Under the gun.

In the last 10 years, 2 million children have been killed in conflicts alone where small arms have been used, 5 million have been disabled and 12 million left homeless. Many have been exploited as combatants, forced themselves to kill or be killed.

Civilians are coming under increasing threat from the spread of small arms and light weapons and their illegal trade. These "weapons of choice" in 46 out of the 49 major conflicts since 1990 have devastated whole societies and caused untold agony. They have triggered 4 million deaths--about 90 per cent civilian and 80 per Cent women and children--as well as the displacement of huge populations. More than 500 million small arms and light weapons are currently in circulation the world over-1 for about every 12 people. And they continue to pose an enormous humanitarian challenge, particularly in internal conflicts where insurgent militias fight against government forces, and civilians are the deliberate targets of violence. It is no wonder that Secretary-General Kofi Annan called small arms "weapons of mass destruction" in terms of the carnage they cause.

While estimated 50 to 60 per cent of the world's trade of small arms is legal, those weapons often find their way into the illicit market. These include leftovers from the cold war, especially in developing countries: In Afghanistan, there are some 10 million of these weapons; in West Africa, an estimated 7 million; and in Central America, about 2 million. Arms stolen or captured from state security forces provide another major source of black-market supply around the world.

In societies awash with illicit weapons, resort to violence leads to a vicious cycle of even greater demand for arms. According to two major United Nations studies carried out by small arms experts and presented to the General Assembly in 1997 and 1999, illicit trafficking in small arms plays a major role in the violence that permeates some societies, perpetuating a variety of social ills in countries or regions. Excessive flows of illegal small arms destabilize Governments, encourage crime and foster terrorism.

International cooperation in arresting the problem is crucial. Some States need help at the national level in developing or strengthening legislation to control the flow of these weapons, while others need to build capacity in creating more effective law enforcement mechanisms.

Controlling the illegal trade in small arms does not lend itself to easy answers. Small weapons mean big business for dealers--no taxes, no customs, enormous profit margins. Adding to the danger, the vast supply of small arms leads to cut-throat prices. In some parts of the world, an AK-47 assault rifle can be bought or traded for less than $20. There is also a clear link between small arms and drug trafficking--something underpinned by criminal organizations that deal in both commodities.

Yet, momentum has been building to tackle the many sides of the problem-the manufacture, brokering and transport and, most importantly, the use of small arms. The General Assembly in 1999 decided to convene the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, which will take place from 9 to 20 July 2001 in New York. The debate on measures to tackle the problem begins with the reaffirmation of the legal and protected right of each Member State to individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against it. However, that aspect must be balanced by the threat to international peace and security that excessive small arms pose to a country or region.

The Conference's draft programme of action suggests action at the national, regional and global levels, and recommends how States can follow through with such measures, individually and together. Some of these measures include stockpile management and, through collection and destruction, reduction of the illegal weapons. Other suggested measures aimed at tracing weapons include record keeping, export-control measures, exchange of information, and controlling weapons transactions by dealing with brokering and financing activities, as well as control through marking.

RELATED ARTICLE: Legal Framework against Illegal Arms

While the 2001 UN Conference and its Preparatory Committee are dealing with the destabilizing accumulation and spread of military-style small arms and light weapons within the context of international security and disarmament, another negotiating process took place in Vienna, Austria. Delegations there agreed on 2 March on a legally binding Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition, which is designed to supplement the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, signed in Palermo, Italy in December 2000. Once entered into force, the Protocol will provide an international law enforcement mechanism for crime prevention and the prosecution of firearms traffickers. Among other things, it would establish internationally recognized standards and provisions regarding marking, record keeping and import/export control.