Business and Economics BLT Seminar I nternational T rade in A rms: T he T reaty is A dopted. W hat N ow? Dr Jadranka Petrovic BLT, Caulfield Campus 18

Business and Economics

BLT Seminar

International Trade in Arms: The Treaty is Adopted. What Now?

Dr Jadranka Petrovic

BLT, Caulfield Campus

18 October 2013

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I Introduction

II Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)

III Australia’s role

IV Conclusion

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I INTRODUCTION


↘ Arms trade constitutes a key challenge to human security

↘ An estimated 2000 people die every day from armed violence around the world (armed conflict and non-armed conflict related)

↘ There are an estimated 875 million small arms in circulation

↘ Illicit trade in arms, together with illicit trade in drugs and in cultural property, is a lucrative multimillion dollar business

↘ Until recently, regulatory gaps in int’l arms trade

↘ From 2006-2012 a process of negotiating a global treaty to regulate arms trade

→ culminated in the adoption of the ATT by the UN GA Res A/RES/61/89 of 2 April 2013 (by a 154-to-3 vote with 23 abstentions), opened for signature 3 June 2013 (67 States signed on that day; as of September 2013, 112 Signatories and 7 Parties; not in force -- 50 ratifications required + 90 d)


II ATT

A Why was the Treaty necessary?

B The Treaty’s scope and ‘heart’

C The question of effectiveness


A. Why was the ATT necessary?

↘ Arms transfers fuel conflict, armed violence and human rights violations ↘ Arms are being abused and are ending up in the wrong hands, which inter alia,

makes child soldiering, seizure of natural resources, human trafficking and drug trafficking, terrorist activities, crimes against women and children, and crimes of genocide even more possible can affect distribution of aid and endanger peacekeepers

↘ Problem of illicit arms brokering use of global networks of companies and individuals to exploit regulatory gaps [eg, a NZ registered shell company (NZ Report by Oxfam)]

illegal arms dealers earn hundreds of millions of dollars every year and make more every time the UN imposes arms embargoes (eg, Victor Bout selling weapons to the Taliban in the late 1990s)


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B. What does the ATT cover?↘ It is neither really a treaty about prohibiting weapons or disarmament, nor a trade treaty↘ It is a treaty about human rights and about preventing violations of IHL – a treaty aimed at halting terrorist offences and war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, and at reducing the impact illicit arms has on security and development internationally

creates an int’l framework under which States will trade responsibly and transparently in conventional arms

↘ succinct yet comprehensive (28 articles) ↘ Scope:

Article 2: all conventional arms; transfers, including brokering Article 3: ammunition } a national control system to

Article 4: parts & components } regulate the export (arts 2, 6,7,12)

↘ Heart of the Treaty: Article 6 – prohibitions on arms transfers Article 7 – export & export assessment (where there is an overriding risk of certain enumerated negative consequences, the exporting state party must not authorize the export) Article 8 – import (measures to ensure that relevant info. is provided to exporter including ‘end use or end user documentation’)


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C. Will the ATT work?↘ Praise ↘ The major achievement has been the acceptance by most governments now that arms trade controls should be aligned with States’ int’l obligations including their human rights obligations

for the 1st time in history States have to consider IHRL, IHL and ICL as a basis on which to decide whether an arms transfer across borders should go ahead

↘ The concept of the Treaty is building on States’ existing legal obligations ATT will not interfere with domestic arms commerce, ban the export of any type of weapons, harm State’s legitimate right to self-defence, or undermine national arms regulation standards already in place

↘ The ATT only pertains to int’l arms trade, and would not have effect on current domestic laws

loopholes will be minimized (includes all conventional weapons; all types of transfer; all transactions)

↘ The ATT process proves that all challenging ideas to change the world by creating new treaties will

first be dismissed, but if such ideas are worth fighting for, they can ultimately make a difference


↘ Criticism ↘ Lack of interest in the Treaty within the academic community and human rights advocates

↘ Lots of signatures, but the Treaty might be a ‘paper tiger’ the questions of the implications for national sovereignty & individual rights to armed defence

raised the difficulty is that who is or is not a desirable dealer is often an open question (the answer tends to lie in strategic preference) until the connection btw int’l trade and its chief component, the shipment and transport of arms ,

is abolished, talk about treaties of regulation seem not merely futile but disingenuous (eg, B. Kampmark)

brokering, diversion, record keeping and reporting do not encompass ammunition, and parts and components (Articles 10, 11,12, 13) non-commercial transfers and int’l arms transfers made as part of defence cooperation

agreements are exempt from the Treaty the ATT panel would be able to do nothing more than write some stern words of criticism in case of non-compliance how can an ATT embargo be more effectively enforced than a UNSC embargoes (and SC embargoes are systematically violated) (eg, D. Kopel ) the Treaty contains lots of room for States’ discretion

the reality is that approx. half the IC are arms producing /exporting States ↘ Some of the ‘Big 5’ and other major arms exporters’ approach to arms trade

reportedly, some of the ‘Big 5’ supplied Iraq with arms in 1991, and Iran prior to that, and now Syria disregard for UNSC arms embargoes EU States supplied weapons to Libya (effects in Mali and elsewhere in Africa)

whether States that dominate the global arms market will really be willing to change the status quo



III AUSTRALIA’S ROLE


↘Australia has been criticised: ‘[It] has its own arms producers, its own exporters, who deal heavily in the death industry.’ (B. Kampmark)

↘ Others consider Australia to be an exemplary nation when it comes to upholding the highest standards in int’l arms trade. Australia’s weapons imports and exports are not significant by global standards (2006-2010 ranked only the 26th largest arms exporter in the world) (eg, R. Press)

↘ Australia has played active role in the ATT making process persistently backing the Treaty’s adoption ↘Australia’s commitment to the ATT process is driven by its humanitarian and security interests ↘ Australia has committed $1 million to assist with the entry into force and effective implementation of the ATT and it has been working closely with the UN, Germany and others to establish a UN multilateral assistance fund to provide early assistance to countries preparing to ratify and implement the Treaty

↘Australia signed the ATT on 3 June 2013, but ratification and incorporation into domestic law necessary (but note Article 23 on provisional application – as of September 2013, 7 provisional applications)

‘Australia is very pleased to be amongst the first countries to sign this treaty, in view of our steadfast and long-standing support for its successful conclusion.’ [Statement by the Hon. Dr Mike Kelly AM MP Minister for Defence Materiel, 3 June 2013, UN General Assembly]


Signing the ATT.


IV CONCLUSION


↘ The problem of weapons ending in the hands of human rights violators and in other wrong hands is complex

↘ The ATT is good way how to curb illicit arms trade, but other methods of addressing the problem need also be explored

↘ Whereas success of the ATT will depend on concerted efforts of the IC and on public pressure, it will mostly rely on political will of the ‘Big 5’ and other major players in int’l

arms trade



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Business and Economics BLT Seminar I nternational T rade in A rms: T he T reaty is A dopted. W hat N ow? Dr Jadranka Petrovic BLT, Caulfield Campus 18