Small Arms Survey 2004: Rights at Risk.

Small Arms Survey 2004: Rights at Risk, a project of the Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2004, ISBN 0-19-927334-0, 334 pp., paperback, 17.99 [pounds sterling]. For ordering information go to: http://www.oup.co.uk/ isbn/0-19-927334-0.

The Small Arms Survey 2004: Rights at Risk provides original research and updated information on small arms production, stockpiles, and trade. In focusing on the links between small arms and the abuse of human rights, this edition explores the impact of arms exports on areas of conflict, the role of weapons in global violence and crime, and the implementation of human rights standards by police forces worldwide. The Survey also features in-depth coverage of issues such as the role of small arms in the Pacific and Kyrgyzstan.

In her foreword to the report, former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson points out that "governments dedicating limited resources to weapons of war are much less able to meet long-term commitments to education, health care, and housing--all of which constitute basic economic, social, and cultural rights."

Countries that trade in small arms bear the responsibility for controlling the proliferation and misuse of these weapons, yet the report finds that many governments are reluctant to release their arms trade data, let alone confront the consequences of their transfers.

This edition reveals that:

* States where serious human rights abuses are common do not tend to encounter major impediments in procuring small arms and light weapons.

* The most transparent state among the larger exporters of small arms and light weapons is Germany, followed by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.

* Worldwide, there are at least 200,000 annum non-war-related firearm deaths, the vast majority of which are homicides.

* A large number of countries are not adhering to international policing standards.

The 2004 Survey underlines the threat posed by man-portable air defence systems (MANPADS). At least 13 non-state groups, some of which have been identified as terrorist organizations, are known to possess MANPADS, with a further 14 groups reported to possess them. The international community turned its attention to the MANPADS issue after the failed attempt to shoot down an Israeli passenger airliner in Mombasa, Kenya, in late 2002.

Published by Oxford University Press, the Small Arms Survey 2004: Rights at Risk is the fourth annum global analysis of small arms issues. An independent research project funded by 12 governments, the Small Arms Survey is the principal international source of public information on all aspects of small arms. It is based at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. For more information, visit www.smallarmssurvey.org.