Farewell to illicit arms

Five years after adopting a UN Programme of Action to tackle illicit trade in small arms and light weapons (SALW), representatives of governments and civil society are meeting in Geneva to assess the progress made and the challenges ahead. Globally, illicit trade makes up 25% of the $4bn SALW market. Small arms, many of them manufactured or obtained illegally, cause between 80,000 and 108,000 deaths in conflicts and 200,000 deaths in non-conflict areas worldwide. SALW contribute to violence, which disrupts public life and social services, and impedes development in the long run. In addition, Studies by the International Action Network on Small Arms show that an increase in armed gangs glamorises gun culture and macho behaviour, thereby increasing sexual assaults on women.

Given that the arms industry is high politicised, with the military-industrial complex enjoying enormous leverage in developed countries, arms pushing is a phenomenon akin to drug pushing, as Amartya Sen says in a recent article. Various studies have pointed out that leading arms manufacturers in Europe, the US, China and Russia have sold arms to extremely poor and conflict-prone countries like Sudan and Liberia, where they are almost certain to cause human rights abuse. Hence, the UN Programme aims to encourage countries to strengthen national legislation to control illegal SALW trade, and to ensure that arms are not sold to countries that cannot afford their economic, social or human rights costs. At the same time, efforts are afoot to harmonise marking and record-keeping, and to foster cooperation in tracing of weapons. Nations today exist in a situation of shared vulnerability, and cooperation in such areas is pragmatic and far-sighted.

For India, which has an estimated 40m (mostly illicit) firearms, it is critical to check smuggling of SALW, the bulk of which reach insurgent movements and criminal gangs across the country. The government has already taken up the matter with Bangladesh and Myanmar, and should engage Pakistan too. Steps must be taken to shut down the numerous katta factories dotting the hinterland and more broad-ranging incentives, or perhaps, disincentives provided to leach away the illicit arms already in circulation.