Southern China International MUN
Official Background Guide
Committee of UNDC: Finding Means to Subdue Illicit Small Arms
Trade in Sub-Saharan Africa and MENA Region
Agenda Overseen by Hanson Dai, Holly Qu and Sricharan Poyyamozhi
I.
Description of the issue
Throughout history there have been an innumerable amount of quarrels and
conflicts that have taken place. The conflicts that are being referred to are not of the
diplomatic kind over trade agreements or border talks. These quarrels are a mild
manner of referring to one thing, War; violent and bloody clashes that take the lives
of countless humans. Throughout time mankind has been consistent in engaging in
vicious battles, the only thing remaining consistent is the body count sure to be
present at the end. However, one thing that does not remain consistent and evolves as
mankind evolves is the manner in which the fight is fought, the weapons that are used.
What were once bows and arrows has transitioned seamlessly to our present day
where guns are the norm during battles. Of course, in the present day they are hardly
any ‘wars’ so to speak. There are no two countries engaging in armed conflict with
each other, rather what the world is witnessing currently are a multitude of internal
conflicts that are restrained inside borders and hardly ever spillover. We can see civil
wars, insurgent attacks and terrorist organizations which is the result of conflict in the
contemporary world and to fight these battles guns are a necessity.
While the world as a whole could be classified as stable when it comes to armed
conflict. There are regions of the world where conflict is at an all-time high and where
the fatalities keep piling up. The two most danger-prone regions are Sub-Saharan
Africa and the MENA Region. Sub-Saharan Africa refers to all those countries that lie
south of the Sahara Desert and comprises of most of the African countries. MENA is
an acronym indicating the Middle-Eastern and North African countries. MENA as a
whole is ambiguous with no set definition of the countries it defines but for the
purposes of the conference we will be using a broad definition the region MENA
which includes fringe countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan. In these regions not
only do we see major armed conflicts such as the Iraq and Syrian civil wars or
Insurgent wars in Egypt and Turkey; but due to a number of factors, ranging from
government inability to economic poverty, in a number of these countries in this
region we can witness increased gang violence and while not glamourous as major
conflicts there is still terror to found in these countries.5
The point being made is not of the number of conflicts but the consequences. In
2016 alone there have been more than 120,000 reported casualties linked to conflicts
and a vast majority comprise of civilian causalities and not of the fighters
themselves.2 While this could be easily disregarded as just an insignificant figure not
even totaling in the millions, I will put it this way. I am writing this on January 7th,
one week since the New Year. In 2017 there have already been 129 reported deaths in
armed conflicts. While we have spent the New Years with our families and have spent
the week coming down from our celebratory highs, there are people who do not have
the same luxury and live in fear of if they will even live to see the next day and sadly,
some do not.
Now we come to the root of the problem. How, in fact are a majority of these
deaths caused? Guns, or more specifically small arms. The UN Panel of
Governmental Experts on Small Arms defined them as: “Revolvers and self-loading
pistols; rifles and carbines; sub-machine guns; assault rifles; light machine guns” A
simplistic method of thought refers to a weapon that can be wielded with one or two
hands and thus the definition sometimes includes grenades. Small arms are not to be
confused with Light weapons which include launchers and anti-tank/aircraft weapons.
Small arms constitute the majority of the trade due to their versatility opposed to light
weapons which are more specialized in their tasks.2 Small arms are cheaper and so
more can be bought in bulk and can be stockpiled rather easily. Small arms also have
the tendency to leak out into the public rather than light weapons which are jealously
guarded.2
These weapons of war are very rarely made in the places where conflicts take
place but are rather imported from major legal arms production companies situated in
MEDCs such as US, Russia and a number of European countries.5 There have of
course been previous methods to curb the trade of small arms to conflicted region to
minimize the scale of conflict to save lives; thus where the practice to trade small
arms to these countries have become ‘illicit’ or illegal. We have UN sanctioned
regulations as early as 2005 in the form of the UN Firearms Protocol and the
Programme of Action on small arms (POA) wherein countries agreed to improve
national laws, set controls and regulate production.4 These programs and others, the
POA in particular, have been the major impetus on arms trade worldwide for the
better part of a decade. Quite, recently in 2014 we have the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)
enter into effect which specifically targets the matter of trading weapons to terrorist
organizations after the bout of terror groups that had sprung up in the preceding
years.4
However, in spite of these efforts thanks to the advancement of society providing
services such as the internet and online banking, payment transfers are near
impossible to regulate. This coupled with elaborate measures utilizing forged
documents and bribery, it has become customary to transport weapons across in ships.
It does not help that most of the countries being shipped to have poor infrastructure
and find it impossible to regulate trade efficiently. Overall, this has allowed a global
market of small arms to flourish.4
II.
Emphasis of the discosure
The issue of small arms trade has been a widely debated topic with contrasting ideas
ranging from loosening trade laws to completely restricting it.
1. Right Wing approach
A conservative viewpoint is one where countries are against strengthening small
arms trade regulation or are apathetic to the situation. This could stem from
countries who want more freedom to trade and is thus economically driven
motive. These countries wish to take advantage of conflicts occurring world-wide
and seek to profit off it. There are also parties that may support certain conflicts
for their personal reasons and may want to encourage them, thus wanting an
increased supply of small arms to the nation. The benefits to a conservative
approach is that no action would have to be taken, thus saving the UN costs of
implementing control and regulatory measures which could be used for other
purposes. Also, burdened countries are not forced to allocate resources to follow
measures, who may find the extra cost creating problems. The cost of a
conservative approach is that the situations does not change and rather has the
potential to worsen, with conflicts continuing to rage out of control and
unchecked.
2. Left Wing Approach
A liberal viewpoint is one where countries are proactive in strengthening small
arms trade regulation to prevent the supply of small arms to conflict-zones. This
approach is fueled by more ethical reasons as a means to restore peace to the war
zones. By limiting the illegal trade of weapons to one side, it gives the other side
an advantage which should quickly resolve the conflict by handicapping the other
sides means to do battle. The cost of such an approach is that strict small arms
trade regulation must be placed by manufacturing countries and they have to take
up the work to implement new policies which may burden less well-off countries.
It could also be economically damaging for countries that rely on weapons trade.
The benefit of such an approach is that conflicts are resolved quicker, saving a lot
more people. Also, it allows for the countries in conflict to recover allowing them
to finally focus on economic growth and most importantly trade. It is no secret
that the African countries embroiled in war are host to a large amount of precious
resources and if conflict is resolved these resources are more accessible to the
world market on a bigger scale.
3. Stance of International Government Organizations
Some major organizations involved in this situation includes UNDC which is
heavily in favor of restricting small arms trade as they have a chief focus on
disarmament. The UNREC (UN Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in
Africa) is a branch if the UN dedicated solely to curb conflicts in Africa and
would once again support preventing small arms trade. The IANSA (International
Action Network on Small Arms) is an NGO that works world-wide to curb small
arms trade.4
4. Stance of Developed countries
There is honestly no one stance for developed countries and can be split into two.
It is a fact that developed countries are the major arms exporters involved thus
would be loathe at the economic backlash they would suffer. There are also
countries who would encourage the conflict between the countries for their own
reasons. However, there are also developed countries who would take the opposite
approach and advocate a strengthening in policies. This is the policy taken by
countries who see no end to conflict and would prefer it be resolved for stability
and a chance to further economic interests when the region has stabled. Developed
countries as a whole may feel that that the situation does not largely involve them
and seek to ignore the issue as a whole. The developed countries most involved
with the issue are the major arms exporters such as US, Russia and several
middle-east countries along with countries situated near the conflict such as Israel
and Saudi Arabia who do not share the same problems but may face situations
where it may spill over.1
5. Stance of developing countries
It is in fact developing countries that have been most hit by the unregulated small
arms trade as they are the sites for the conflict taking place. They would strongly
advocate strengthening gun laws to hasten their internal conflicts, where hence
granting them the chance to rebuild their countries. They will seek help from the
developed countries to keeps sure their arms manufacturers are under check to
stem the flow of weapons. The countries most affected by this situation can be
grouped as typically most of the countries that comprise the MENA region and
where conflict is fast getting out of hand such as Sudan, Kenya and recently
Yemen.3
III.
Possible Solutions
Due to the nature of the topic the solutions proposed may stem from an indifferent
altitude to a passionate advocation for small arms trade. Keep in mind that numerous
sanctions are already in place restricting small arms trade, any solutions planned must
seek to work around them or build on top of them.
1. In favor of developed countries
Developed countries would be keen to allow developing countries to solve their
own problems, thus would advocate developing countries to strengthen their
borders and their infrastructure to make sure that illegal small arms are not
sneaked in. These measures could range from rooting out corruption to enforcing
harsher laws on unsanctioned fire-arms producers and dealers.2
Another thought are for the countries in question to develop and arm firearmsbased committees. These committees would be armed and trained to have a
primary focus on finding illegal hordes and destroying them. Secondary purposes
could include more passive approaches such as educating the masses by informing
them of the dangers associated with illegal small arms and establishing a network
of informants to report back on any associated dealing going on.
2. In favor of developing countries
Developing countries governments already face huge burdens on their economies
with a very unstable infrastructure. They would be hard-pressed to fund and set up
their own regulations to deal with the problem. Thus they would likely call for
assistance from developed countries and would call for monetary funds to fund
organizations who are working towards preventing illicit arms trade.
They would also want strict UN sanctions placed on developed countries’ gun
manufacturers to regulate and control the guns produced to ensure none end up in
the conflict zone. A more inventive approach would be to implement a tracking
system such that all guns produced are traceable to manufacturers which in turn
could help identify the culprits in charge of trading.3
IV.
Keep in mind the following
1. Delegates remember to research your country thoroughly too see how your
country is involved with is topic. Are your countries embroiled in any conflicts?
Are they major small arms importers OR exporters?
2. Remember the focus of this committee is on Disarmament. Thus measures that
go against this will not be entertained. Thus a skilled delegate’s resolution would
be on furthering their country’s agenda while still operating under the guise of
disarmament.
3. Be innovative and come up with solutions that can be implemented when you are
writing your position papers. It does not matter if your country is involved with
this topic or not. You should still look to come up with ideas that help. The thing
most appreciated are the ideas you bring to the table, not the summary of how
you are involved in the situation. What EXACTLY does your country hope to
accomplish? What level of subterfuge is necessary to accomplish what your
country desires?
4. When coming up with solutions look to utilize everyone to their fullest extent.
You are presenting a solution, anyone that can help; bring them into the fold.
Developed countries, Developing countries, Intergovernmental Organization,
Non-government Organizations, even other branch committees of the UN are fair
game. Which organizations are going to handle what part of your proposed
solutions? Where is the funding going to come from? Who is going to oversee
implementation?
5. This is a current global issue and is a very serious one at that. I have only given
you the basis of a few solutions. Make sure to put in as much thought and effort
as you can and provide detailed solutions that even when implemented in the real
world would work.
V.
Evaluation
Overall, in recent times, there has been an increase in the illicit trade in small arms
due to the numerous conflicts that have arose demanding weapons to be fought with.
These conflicts have had a largely negative effect on the countries they take place in
stunting growth and most importantly, resulting in a lot of civilian casualties. A large
portion of these countries take place in less-developed countries who barely have the
resources to cope with the war let alone run the country, thus the restriction on the
trade of firearms will help these countries by resolving the conflict. Developing
countries however largely have the means to do so as they have the resources to help
and the control to regulate their own production. However, conflict does provide
income which could prevent them from helping. There are numerous solutions that
can be taken to tackle this issue. Be warned and heed exactly what you hope to
accomplish in your countries steed and exactly what your solutions would mean in the
long run.
VI.
Bibliography
1.
"Global Scourge from Illicit Trade in Small Arms Continues to 'Wreak Havoc',
Says UN Disarmament Head, as Meeting on 2001 Action Programme Opens |
Meetings Coverage and Press Releases." United Nations. United Nations, n.d.
Web. 14 Jan. 2017. <http://www.un.org/press/en/2010/dc3247.doc.htm>.
2.
"GLOBAL TRADE IN SMALL ARMS: HEALTH EFFECTS AND
INTERVENTIONS." Http://www.ippnw.org/. International Physicians for the
Prevention of Nuclear War, n.d. Web. <http://www.ippnw.org/pdf/global-trade-insmall-arms.pdf>.
3.
"ILLICIT SMALL ARMS TRADE IN AFRICA FUELS CONFLICT,
CONTRIBUTES TO POVERTY, STALLS DEVELOPMENT, SAY SPEAKERS
ON SECOND DAY OF UN REVIEW CONFERENCE | Meetings Coverage and
Press Releases." United Nations. United Nations, n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2017.
<http://www.un.org/press/en/2006/dc3032.doc.htm>.
4.
"The Illicit Trade Of Small Arms." Geopolitical Monitor. N.p., 23 Apr. 2014.
Web. 14 Jan. 2017. <https://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/the-illicit-trade-ofsmall-arms-4273/>.
5.
Ibrahim Esq, Abdullah. "The State of the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light
Weapons in Sub-Saharan Africa: Regional, State and Local Causes."
Http://www.seahipaj.org/. International Journal of Business & Law Research , n.d.
Web. <http://seahipaj.org/journals-ci/sept-2016/IJBLR/full/IJBLR-S-2-2016.pdf>.