2. WHAT IS ARMS TRADE?
• THE ARMS INDUSTRY IS A GLOBAL BUSINESS THAT MANUFACTURES WEAPONS
AND MILITARY TECHNOLOGY AND EQUIPMENT.
• COMMERCIAL INDUSTRY INVOLVED IN THE FOLLOWING:
• R&D
• ENGINEERING
• PRODUCTION
• SERVICE OF MILITARY MATERIAL, EQUIPMENT, AND FACILITIES
• ARMS PRODUCING COMPANIES, ALSO CALLED DEFENSE CONTRACTORS OR
MILITARY INDUSTRY, PRODUCE ARMS MAINLY FOR THE ARMED FORCES OF
STATES.
• DEPARTMENTS OF GOVERNMENT ALSO OPERATE IN THE ARMS INDUSTRY, BUYING
AND SELLING WEAPONS, MUNITIONS AND OTHER MILITARY ITEMS.
3. HISTORY OF ARMS TRADE
• ARMS TRADE IS AS OLD AS THE HISTORY OF WAR
• FIRST COUNTRIES TO BECOME SELF-SUFFICIENT IN ARMS PRODUCTION:
• FRANCE
• THE UNITED KINGDOM
• NETHERLANDS
• GERMANY
• THE MODERN ARMS INDUSTRY EMERGED IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE NINETEENTH
CENTURY
• PRODUCT OF THE CREATION AND EXPANSION OF THE FIRST LARGE MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL
COMPANIES
4. ARMS CONTROL
• ARMS CONTROL REFERS TO INTERNATIONAL RESTRICTIONS UPON THE
FOLLOWING:
1. DEVELOPMENT
2. PRODUCTION
3. STOCKPILING
4. PROLIFERATION
5. USAGE OF
1.SMALL ARMS
2.CONVENTIONAL
3.WEAPONS
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION.
• TYPICALLY EXERCISED THROUGH THE USE OF DIPLOMACY, WHICH SEEKS TO PERSUADE GOVERNMENTS TO ACCEPT
SUCH LIMITATIONS THROUGH AGREEMENTS AND TREATIES, ALTHOUGH IT MAY ALSO BE FORCED UPON NON-
CONSENTING GOVERNMENTS.
5. IMPORTANT INTERNATIONAL ARMS
CONTROL TREATIES
• GENEVA PROTOCOL ON CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS, 1925
• OUTER SPACE TREATY, SIGNED AND ENTERED INTO FORCE 1967
• BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION, SIGNED 1972, ENTERED INTO FORCE 1975
• MISSILE TECHNOLOGY CONTROL REGIME (MTCR), 1987
• CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION, SIGNED 1993, ENTERED INTO FORCE 1997
• OTTAWA TREATY ON ANTI-PERSONNEL LAND MINES, SIGNED 1997, ENTERED INTO FORCE
1999
• NEW START TREATY, SIGNED BY RUSSIA AND THE UNITED STATES IN APRIL 2010, ENTERED
INTO FORCE IN FEBRUARY 2011
• ARMS TRADE TREATY, CONCLUDED IN 2013, ENTERED INTO FORCE ON 24 DECEMBER 2014.
6. WHAT IS ILLEGAL ARMS
TRADE?
• ALSO KNOWN AS ARMS TRAFFICKING OR GUN-RUNNING
• ILLEGAL TRAFFICKING OR SMUGGLING OF CONTRABAND WEAPONS OR
AMMUNITION
7. IMPACT OF ILLEGAL ARMS
TRADE
• WIDESPREAD IN AREAS OF POLITICAL TURMOIL LIKE THE AFRICAS, OR SOME
MID-EAST COUNTRIES
• MORE THAN 63 MILLION GUNS TRAFFICKED INTO INDIA & PAKISTAN
• MARKET VALUE: ESTIMATED VALUE OF THE GLOBAL ARMS MARKET - $60
BILLION/ YEAR
• ILLEGAL ARMS TRADE IS HARD TO ESTIMATE
• ILLEGAL SMALL ARMS MARKET ESTIMATED AT 10-20% OF THE VALUE OF THE TOTAL
GLOBAL ARMS TRADE
8. FACTS
1. Up to 1000 people are killed on average by small arms every day
2. There are at least 640 million firearms in existence in the world today.
3. For every $1 spent in development assistance $10 is spent on military budgets
4. Seven of the eightG8 countries are among the largest global arms exporters, and all
eight export large amounts of major conventional weapons or small arms to developing
countries
5. Annually, the world spendsUS$900 billion on defense, around US$325 billion on
agriculture and onlyUS$60 billion on aid.
6. Every year, at least 1 million firearms are lost or stolen worldwide
7. Nearly 60% of the world’s firearms are in the hands of private individuals
