Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 23. maj 2006 / Time Line May 23, 2006
Version 3.005/23/2006
Small Arms: A New Global Code of Conduct for Arms
Transfers
By Friends Committee on National Legislation The world is awash in
weapons. The easy availability of small arms, such as assault
rifles and shoulder fired missiles, destabilizes communities, fuels
abuses of human rights, and leads to the deaths of thousands of
civilians each year. Next month, representatives of more than 100
countries will gather at the United Nations to review progress
toward controlling the global trade in small arms and discuss a set
of global principles on arms transfers intended to stop the flow of
arms to conflict zones, to countries that violate human rights, or
to groups that promote violence.
FCNL was a leader of the coalition that persuaded Congress to pass
a code of conduct on international arms sales in 1999. We were
pleased in 2001 when representatives of more than 100 nations
agreed at the UN to an international accord preventing and
combating the proliferation and misuse of small arms and light
weapons; but we were disappointed that the accord left out any
mention of restraints on government arms sales. Now, five years
later another opportunity exists to increase controls over the arms
trade. We urge Congress to encourage the U.S. government to support
new guidelines on arms transfers at next month’s UN
gathering.
The Problem Continues
The estimated 639 million small arms and light weapons in
circulation around the world are a powerful catalyst of violence
– transforming group tensions into violent wars, minor
incidents into massacres, and law-abiding societies into criminal
battlegrounds. Sometimes referred to as “weapons of
individual destruction,” these deadly weapons are responsible
for an estimated 500,000 deaths a year. Some 1,200 companies
operating in 90 countries are involved in some aspect of the small
arms and light weapons trade. The legal global small arms market is
estimated at $4 billion and the illegal market is estimated at
close to $1 billion. Among the largest small arms and light weapons
exporters are the U.S., Italy, Belgium, Germany, Russia, Brazil,
and China. A new booklet published by the Small Arms Working Group
provides more information on the consequences of the proliferation
of small arms and light weapons.
The lack of effective controls over both legal and illicit sales of
small arms has contributed to the current crisis. Governments need
to find ways to reduce the threat to human security posed by these
weapons by establishing rigorous systems to stop the flow of
weapons into areas where they will be misused and by securing
existing stockpiles of weapons. Fortunately, opportunities exist in
the coming months to make real progress.
Second Global Conference on Small Arms
From June 26 to July 7, representatives of more than 100
governments and civil society organizations from around the world
will gather at the UN in New York to review progress since more
than 100 governments agreed in 2001 to the UN Programme of Action
to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms
and Light Weapons. While not legally binding, the 2001 action plan
is an important tool for governments engaged with stemming the flow
of illegal weapons.
Now world governments need to take the next step. The
“legal,” as-yet unrestrained arms trade remains a
significant source of weapons to war zones and abusive governments
and groups. The action plan requires states to authorize transfers
of small arms in line with "existing responsibilities of States
under relevant international law". Unfortunately, there is no
consensus on what international law has to say about arms
transfers. The lack of specific and strong export criteria
increases the likelihood that countries will sell weapons to places
where they would be used to fuel conflict or threaten
civilians.
FCNL has joined with the Arias Foundation, Amnesty International,
Project Ploughshares, Oxfam, and other groups to advance a global
code of conduct for arms transfers. We are calling on countries to
commit to a “global principles on arms transfers” that
will clearly define the obligations of countries to refrain from
selling weapons where they will be used to violate international or
regional treaties, perpetrate gross human rights violations or
severe violations of international humanitarian law, negatively
effect internal or regional peace and security, or impede
sustainable development.
By agreeing to these global standards, the world can take an
important step toward more control of the arms trade.
For more information, please see “What is the Programme of
Action of Small Arms and Light Weapons?” on FCNL’s
website.
Congressional Legislation to Secure Stockpiles of Small Arms The
best way to prevent small arms from fueling violence is to secure
and destroy weapons before they reach aggressors. Government
stockpiles of old, yet still deadly weapons from previous military
build-ups and wars are often poorly guarded and susceptible to
theft. Stocks of weapons stored in government facilities in the
former Soviet Union have been linked to the arming of both sides in
the civil war that ravaged Liberia, for example. Corrupt government
officials partnering with murky arms trade networks allow small
arms to routinely fall into the black market where they are sold to
violent extremists, insurgent groups, and criminal
organizations.
Securing and destroying surplus, obsolete, or confiscated weapons
is the only way to ensure that they will not be illegally
re-transferred and used to perpetrate violence in the future. In
early May, Reps. Royce (CA-40), Sherman (CA-27), and others
introduced the Shoulder-Fired Missile Threat Reduction Act (H.R.
5333) to combat the proliferation of shoulder-fired missiles and
other small arms. This bipartisan legislation would almost double
U.S. assistance for stockpile security and destruction abroad.
05/23/2006
MPs refuse to cut life sentence for deserters
By GERRI PEEV
The Scotsman
SOLDIERS who desert the armed forces because they refuse to serve
in a foreign military occupation could still face life in prison
after a bid to cut the sentence was rejected by MPs.
An amendment to the Armed Forces Bill that would have reduced the
maximum jail term for deserters to two years was overwhelmingly
rejected. Instead, MPs voted 442-19 to keep life imprisonment.
05/23/2006
Skrappere kontrol af PET
Kontrollen med hvem og hvad Politets Efterretningstjeneste registrerer bliver skærpet i forbindelse med, at Folketinget vedtager de nye love, der skal forbedre bekæmpelsen af terror.
Det særlige Wamberg-udvalg, der i dag overvåger efterretningstjenesten, får nye beføjelser og bedre muligheder for at kontrollere, hvad tjenesten registrerer.
http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Politik/2006/05/23/140219.htm
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