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Millions
of poor people, especially in Africa, suffer from hunger and disease as
they struggle to live on less than USD$1 per day. Yet many of their
governments, led by ruthless and corrupt dictators, spend millions of
dollars of national income, grants and aid on purchasing weapons of mass
destruction e.g. revolvers, rifles, hand-held grenades, portable anti-tank
and anti-aircraft guns, machine guns, ammunition, land mines, tanks and
military aircrafts.
Article
51 of the UN Charter authorises states to defend themselves and it is
generally accepted that small arms are mainly used for security purposes.
At present there are 639 million firearms. Civilians legally own 59% of
such small arms.
The
free availability of small arms, especially in certain regions of the
world e.g. Africa initiates, intensifies and sustains violence, internal
conflict and communal unrest. The WHO estimates that 2.3 million people
die each year as victims of conflict where small arms are used. These arms
threaten vulnerable people such as refugees, women and children. The UN
estimates that there are 12.8 million refugees and 25 million internally
displaced persons. Potential violence from the proliferation and
widespread use of small arms prevents these people from returning to their
villages. Expenditure on firearms deprives funding of health, sanitation
and education thereby impeding economic development in these poor
countries.
Small
arms threaten aid and voluntary workers (70% of deaths of personnel from
UN, the Red Cross and NGOs is from use of firearms and only 17% from road
accidents) and the violence resulting from firearms increases public
health costs.
Who
produces, sells and profits from the sale of such arms to the poor? Is it
possible to regulate the international small arms trade? What are the
humanitarian consequences of the massive use of small arms and light
weapons?
Some
98 countries have the capacity to manufacture small arms. China, Russia
and the USA are the biggest producers, although 10 others have significant
production/sales: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Israel,
Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. It is difficult to estimate the
volume and value of arms sales as each producer/seller country is
reluctant to confirm its deals. Reliable estimates suggest that arms sales
amounted to USD$2.8 billion and ammunitions USD$4.6bn in the year 2000.
The
illegal trade, both for new and second hand weapons, is estimated to be
worth USD$1billion. Such illegal trade consists of sales by governments or
“middlemen” (merchants of death) to countries under an arms embargo,
unrecognised paramilitary groups, rebels, warlords and mercenaries. Under
these conditions sale prices are inflated and the poor suffer even more as
their governments pay over the odds to secure these weapons! Huge
financial kickbacks from such purchases fill the Swiss bank accounts of
dictators and warlords and fuel their desire to sustain their reign of
terror e.g. a second hand AK-47 rifle costs USD$10 in Afghanistan, USD$12
in Angola, USD$120 in Somalia and USD$2400 in Kashmir!
In
contrast to nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, there are no
international norms or standards applying to small arms. The UN Conference
on Small Arms in 2001 failed to establish a legal framework to restrict
the manufacture, sale and use of such weapons. Clearly, there is an
insatiable demand and producer countries continue to profit without the
need to disclose their activity.
Is
this situation compatible with the morality proclaimed by President Bush
and Prime Minister Blair? Should the rich nations with the capacity to
produce the weapons of death continue to sell arms to the countries where
millions are starving to death? If it is right to disarm Saddam Hussein in
Iraq then why should we not apply the same principle in Somalia, Ivory
Coast, Zimbabwe and any other country that uses violence against its own
people or its neighbours? It is time that the rich and mighty nations who
sit at the top table recognise that hypocrisy & double standards
should have no place in international politics. The poor of this world
deserve better from us all!
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