EMUN 2016
Security Council - Tracking of Illegal Arms Trades following the Collapse of
the soviet union
2016
Security Council – Tracking of
Illegal Arms Trades following the
Collapse of the Soviet Union
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EMUN 2016
Security Council - Tracking of Illegal Arms Trades following the Collapse of
the soviet union
Index
Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 3
Definition of key-terms ................................................................................................................. 4
General Overview........................................................................................................................ 6
Major parties involved and their views ....................................................................................... 10
Timeline of important events/Documents ................................................................................... 13
UN involvement ......................................................................................................................... 14
Possible Solutions ..................................................................................................................... 15
List of Sources .......................................................................................................................... 16
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EMUN 2016
Security Council - Tracking of Illegal Arms Trades following the Collapse of
the soviet union
Forum: Security Council
Issue:
Tracking of Illegal Arms Trades following the Collapse of the Soviet
Union
Student Officers:
Bautista Sánchez Mariño, Valentina Grigera and Bruno
Malarini
Position: Chairs
Introduction
The Soviet Union (USSR) conformed a full scale sphere of influence around the world,
including Eastern Europe, The Caribbean, Latin America, Africa and sites in Asia.
Many aspects would be molded by the USSR, including economy and policies. The
arms race affected the sphere as well, both on and off the record. Many illegal trade
agreements were pursued in such moments, as the USSR supported several
dictatorships or groups of conflict overseas, that otherwise would not have been able
to provide with weaponry due to international pressure. Illegal trade of weapons was
an important agent during the Cold War, shifting the balance of power, and its
consequences nowadays pose a threat to international security as a black market
keeps on operating and feeding groups of conflict.
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Definition of key-terms
Soviet Union Sphere of Influence:
As Winston Churchill gave its name to the Iron Curtain, countries ended up in an
abstract division under two main spheres of influence, the American and the Soviet.
This influence was used both officially and unofficially, in many aspects of countries’
policies. As well, governments were imposed in such countries with supply of
weaponry or aid to certain factions, consequently generating a black market of such
materiél. Illegal deals were generated the objective of avoiding public notice.
Arms Trade Treaty (ATT):
It is a legal agreement that settles common standards for the international trade of
weapons and persues to undermine the illegal trades of arms. The Treaty entered in
force in December 2014 and it does not regulate or places any restrictions to the
quantity of arms. The main aim of the Arms Trade Treaty is to lower the cassualties
caused by the illegal trade.
Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW):
Although there is no internationally agreed definition for small arms, these or light
weapons, as they might be called, are a type of arm used by armed forces or for selfdefence or self-protection. Any weapon under a 20- millimeter size is considered a
small or light arm. These are the most common weapons involved in trafficking of arms
as are designed they for personal use of and individual or, in other cases, of people
that serve in a crew. Moreover, for the United Nations defined SALW as: “any man
portable lethal weapon that expels or launches, is designed to expel or launch, or may be
readily converted to expel or launch a shot, bullet or projectile by the action of an
explosive.” The term was created to differentiate weaponry of the small type from the
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artillery type. Pistols, assault riffles and machine guns among others are under the
classification of small arms.
Boko Haram:
Boko Haram is a terrorist group established in the Northeastern side of Nigeria. The
name comes from hausa language where Boko Haram might mean “western
education y sinful”. There are no records that translate this as the official meaning but
the Nigerian terrorist group is known for their disdain towards western culture and
education. Boko Harma was belived to be associated with Al-Qaeda but on May 2015
the terrorist group pledged alliance to the Islamic State.
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General Overview
The Present of Illegal Arms Trade
Illegal Arms Trade is troublesome issue that has been fue fueling terror among
civialians for a long period of time and whose consequences keep threating worldwide
security and stability. As a result, United Nations has been fully comiited, since
December 2014, to follow the regulations imposed by the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).
Nonetheless, member states, specifically the 5 permanent members of the Security
Council, Italy and Germany, are the largest arms dealers in the world. The world’s
military expediture had decreased after the end of the Cold War, but now these have
reached the amount of a million trillion dollars which rounds the Cold War levels. Most
of the weapons are exported to developing nations in Asia and the Middle East, or
specifically India and Saudi Arabia. The later aquires all arms from the United States,
who has been Saudi Arabia’s supplier since the Persian Gulf Crisis (1991).
The trade these seven countries engange in is completely legal, but the practice of
arms trade in an excessive manner is the main cause for the exercise its illegal
counterpart.
The dominant countries’ lack of motivation to reduce their military
expenditure has caused resentment and distress among nations and has allowed a
poor regulation and supervision of the arms trade. As a result, the trafficking of small
arms and light weapons around the world became of easier access and, thus, an
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uncountable amount of armament reaches the hands of warlords, drug lords,
paramilitary groups and terrorist groups around the world constantly. The illicit trade
has reached a far extent; it is supposed that the trafficking of arms constitues a 20% of
the 60 billion dollars made annually in the worldwide market of arms.
In 2011, the UN’s Security Council called, for the very first time, a meeting on Small
Arms and Light Weapons. There, the members agreed on a Program of Action (PoA)
in order put an end to the illicit trade of armament, which consisted on a annual report
from all member states on the topic that had been discussed. From 2002 to 2010 the
PoA was full success but after 2010 the UN started to receive, gradually, less reports
per year. However, three countries, among them two who are in the top 10 of
worldwide arms suppliers, never issued a repor. The fact that China, the Russian
Federation and Israel never notified back to the UN has become a matter of distrust as
regards the issue of transparency. Anyhow, PoA never reached a second phase as the
meeting held in 2006, to revise the plan, proved that there were two complete different
sides to the argument. As seen there was no middle ground, the UN started a project
that, later, would end with the entry in force of the ATT.
The Program of Action was the first attempt to stop the illict trade of arms but others
followed after 2001. It is imperative to stress the importance of stoping the weapon
traffick in other to stabilize the situations in West and Central Africa, Nothern South
America, specially Colombia, and in the Middle East.
Illegal Trade of Arms Following the Collapse of the Soviet
Union
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the turmoil that followed provoked the
disregard of the massive amount of weapons scattered around the former Soviet
Republics and other states inclusive. While the world expectantly examined the
weapons of mass destruction, the fact that small arms and light weapons, which used
to belong to the Red Army, made their way to the black market was overlooked by the
the global attention. Nowadays, although the Russian Federation earns around 20
million dollars per year by legally selling Russian-made weaponry, the former Soviet
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Republic has yet to have a strick organized controll over the illegal trade of arms.
These have reached the hands of the Taliban who later made a transaction with
Chechen rebels and enabled them to have access to that type of weaponry. Moreover,
there are, at the moment, around 550 millions of small arms in circulation which were
traded llegaly but later 7 millions of them were smuggled across borders to supply
troubled Western African countries. The Russian Federation’s unsatisfactory
monitoring of exports is due to the geografical disadvantage of having an immense
territory. It has been reported the weakest borders are those with Azerbaijan, Estonia,
Latvia and Lithuania and, as expected, most of the smuggling in done through these
boundaries.
The arms markets, both legal and illegitimate, of the former USSR republics is led
by government agancies, private security firms, entrepreneurs, among others who
have traded with Lybia, North Korea, South Africa and East and West Europe.
Although several transactions are completely legitimate the lack of transparency and
the ever presence of corruption allow further transactions of illicit manners. Moreover,
the black market is compossed of a variety of businessmen who work for the private
sector of the illegal trade of arms. One of them, and the most rexognizex of them all,
was the Russian Viktor Bout who was convicted in 2012. He began a private business
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of illicit trade of arms in the 1990’s after the dissolution of the USSR and was able to
aquire Soviet aircfaft which he used to transport arms to Africa. Bout admitted having
supplied the Liberian President Charles Taylor with weapons to destablize Sierra
Leone and traded arms to both sides of the Angolan Civil War. He even made
transactions with warlords from Central and Nothern Africa and took small arms to
Liberia and Angola by smuggling them through the powerless borders between Russia
and Bulgaria and also de former Soviet republics of Ukraine and Moldova. Finally, in
2012 he was caught by two agents of the Drug Enforcemet Association (DEA) after
they located a transaction with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Before Viktor Bout was convicted and sentenced to twenty-five years of jail, he
provided a vast amount of African and Middle Eastern counties with former Soviet
weaponry.
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Major parties involved and their views
Russia
Russia has a major role in this conflict. As the USSR collapsed, Russia was
proclamated again and inherited many of the problems of the USSR. This is no
exception as the Soviet State performed many of the illegal deals in question, and the
actual Russian state could own evidence and documents on it. Russia is very reluctant
when it comes to de-classify certain files that could negatively affect her and its
cooperation on the matter is limited by this. Her relationship with former Soviet nations
varies, as many of these nations have united with Western blocks such as the
European Union or NATO. Russia still has an important weapon trade business, it has
been reported that most for illegal arms trade conducted in Nigeria is done by the
Russian black market.
United States of America
The USA has got a major participation on this issue. Throughout the 20th century, it
participated in all major conflicts that led to war, consequently having a great
participation in the weapons business. The arms race had as a major party the USA
and the USSR. Today it represents more than 40% of world trade of weapons, being a
massive business in the country. As well, like with the former Soviet Union, it has been
proven that the USA has provided several authoritarian regimes with weapons, an
supported some factions in wars overseas, pursuing some illegal deals. The United
States has been very critic of the former Soviet management of weapons trade as well
as with the present Russian Federation. Being part of NATO, the USA keeps close
bonds with European states on all Weapon Trade matters, including all the system of
world allies including Israel, South Korea and others. In South America, the United
States has provided Colombia with equipment and training in an effort to defeat
several guerrillas that affect the country. It is key to understand that all decisions
regarding trade of weapons and the route of weapons, will be seriously considered and
analyzed by the USA and its allies as it may affect its business.
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Ukraine
Ukraine was the main former Soviet illegal supplier between 1997 and 2000 and
while the legal arms trade increased steadely, the illicit transactions exported 1.5
billion dollars. Nevertheless, the illegal operations are linked to the bloodiest and most
well-known conflicts such as
the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein and the
Taliban in Afghanistan. All weapons used for the illigal arms trade were (and still are)
an inheritance of the Soviet Union after it’s collapse, and as the Red Army had based
1 million troops in Ukraine the stockpile of weapons in their territory is massive. After
Ukraine sided with NATO many weapons slipped from their attention and, with the help
of the black market, found their way to buyers from Sierra Leone to Croatia. The
corrupt military of the time allowed all illicit trade to happen without any obstacle. In
2001, Ukraine violated the Resolution 661 of the UN Security Council which imposed a
military embargo to Iraq and, later, in 2008 the President at the moment, Viktor
Yuschenko, was incriminated of gaining profit from arms trades with Georgia. In 2015,
the Russian goverment dug trenches in the border with Ukraine under the dismay that
arms smugglers would trade with the jihadists in the Nothern part of the Caucasus.
Nigeria
Between June 2006 and December 2015 there has been a record of more than
90,000 deaths in Nigeria. During the last decade the violence in the African republic
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began to increase steadely to the extent that the death of civilians has raised by 24%
as it was recorded in 2014. The proliferation of SALW has elevated disturbance and
brutality especially in Nigeria due to the easy access to weaponry that Boko Haram
has been having for the last years. The Small Weapons Survey of 2007 noted an
aproximation of 1 to 3 million small and light weapons but the break out of Boko Haram
in 2009 might have doubled the number the number. Anyhow, there hasn’t been any
another survey since 2007, thus, there is no hard evidence that the actual nombre is
twice as the one in 2007. Futhermore, Nigeria is a geographical strategic point for
further illegal trade, thus, it serves a link between buyers as well. It has been reported
that private Russian dealers are the main suppliers og Small Arms and Light Weapons
in Nigeria.
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Timeline of important events/Documents
1945
Detonation of First Nuclear Bomb by the USA.
1949
The USSR detonates its first nuclear bomb,
marking the beginning of the Arms Race.
1962
Cuban Missile Crisis, the USSR provides
weapons of mass destruction to Cuba.
1991
Collapse of the Soviet Union.
2001
First Security Council Meeting dealing with
Small Arms and Light Weapons.
2009
Boko Haram’s breaks out.
April 2012
Viktor Bout convicted and sentenced to twentyfive years in prision.
2013
Adoption of the Resolution 2117 (S/RES/2117).
Arms Trade Treaty signed.
2014
Arms Trade Treaty entry to force,
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UN involvement
Relevant UN Treaties and Events
● First Security Council meeting on the issue of Small Arms and Light Weapons
(2001).
● Security Council adopts the first-ever resolution on the question of Small Arms
and Light Weapons (S/RES/2117)
● Entry into force of the Arms Trade Treaty (2014).
● Chapters VI and VII of the UN Charter.
● United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA).
Previous Attempts to Solve the Issue
The UN main intervention began with the talks for an Arms Trade Treaty in the 90’s.
Finally, in the year 2013, the UN member states signed the Treaty which entered to
force in 2014. Also, it is important to understand that in 2001 the Security Council had
its first meeting on Small and Light weapons, portraying the many loopholes that
international legal framework may have. 12 years later, in 2013, the Security Council
signed the first resolution on this issue, (Resolution 2117 of 2013). The United Nations
has got a specific commission, United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs
(UNODA) which promotes all activities in order to achieve disarmament. There has
been nor a futher involvement on the issue of Small Arms and Light Weapons, neither
on the specific issue of the illegal arms trade in former Soviet Republics.
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Possible Solutions
Countries could appeal to ask for Russian cooperation on the topic. They have got
many unclassified documents or testimonies from Soviet functionaries that could be
helpful to pursue a solution. A limitation is the possible Russian non-cooperation due
to mixed interests. As well, delegates could propose the creation of specialized
investigation teams, under the UN or the International Penal Court, to follow the
weapons route in order to understand them, find the responsibles and pursue the
pertinent legal action. Even, the delegates could propose special teams to be set in all
UN missions where the former Soviet arms could be allegedly found, in order to
understand which factions have acquired them. The way to follow the path of weapons
trade, delegates could propose measures that tackle this issue from the factory.
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List of Sources
United Nations Office for Dissarmament Affairs. Retrieved on May 15 2016 from
<https://www.un.org/disarmament/convarms/armstrade/>
The Arms Trade Treaty at a Glance. Retrieved on May 15 2016 from
<https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/arms_trade_treaty>
Killer facts: The scale of the global arms trade. Retrieved on May 15 2016 from
<https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/08/killer-facts-the-scale-of-the-globalarms-trade/>
The Arms Trade is Big Business. Retrieved on May 15 2016 from
<http://www.globalissues.org/article/74/the-arms-trade-is-big-business>
Arms Control. Retrieved on May 15 2016 from
<http://www.globalissues.org/issue/66/arms-control>
Small Arms and Light Weapons. Retrieved on May 15 2016 from
<http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/small-arms.htm>
Hillmun background guide. Retrieved on May 15 2016 from
<http://www.hillmun.org/uploads/2/4/3/3/24333005/disec_final.pdf>
Soviet Small Arms Land in Wrong Hands. Retrieved on May 15 2016 from
<http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=79968&page=1>
Ian A. Illegal Arms Transfer. Retrieved on May 15 2016 from
<http://books.sipri.org/files/books/SIPRI98An/SIPRI98An12.pdf>
International Trade Background. Retrieved on May 15 2016 from
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<http://www.sipri.org/yearbook/2014/05>
Detecting Illegal Arms Trade. Retrieved on May 15th from
<http://www.igier.unibocconi.it/files/Detecting_Illegal_Arms_Trade.pdf>
Detecting Illegal Arms Trade. Retrieved on May 15 2016 from
<http://www.nber.org/papers/w13355>
Guns, Weapons and Illegal Trade. Retrieved on May 15 2016 from
<http://intpolicydigest.org/2015/01/05/guns-weapons-illegal-trade/>
Ukraine, Crashing in on Illegal Arms. Retrieved on May 15 2016 from
<http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/sierraleone/context.html>
Thachuk, K. Transnational Threats. Retrieved on May 15 2016 from
<https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=kcuJvl8FcBIC&pg=PA120&lpg=PA120&dq=ille
gal+arms+trade+following+the+collapse+of+the+soviet+union&source=bl&ots=3P1bJg
Inxf&sig=jjW1gFE1XvITcn4bMEF01WN6OrY&hl=es&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiV_v2uq9z
MAhUHhZAKHSZrA9sQ6AEIKTAC#v=onepage&q&f=false>
Illegal
Weapon’s
Trade
Awareness.
Retrieved
on
May
15
2016
from
2016
from
<http://illegalweaponstradeawareness.weebly.com/about.html>
The
Toll
of
Small
Arms
Op-Chart.
Retrieved
on
May
15
<http://pulitzercenter.org/articles/toll-small-arms-op-chart>
Grant, J. “Merchants of Death: The International Traffic in Arms. Retrieved on May 15
2016 from <http://origins.osu.edu/article/merchants-death-international-traffic-arms>
Gilson, D. Ukraine: Cashing on Illegal Arms. Retrieved on May 15 2016 from
<http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/sierraleone/context.html>
Fedirko, T. Trade and Trafficking: Ukraine and the regulation of international arms
trade. Retrieved on May 15 2016 from <http://www.pecob.eu/arms-trade-andtrafficking>
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MacCormarc, S. Russia Concerned About Arms Smuggling From… Ukraine. Retrieved
on May 15 2016 from <http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/2015/05/27/russiaconcerned-about-arms-smuggling-from-ukraine/>
Iloane, A. Illegal Guns Flooding Nigeria, Fulling Violence. Retrieved on May 15 2016
from <http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/illegal-guns-flooding-nigeria-fuellingviolence/137537.html>
What is Boko Haram? Retrieved on May 15 2016 from <https://www.quora.com/Whatis-Boko-Haram>
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