Arms trafficking

Illegally trafficked small arms and light weapons captured by the United States Fifth Fleet, May 2021

Arms trafficking or gunrunning is the illicit trade of contraband small arms, explosives, and ammunition, which constitutes part of a broad range of illegal activities often associated with transnational criminal organizations. The illegal trade of small arms, unlike other organized crime commodities, is more closely associated with exercising power in communities instead of achieving economic gain.[1] Scholars estimate illegal arms transactions amount to over US$1 billion annually.[2]

To keep track of imports and exports of several of the most dangerous armament categories, the United Nations, in 1991, created a Register for Conventional Arms. Participation, however, is not compulsory, and lacks comprehensive data in regions outside of Europe.[3][2] Africa, due to a prevalence of corrupt officials and loosely enforced trade regulations, is a region with extensive illicit arms activity.[4] In a resolution to complement the Register with legally binding obligations, a Firearms Protocol was incorporated into the UN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime, which requires states to improve systems that control trafficked ammunition and firearms.[2]

The 1999 Report of the UN Panel of Governmental Experts on Small Arms provides a more refined and precise definition, which has become internationally accepted. This distinguishes between small arms (revolvers and self-loading pistols, rifles and carbines, submachine guns, assault rifles, and light machine guns), which are weapons designed for personal use, and light weapons (heavy machine guns, hand-held under-barrel and mounted grenade launchers, portable anti-aircraft guns, portable anti-tank guns, recoilless rifles, portable launchers of anti-aircraft missile systems, and mortars of calibres less than 100 mm), which are designed for use by several persons serving as a unit. Ammunition and explosives also form an integral part of small arms and light weapons used in conflict.[5]

  1. ^ Kostakos, Panos A.; Arsovska, Jana (2008). "Illicit arms trafficking and the limits of rational choice theory: the case of the Balkans". Trends in Organized Crime. 11 (4): 352–378. doi:10.1007/s12117-008-9052-y. ISSN 1936-4830. S2CID 154641130.
  2. ^ a b c "The Global Regime for Transnational Crime". Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on May 13, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  3. ^ "UN-Register". www.un-register.org. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  4. ^ Thachuk, Kimberley; Saunders, Karen (September 1, 2014). "Under the Radar: Airborne Arms Trafficking Operations in Africa". European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research. 20 (3): 361–378. doi:10.1007/s10610-014-9247-5. ISSN 1572-9869. S2CID 144051979.
  5. ^ Greene, O. (2000). "Examining international responses to illicit arms trafficking" (PDF). Crime, Law and Social Change. 33 (1/2): 151–190. doi:10.1023/A:1008398420612. S2CID 142629830. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 23, 2012.