1. control arms news
New York 12th July 2012
From the podium
The criteria section for the Arms disregard those “substantial risks” or
Trade Treaty is the heart of the override them simply stating ‘natio-
instrument’s capacity to deliver actual nal’ or ‘strategic interest’.
change on the ground. Unfortunately,
the text set out on the matter in the In addition to the criteria themselves,
Chair’s draft paper of July 3rd is too the risk assessment process that would
complex, gives rise to a number of be used with the list above is also es-
inconsistencies and is unworkable. sential. Such an analysis should inclu-
Conversely, the criteria section from de the recipient State’s record of com-
the Chair’s paper’s previous incarna- pliance in relation to the criteria as
tion (July 2011) is clear and can be evidenced by formal commitments in
implemented on a non-discrimina- treaties and other agreements; current
tory basis. government policy and practice to
implement those commitments; and
To provide the ideal cornerstone to the capacity of state institutions to im-
fulfill the ATT’s humanitarian impe- plement international obligations and
rative, Control Arms recommends commitments.
some substantive additions to the
criteria proposed in the 2011 paper The risk assessment will need to also
to make them fully comprehensive – closely analyze the specific arms trans-
in addition to the need for a robust risk fer itself, including the nature of the arms
assessment process against the criteria to This comprehensive list is necessary pre- being transferred and the stated end-use
determine whether to authorize a particu- cisely because of criteria’s crucial role in and end-user.
lar arms transfer. allowing the ATT to generate significant
humanitarian benefits. In addition to the
objective criteria itself, the so-called ‘cha- “Language favored by a few
“The criteria section for the peau’ of the section must be drafted in countries, that would requi-
Arms Trade Treaty is the heart a clear and robust manner to fulfill the re States only to consider, or
of the instrument’s capacity to instrument’s goals and objectives.
take into account the risks,
deliver actual change on the would fail entirely to create
Language favored by a few countries, that
ground” would require States only to consider or the necessary safeguards”
take into account the risks, would fail en-
tirely to create the necessary safeguards,
It is essential for the criteria to reflect the as it would not require action based on
negative consequences the ATT must the risk assessment – even if a substantial When it comes to the strength of the ATT,
strive to prevent, such as serious viola- risk was clear. These formulations are akin the criteria are at the heart of its potential
tions of international humanitarian or to “feel free to ignore” translated into le- as an instrument. To be effective, a ‘pre-
international human rights laws; adverse gal text. It is not difficult to imagine, for sumption’ against transfers that carry a
impact on the sustainable development example, that an unscrupulous exporter substantial risk of the listed negative con-
of the recipient country; risk of diversion willing to transfer arms to a regime mas- sequences is entirely insufficient. The obli-
to unauthorized end-users; may seriously sacring its own people would claim ‘ATT gation should be unequivocal, leaving no
undermine peace and security, provoke or compliance’ by stating it had “taken into room for misinterpretations. The formu-
aggravate instability; be used to perpetra- account” the risks regarding human rights lations suggested above, or a slight varia-
te or facilitate armed violence (including violations – but decided to sell the arms tion thereof, are likely the only ones that
gender-based violence), in the commis- anyway. can in fact deliver the “strong and robust”
sion of organized crime or to perpetrate ATT with the “highest possible” common
terrorist acts; or that would involve co- Without a prohibitive requirement against international standards – the agreed man-
rrupt practices. such transfers, a country would be free to date of this Diplomatic Conference.

2. Policy corner
We need an ATT that fully and explicity addresses gender-based armed violence
The irresponsible trade in arms is devas- there is a substantial risk that the arms Gender-based violence is violence rela-
tating lives and livelihoods around the under consideration are likely to be ted to social expectations and positions
world. We need a robust Arms Trade used to perpetrate or facilitate acts of based on gender and can be committed
Treaty that puts humanitarian and human gender based violence, including rape by and aimed at both men and women.
rights, as well as livelihoods, at its core. To and other forms of sexual violence. However, most gender-based violence
do this effectively the treaty must address is committed by men, and is directed
the issue of gender-based armed violence. Explicitly referencing gender-based against women and girls and linked to
violence in the criteria will ensure the discrimination.
Sexual violence is often used as a delibe- impact of an arms transfer on gender-
Gender-based violence is defined by the
rate tactic in conflict. Women and girls based violence is fully and explicitly
UN Committee on the Elimination of
are particular targets as they are often considered by national licensing agen-
Discrimination against Women (CE-
viewed as the bearers of cultural identity. cies once the treaty is agreed. DAW) in General Recommendation
In addition, existing cultures of violence 19 as being “directed against a woman
and discrimination against women can This must further be recognized in because she is a woman or that affects
be exacerbated during conflict as an ex- the preamble and goals of the treaty. women disproportionately.”
treme manifestation of the abuse women Moreover, in order to fully protect wo-
face in peacetime. And even after conflict men from the most prevalent forms Sexual violence includes rape, sexual
formally ends, gender-based violence can of gender-based armed violence, the slavery, forced prostitution, forced preg-
persist. ATT must include SALW, its ammu- nancy or forced abortion, enforced ste-
nition, and its parts and components rilization, indecent assault, trafficking,
The ATT must include a criterion under – in addition to absolutely all types of inappropriate medical examinations,
which States shall not transfer arms where transfers. strip searches and sexual harassment.
The Arms Trade Treaty: Securing Women’s Rights and Gender Equality
“On Saturday they took me and five other The arms trade affects everyone – men, men are disproportionately affected by
women into a room. It was in the morning. women, boys and girls – in different ways. high levels of firearms-related homicides
There were three of them. They told us to The following are some examples of how and domestic violence. Research carried
undress. I refused. One of them hit me with the arms trade perpetrates or facilitates out in Guatemala by the Human Rights
his knife. I told him it was not human. He the perpetration of gender-based violen- Ombudsman’s Office shows that for all
said: ‘We will see about that’. He took his ce against women both in times of con- murder cases, 69 per cent of women are
gun out and I was obliged to yield. The flict and peace. Including gender-based killed with firearms.
three men raped us, they wore masks. Af- violence in the criteria of an ATT would
terwards, they left and we were kept in the acknowledge that both exporting and The ATT should require States to not
house until Wednesday. Every day, a gen- importing countries would have a joint, allow an international transfer of conven-
darme brought us something to eat. They though different, responsibility to prevent tional arms where there is a substantial
returned on Monday. It was the same men; these crimes. risk that the arms under consideration are
I suppose it was the same men. It was late likely to be used to perpetrate or facilitate
in the afternoon and they raped us again. Sexual violence is often widely and syste- acts of gender-based violence, including
On the evening of 22 December towards matically employed against civilians du- rape and other forms of sexual violen-
5pm, they released us. I have not dared to ring armed conflict, though the scale on ce. To apply this criterion, States must
go to see a doctor since then.” which it occurs is largely underestimated conduct a meaningful assessment of that
and its links to the proliferation of arms is risk – in other words, they must act with
The arms trade has specific gender dimen- rarely examined. Margot Wallström, UN all due diligence when assessing an arms
sions and direct links to discrimination Special Representative on Sexual Violence transfer application.
and gender-based violence. Emboldened in Conflict, made this point in her official
by weapons, power and status, both Sta- Statement to the UN Security Council, Extracts from a policy paper from WIL-
te and non-State parties often perpetrate “conflict-related sexual violence is not PF, IANSA Women’s Network, Amnesty
gender-based violence, disproportiona- specific to one country or continent: it is International and Religions for Peace In-
tely affecting women with impunity. This a global risk”. ternational. For full text, please see: http://
has far-reaching implications for efforts www.reachingcriticalwill.org/images/docu-
to consolidate peace, security, gender Weapons are used to facilitate repression ments/Disarmament-fora/att/policypaper.
equality and secure development. and state violence… In some states, wo- pdf

3. Civil society weighs in Bullet points
Seydi Gassama, Amnesty International: “It should be unthinkable • Roughly 66,000 women are violently ki-
that governments can choose to supply weapons, munitions, arma- lled around the world each year, accoun-
ments and other arms to governments where the likelihood of those ting for 17% of intentional homicides.
arms being used to commit or facilitate serious human rights viola-
tions or war crimes or crimes against humanity” • Almost 50% of ‘femicides’ occur in the
domestic sphere, when the perpetrator is
Deepayan Basu Ray, Oxfam: “The poorly regulated trade in arms the current or former partner.
and ammunition weakens the ability and willingness of govern-
ments to create enabling environments. Development gains are • Between 2004 and 2009, the following
reversed as communities are paralyzed; schools are closed, and im- countries had the highest femicide rates
mense strains are placed on health systems…” in the world, all over 9 per 100,000 (in
descending order): El Salvador, Jamaica,
Jasmin Galace, IANSA: “I am afraid that some of you may suggest Guatemala, South Africa and Russia.
that this is just a trade treaty. Yes, I am afraid for the people who
will not get access to clean water and basic health services or who • In the same period, over 60% of femici-
can’t go to school because funds are diverted to weapons purchases” des in Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Gua-
temala and Honduras involved the use of
Mimidoo Achakpa, WREP, Nigeria: “The devastation caused by a firearm.
armed violence prevents my people from advancing their develo-
pment and improving their own lives. This is why we are here. At • The proportion of homicides committed
the core of this treaty is the humanitarian imperative, the notion with firearms is often much higher on a
that the harm caused by arms proliferated because of poor trade local level. In 2007–09, the percentage
regulations is unacceptable” of femicides committed with firearms in
Ciudad Juárez (Mexico) increased dra-
matically, reaching 82% in 2009 and thus
Hazem Ksouri, Tunisie Libre: “We came here carrying the people’s nearing the percentage observed in homi-
suffering and pain: the suffering of a mother who lost her son in cides with male victims (89%).
Tunisia, the suffering of tens of thousands of displaced, detained
and kidnapped people in Syria, where the evidence of crimes com- Source: Global Burden of Armed Violence
mitted against humanity by the Syrian government increases daily” 2011
From the real world
On-the-ground stories on the need for a robust ATT
Kenneth Enimampi works in the Demo- enable the media to correctly report and women of DRC. They get held at gunpoint,
cratic Republic of the Congo for “Femmes call on their government for action. The threatened to death and then raped.”
des Medias pour la Justice”, a member network supplies women throughout the Arms are what allow these men to do-
of the International Action Network on Great Lakes with documentation trans- minate these women, she explains. They
Small Arms. Kenneth is currently in New lated into Swahili and Lingala in order to shoot toassert power. All day long, they
York attending the Diplomatic Conferen- mobilize women against armed violence. waste their ammunition to frighten their
ce on the Arms Trade Treaty in the hope victims. They can afford to, because the
of furthering her agenda, the primary Kenneth explained how journalists in her incoming flow of ammunition seems li-
focus of which is the impact of the irres- country were ill versed in ATT termino- mitless.
ponsible trade in arms on gender-based logy. Indeed, for these journalists, arms
violence. Their approach to the problem is control holds too much technical langua- Kenneth strongly affirms that without a
mostly media advocacy, initiating actions ge, which undermines their perception of criterion on gender-based violence and
in DRC to bring arms control in the me- the relevance of the issue.. Kenneth and the inclusion of ammunition in its scope,
dia spotlight. her organizationare witnesses to the daily the Arms Trade Treaty will be incomplete.
struggles of women in the DRC. Her presence and message at the United
In order to create media awareness and pi- Nations should not be overlooked; rather,
que journalists’ interest, Kenneth and her “Women are taken hostage, used as sex delegates should benefit from Kenneth’s
organization have established a training slaves, raped, martyrized physically and expertise and recognize the direct correla-
program for journalists that simplifies the mentally every day in DRC. Their chil- tion between the irresponsible internatio-
technical language they are unfamiliar dren are taken from them and put in the nal arms trade and gender-based violence.
with. In addition, information briefings militias. This war has taken a huge toll on “War promotes this culture of sexual vio-
are regularly held. Her network puts for- women’s youth. A simple task like getting lence. Weapons do not nourish, but put an
th the necessary tools and resources to up and getting bread is dangerous for the entire nation at risk.”

4. From the campaign trail Tweet podium
#armstreaty
Women living in the
shadow of the gun
In the war-torn Democratic Republic of
Congo, women are being victimized –
at a rate of nearly one every minute.
The time to act is now. Sign the petition for a bullet proof
Arms Trade Treaty at www.controlarms.org
A dose of
international law
In the media Does a UN body good
Ammunition - the Next Round in Arms Trade Control – AllAfrica.com – 9th July – For International Covenant on Civil and Politi-
a couple of hundred dollars or less an arms dealer can illegally source a blank end user cal Rights, Article 26
certificate with the required signatures and stamps - needed to transfer weapons across
international borders - and “if no one checks its authenticity (often the case) he can ship “All persons are equal before the law and
his wares to the world’s hotspots with minimal risk, for maximum profit,” a report by are entitled without any discrimination to
the Small Arms Survey (SAS) said in 2008. the equal protection of the law. In this res-
pect, the law shall prohibit any discrimi-
Seeking Rules for the World’s Guns – Middle East Online – 10th July – A conference nation and guarantee to all persons equal
opened last week under the auspices of the United Nations to draft a multilateral treaty and effective protection against discrimi-
aimed at controlling the international trade in conventional arms. nation on any ground such as race, colour,
sex, language, religion, political or other
When the UN wants to negotiate a global arms control deal, it turns to ... Iran – Fox News opinion, national or social origin, proper-
– 10th July – The stunning appointment by member states attending the UN Conferen- ty, birth or other status.”
ce of the Arms Trade Treaty in New York came last week, and is just the latest example
of the world body appointing rogue and repressive regimes to leadership roles.
Les ONG inquiètes du déroulement des négociations sur le commerce des armes à l’ONU
– La Croix – 11 Juillet – Les associations invitées à la conférence de l’ONU sur un traité Convention on the Elimination Of All
réglementant le commerce des armes se sont plaintes mardi 10 juillet d’être écartées Forms Of Discrimination Against Women,
d’une partie des sessions de négociations. Article 3
Time for the US to Get Behind a Global Arms Treaty – Business week – 11th July – As “States Parties shall take in all fields, in
good American patriots celebrated the Fourth of July by blowing stuff up, international particular in the political, social, econo-
diplomats were gathering in New York for month-long treaty negotiations over a sector mic and cultural fields, all appropriate
of the world economy that generates about $55 billion in exports each year: the arms measures, including legislation, to ensure
trade. the full development and advancement of
women, for the purpose of guaranteeing
Chance to make the world a better place - New Zeland Herald - 11th July - At this mo- them the exercise and enjoyment of hu-
ment an international meeting in New York is trying to solve one of the 21th century, a man rights and fundamental freedoms on
cause of conflict from gag-wars in Mexico to the civil war in Syria. a basis of equality with men.”
Useful resources: http://controlarms.org and http://controlarmsblog.posterous.com/
Find out where countries stand on key issues: http://armstreaty.org/
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