20, 2001 / Adoption of the Program of Action (Provides guidelines on how to reduce illegal trading of small arms and light weapons)
March 28, 2013 / Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) is created
22 August 2013 / Report of the Secretary General on Small Arms
22 May 2015 / Security Council Resolution on small arms that contained new goals aiming to strengthen UN coordination and action on small arms, promote helpful implementation of UN arms embargoes and support the Arms Trade Treaty.

Main Issue

The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) was created in 2013 and ever since it has been implemented by most countries. The treaty establishes common standards for the international trade of weapons and seeks to reduce the illegal arms trade. The treaty aims to decrease human suffering caused by illegal arms trade, improve regional security, and promote transparency in the national control system. Even so terrorism has expanded since 2013 and the ATT is not made to cover such terrorism. The ATT was made to control groups such as Al - Qaeda or Hezbollah but was not prepared for the Islamic State which rose around the Syrian civil war. Another Issue with the ATT is its failure to have obtained support from all major exporters. However Amnesty International has and will continue to campaign and inflict pressure on countries who have yet ratified the treaty.

Another problem is the fact that gun production has increased immensely over the past few years. In the US only production has doubled since 2009. Unfortunately these supplies have ended up fueling violent conflict all over the world especially in the Middle East and Europe. Lastly arms trade is an extremely unreliable business, with little access to information and statistics on the topic.

Possible Solutions

Fighting Corruption

One way traffickers can easily get arms into a country is by bribing officials. Governments should establish strong anti - corruption laws to avoid this problem. For example, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) a group of anti - bribery countries decided that in order to reduce bribery measures had to be taken. They decided upon prohibiting the bribery of foreign officials, obligating governments to prosecute companies suspected of bribing public officials in their or foreign countries, encouraging teamwork between countries, establishing an international review system, and effective whistle-blower mechanisms. A whistle-blower is a person who informs on other people or an organization regarded as participating in an unlawful or immoral activity, including corruption.

Another possible solution can be the use of sanctions on countries suspected of participating in corruption. Sanctions can be either economic or sanctions restricting arms trade.

Expanding Capabilities of the ATT

Many gun producers are able to disregard the ATT since they have not signed the illegal arms trade. This greatly weakens the power of the ATT. Another problem the ATT faces is the fact it was not made to withstand the amount of terrorism in the world today. Since the ATT was created before the rise of the Islamic State it would be useful to review the ATT policies and make them stronger.

Limiting the money and equipment terrorist possess

Many countries supply terrorist groups with arms intentionally and by mistake. For example the Saudi Arabian king donated money to Al-Qaeda for their case of expanding Sunni Islam in the Middle East, the Islamic State is able to smuggle oil and sell it to turkey, and the CIA has armed rebels and passed it as a humanitarian act. This actions increase the power of terrorist groups and increases their abilities. The UN should restrict this actions, and has attempted to do so through the ATT. The ATT states that gun manufacturers are held responsible for the actions their clients commit using their weapons, and that manufacturers should be careful and do research before they sell their supplies to clients. A method that terrorist use to gain money is through tax. Terrorist operated regions by the Taliban, ISIL, Boko Haram, and other organizations force their people and shop owners to pay them money for tax, protection, and to save their lives. This system is extremely hard to break since it is out of our reach, but it is important to be aware of such methods.

Managing Military Equipment

Multiple times terrorist have been able to obtain military equipment left behind in post - war zones or in warehouses. This scenario has happened during the fall of the Soviet Union and after the Libyan civil war, where thousands of guns where left behind which civilians have picked up. In order to avoid this countries should guard their military equipment better and make sure that they take all their equipment with them or destroy it before leaving a country.

Bibliography

Nancy.cao. "United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime." About UNODC. UNODC, n.d. Web. 02 Jan. 201.<

"Overwhelming Majority of States in General Assembly Say 'Yes' to Arms Trade Treaty to Stave off Irresponsible Transfers That Perpetuate Conflict, Human Suffering | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases." UN News Center. UN, n.d. Web. 03 Sept. 2016.< terrorism/p25729>

Wikipedia contributors. "Arms industry." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 1 Sep. 2016. Web. 3 Sep. 2016.

Integrity, GAN. "OECD Anti-Bribery Convention." Http://visionteam.dk. OECD, n.d. Web. 02 Jan. 2017.< combating-bribery-of-foreign-public-officials-in-international-business-transactions.aspx >

Williams-Grut, Oscar. "Here's Where Terrorist Groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda Get Their Money." Business Insider. Business Insider, 07 Dec. 2015. Web. 05 Jan. 2017. < >