United Nations Security Council II

Study Guide
2015
28 – 31 May
United Nations
Security Council II
Chair: Ian Elly
CO-Chair: Norberkt Czerniak
http://pimun.epanu.org/
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The present Study Guide has been compiled for the delegates of the United Nations Security
Council II, Paris International Model United Nations (PIMUN) and contains the basic information
for the understanding of the topic, namely "Addressing the role of regional actors in the fight
against international drug and arms trafficking".
Table of Contents:
United Nations Security Council ............................................................................................................... 1
Topic A: Addressing the outdated formulations in the United Nations Charter ....................................... 3
Introduction...................................................................................................................................... 3
I.
II.
Importance of the issue and history of the problem ................................................................ 3
III.
Efforts to address the issue ......................................................................................................... 5
IV.
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 6
Questions a Resolution should answer .......................................................................................... 6
V.
VI.
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 7
Topic B: ADDRRESSING THE ROLE OF REGIONAL ACTORS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST
INTERNATIONAL DRUG AND ARMS TRAFFICKING ........................................................................ 8
INTRUDUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 8
I.
II.
The new roads of drug trafficking ............................................................................................. 8
A.
West Africa economy .................................................................................................................. 9
B.
The dangerous road between South America and the Far East ........................................... 10
C.
The Ebola outbreak and its consequences to illicit drug trade ............................................. 12
III.
The question of arm trafficking ............................................................................................... 13
A.
Colombia and the American arm trafficking ......................................................................... 13
B.
The north African arms flow ................................................................................................... 14
IV.
V.
VI.
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 16
Questions a resolution should answer ......................................................................................... 16
Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 17
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the six main organs of the United Nations. The
Council currently consists of 15 Members. Five of them are recognized as “Permanent Members”
of the Council. These are: the Peoples’ Republic of China, the French Republic, the Russian
Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as well as the United States
of America (in the MUN context they are often referred to as the “P5”). The other 10 seats are
granted to different UN Member States on rotational basis, with observance of the official UN
internal regional division, and for a 2-year long term of office. The Security Council is so designed
as to function continuously. For that reason, a representative of each Member of the Council has
to be present at the UN (and also the Council’s) Headquarters in New York at all times.
The Security Council is a sui generis body with its main goal being maintenance of international
peace and security. If a threat to the international peace and security is determined by the Council
would, it would usually act as follows:
When peaceful means are still considered as possibly sufficient to bring an end to the crisis at
hand:
set forth principles for an agreement;
undertake investigation and mediation, in some cases;
dispatch a mission;
appoint special envoys; or
request the Secretary-General to use his good offices to achieve a pacific settlement of the
dispute.
When the crisis leads to hostilities, the Council may:
issue ceasefire directives that can help prevent an escalation of the conflict;
dispatch military observers or a peacekeeping force to help reduce tensions, separate
opposing forces and establish a calm in which peaceful settlements may be sought.
In the last resort the Council may authorize:
economic sanctions, arms embargoes, financial penalties and restrictions, and travel bans;
severance of diplomatic relations;
blockade;
or even collective military action.
The Security Council can issue a Resolution (a legally binding document) or a Presidential
Statement (a legally non-binding document). In order to react and authorize measures against a
1
“threat to international peace and security”, nine affirmative votes of the Council’s Members are
needed, including affirmative votes of all its Permanent Members. However, should there be 14
votes in favor but 1 vote against cast by a Permanent Member (so called “veto”), the draft
Resolution at hand would fail.
For more information on the Security Council see, inter alia: http://www.un.org/en/sc/
2
Topic A: Addressing the outdated formulations in the United Nations Charter
I.
Introduction
In accordance with Chapter XVIII of the United Nations Charter (hereinafter “UN Charter”), the
“United Nations constitution” can be amended, with effect for all Members of the Organization,
upon affirmative votes of two thirds of the members of the United Nations General Assembly,
followed by ratification (on national level) by two thirds of the Members of the United Nations,
including all the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (China, France,
Russia, United Kingdom, United States)(Article 108 UN Charter). A General Conference of the
Members of the United Nations for the purpose of reviewing the UN Charter “may be held at a
date and place to be fixed by a two-thirds vote of the members of the General Assembly and by a
vote of any nine [prior to 1965, any seven] members of the Security Council.” (Article 109 UN
Charter). Should such a conference not have been convened before the tenth annual session of the
General Assembly, the conference shall be held if so decided by affirmative votes of a (simple)
majority of the General Assembly, including votes of any seven members of the United Nations
Security Council (Article 109(3) UN Charter).
II.
Importance of the issue and history of the problem
Thomas Jefferson has once said: “[...] laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress
of the human mind[....] As new discoveries are made, new truths disclosed and manners and
opinions change with the advance of circumstances, institutions must advance also and keep pace
with the times[...]. Each generation has a right to choose for itself the form of government the most
promotive of its own happiness.”1 The United Nations’ structure and internal organization reflects
the geopolitical situation of the times in which it was brought to live. It was during the Second
World War that the Allied forces agreed that world security should be safeguarded also by the
creation of an international organization. These intentions can already be found in the Atlantic
Charter of 1941 drafted by United Kingdom and the United States and subsequently agreed to by
other of the Allied powers. In the 8th and the last provision of the Atlantic Charter it was stated
that: “Since no future peace can be maintained if land, sea or air armaments continue to be
employed by nations which threaten, or may threaten, aggression outside of their frontiers, they
believe, pending the establishment of a wider and permanent system of general security, that the
disarmament of such nations is essential. They will likewise aid and encourage all other practicable
measures which will lighten for peace-loving peoples the crushing burden of armaments.”2 Further
documents, including the Declaration by the United Nations of 1 January 1942, have stabilized
this approach. It was therefore shortly after the end of the World War II that 46 nations were invited
to attend the San Francisco Conference; all those who had declared war on Germany and Japan.
1
Life and Selected Writings of Thomas Jefferson 674-75 (Koch & Peelan).
2
The Atlantic Charter 1941: http://www.wsi.uni-kiel.de/de/lehre/vorlesungen/archiv/ws-200809/giegerich/menschenrechtsschutz/inhalt/materialien/MenschRSchutzAtlanticCharter.pdf
3
As a result the Charter of the United Nations (together with the Statute of the International Court
of Justice) were signed on 26 June 1945, in San Francisco, and after the ratification procedures in
the States-foundators it came into force on October 24, 1945.
As already indicated, the rules governing the UN Charter reflected the times in which it was
created. One of the main principles of the new document was the prohibition of use of force,
provided for in Article 2(4) of the UN Charter. Simultaneously, the United Nations Security
Council has been privileged with its mandate to declare exceptions to the prohibition of use of
force, so in case of the threat to international peace and security (Chapter VII of the UN Charter).
The UN Charter has also provided two other exceptions by default. They are use of self-defense
according to Article 51 of the UN Charter as well as with regard to the “enemy states” of the
Second World War (see Articles 53 and 107 of the UN Charter). According to article 107:
“Nothing in the present Charter shall invalidate or preclude action, in relation to any state which
during the Second World War has been an enemy of any signatory to the present Charter, taken or
authorized as a result of that war by the Governments having responsibility for such action.”
Although this provision is now outdated as all the “enemy states” have become Members of the
United Nations, all articles referring to “enemy states” are still incorporated in the Charter. Also,
the United Nations Security Council has never started functioning as planned. The Members of
the Organization were suppose to subordinate their own armies to the Security Council when so
required and to help fulfilling the Council’s functions as the peacemaking body. The legal basis
for it were supposed to be special agreements mentioned in Article 43 of the UN Charter. However,
up to now not even one such agreement was entered into by any State. As a result, the Security
Council can authorize use of force under Chapter VII of the UN Charter but cannot force any state
to follow its orders nor can it use any national armies at its discretion. Furthermore, the only
subsidiary body of the Organization mentioned in the UN Charter – the Military Stuff Committee,
which was to “advise and assist the Security Council on all questions relating to the Security
Council's military requirements for the maintenance of international peace and security, the
employment and command of forces placed at its disposal, the regulation of armaments, and
possible disarmament” (Article 47 UN Charter), has failed to exercise its functions in the long run
and lost practical meaning as of the year 1948. Nevertheless, the Military Staff Committee keeps
formally meeting each two weeks. Another example of a body that has fully lost its importance is
the Trusteeship Council. The Trusteeship Council, one of the six main UN bodies, used to stand
at the top of the international trusteeship system for the administration and supervision of so-called
“trust territories”. In practical terms it was to oversee the decolonization of the trust territories,
which were placed under the international trusteeship system. As the mission of the body got
accomplished, the Council has indirectly suspended its operation. On 25 May 1994 the Council’s
Rules of Procedure were amended to enable convening of its meetings only if required rather than
on systematic basis, which unofficially deactivated the body. Abstracting from some UN bodies
being no longer needed, the internal division of the organization in 5 regional groups has been
criticized as being outdated as well.
4
III.
Efforts to address the issue
Since 1945 the United Nations’ membership has increased more than three times, with South
Sudan being the most recent and 193th Member of the Organization. Yet, the United Nations
Charter got amended only two times in the history in the years 1965 and 1963. It cannot be claimed
that no alteration initiative has been shown as a call for a general conference for revision of the
UN Charter was made already during the first General Assembly session. Concrete proposals were
made by some Member States during second and third sessions of the General Assembly. Although
it was agreed before the tenth session of the General Assembly that a general conference for
revision of the UN Charter should take place, fixing its date came with some difficulties. The
amendment passed in the General Assembly resolution A/RES/1991 (XVIII) referred to two UN
bodies – the United Nations Security Council and the Economic and Social Council. Accordingly,
the membership of the Security Council was increased from eleven to fifteen and has established
how many seats should be granted to each of the five regions (the rules of the Council composition
still in force today). The number of affirmative votes required for a resolution to pass was increased
from seven to nine (as it is today). As for the ECOSOC, its membership was increased up to twenty
seven members. These amendments were adopted by the General Assembly on 17 December 1963
and came into force on 31 August 1965. Following the change of the composition of the Security
Council, article 109 of the UN Charter got adjusted to it in the General Assembly resolution/Res/
2101 (XX). Another and also the last to date amendment of the UN Charter were adopted by the
General Assembly on 20 December 1971, and came into force on 24 September 1973. All that was
amended at that time was the ECOSOC membership, which was increased up to fifty-four (the
composition as it is today).
5
IV.
Conclusion
Although some of the UN Charter provisions are undoubtedly outdated, the United Nations have
never decided to fully “update” their “constitution”. Upon the UN Charter being recognized as a
legal document the interpretation of which can evolve in time (so-called “dynamic interpretation”
theory as opposed to a static one), some of its provisions remain redundant and/or at least not
adjusted. The Axis power of the Second World War are no longer considered “enemy states”
nowadays and upon joining the Organization, they rendered articles 53 and 107 of the UN Charter
“non-executable”. Also, the UN Charter speaks of the Soviet Union rather than the Russia
Federation. Although nobody contests that the Russian Federation is the legal successor of the
Soviet Union, article 23 of the UN Charter still names the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
rather than its successor. Many voices have been raised in favor of reforming the United Nations.
Nevertheless, no further amendments of the UN Charter have resulted from it. It will therefore be
for the Security Council’s special session to take place in Paris, France, between 28-31 May 2015
to bring the desired changes to the Organization’s constituting document.
V.
Questions a Resolution should answer
Members of the United Nations Security Council shall consider, inter alia, the following:
- How should the United Nations Charter be amended to better reflect the current spirit of
the United Nations and get better adjusted to 21-century challenges?
- Which provision of the United Nations Charter are “outdated”?
- Should these provisions be deleted or amended to better reflect? If the latter applies – how
should they be amended?
- Should the “outdated” bodies be removed or should their mandate be revised and adjusted
to better face the challenges of nowadays’ world?
- Should the opportunity be used to add some new provisions to the United Nations Charter?
6
VI.
Bibliography
For a better understanding of the issue, the following sources should be consulted; they are not
exhaustive, therefore it is recommended that further research should be conducted, both through
academic sources, as well as informal channels.
1. The United Nations Charter: http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/intro.shtml
[accessed on 10 April 2015]
2. Commentaries on the United Nations Charter, e.g. BRUNO SIMMA ET AL. EDS., THE
CHARTER OF THE UNITED NATIONS: A COMMENTARY (reviewed by Allain Pellet
in 2003)
3. K. Krishna Rao, The General Conference for the Review of the Charter of the United
Nations, 1955, Fordham Law Review:
http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1471&context=flr [accessed on
10 April 2015]
4. Edward C. Luck, Reforming the United Nations: Lessons from a History in Progress,
International Relations Studies and the United Nations Occasional Papers 2003 No. 1:
http://www.peacepalacelibrary.nl/ebooks/files/373430132.pdf [accessed on 10 April
2015]
5. Jean Allain, The True Challenge to the United Nations System of Use of Force: The
failures of Kosovo and Iraq and the emergence of the African Union, Max Planck UNYB
8 (2004): http://www.mpil.de/files/pdf1/mpunyb_allain_8.pdf [accessed on 10 April
2015]
6. The Atlantic Charter of 14 August 1941
7. The Declaration by the United Nations of 1 January 1942
7
Topic B: ADDRRESSING THE ROLE OF REGIONAL ACTORS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST
INTERNATIONAL DRUG AND ARMS TRAFFICKING
I. INTRUDUCTION
The illegal networks providing drugs and arms have developed new ties among each other to
strengthen and increase their profits.
The major consumers of drugs are developed countries3 from which can be traced the connection
to their suppliers, mainly from South America4. In fact the region has the sad record to have the
most active criminal organisations in drug trafficking and distribution. The earnings these
organisations obtain from their illicit activity have not been officially reported since there is not
any data available although it has been estimated that the illegal drug trade as a whole (including
its cultivation, manufacturing and distribution) is USD $320 billion in 20035.
On the contrary, the main recipient of illegal arms in conventional weapons are developing
countries, mostly African and South American countries. Any figure on the issue cannot be
considered fully explanatory of the matter since it only takes to account lawful arms trade between
a seller and customer leaving out those situations where trade occurs by exploiting loopholes or
deliberately circumventing the law.
II.
The new roads of drug trafficking
West Africa has become the main hub of the drug trafficking. Nowadays, the Caribbean corridor
has been almost abandoned, and the coasts in many West African countries have become home of
foreign drug dealers managing the transnational illegal trade of drugs along with local criminals.
The region is used as the road to the European illegal black market. The cocaine found in West
Africa originated mainly in Colombia and Peru and frequently transited through Brazil6
demonstrating the connections between the criminal organisation in South America and the
importance the African region has for them because of its strategic position.
3
The World FactBook, Illicit drugs, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2086.html
THE DRUG PROBLEM IN THE AMERICAS: STUDIES, THE ECONOMICS OF DRUG TRAFFICKING,
http://www.cicad.oas.org/drogas/elinforme/informeDrogas2013/laEconomicaNarcotrafico_ENG.pdf
5
Estimating illicit financial flows resulting from drug trafficking and other transnational organised crimes, Research
report, page 29, https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-andanalysis/Studies/Illicit_financial_flows_2011_web.pdf
6
See supra note 2
4
8
A. West Africa economy
West Africa is an African region that has potential7. The African continent has maintained over
the last decade a robust economic growth8 and spread development and hopes for a better future.
Africa shows off some regions thriving and important signals of progress as well but fractions of
it are in turmoil, divided by warring factions and prevalent poverty. In the grand scheme of things,
the continent is characterised by diverse economic prospects and for those developing and the ones
taking this road, progress does not come without threats.
Moving forward means accepting the main constraints on development such as corruption and
turmoil. To maintain this path it is necessary the rule of law in order to ensure the rights, the safety
and the property of all citizens9 and a strong and legitimate government.
Notwithstanding the enormous efforts to improve the governance, most West African countries
still lack of an authoritative government and the development, triggered by foreign investments10
and the success of policies enacted over the years, resulted in showing the structural problems
affecting these countries:
absence of efficient communications systems and internal transport
poor health care system
weak law enforcement mechanisms
lack of maritime, air and land surveillance
unbalanced wealth distribution
high unemployment and poverty rate
These are the elements shared in a certain degree by Benin, Cape Verde, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau,
Mali, Nigeria and Togo.
7
West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), Staff Report on Common Policies for Member Countries
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2013/cr1392.pdf
8
African Economic Outlook 2014, Global Value Chains and Africa’s Industrialisation, page 6, African Development
Bank Group, OECD Development Centre, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),
http://www.africaneconomicoutlook.org/fileadmin/uploads/aeo/2014/PDF/Pocket_Edition_AEO2014-EN_mail.pdf
see also, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Regional Economic Outlook, Sub-Saharan Africa
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/2014/afr/eng/sreo0414.pdf
9
In larger freedom: towards development, security and human rights for all, Report of the Secretary-General
(A/59/2005), paragraph 17 "[..] we will not enjoy development without security, we will not
enjoy security without development"
10
Africa's pulse (2014), page 7, World Bank
9
It is not by accident that these countries were found ideal for criminal organisations to thrive. West
Africa is a breeding ground in which governments could lead their people to a prosperous and safe
future, but also doom them to misery if they overlook the current threats posed by drugs.
By opening their borders to free and fair trade, the promises of development has given to the
countries in West Africa more possibilities. But opening-up the economy to globalisation allowed
also transnational criminal organisations to settle within the frontiers. The economy grew at a rapid
pace, the shadow economy as well. These factors changed the citizens for allowed them to have
relatively more choice but to increase a little group of those involved in the illegal drug industry
and that are either victims or active operators. West Africa has changed.
Almost two decades ago drugs were not a matter of concern for law-makers in the region since
those countries were not subjected to the turbulences of global economy. While today 50 tonnes
of cocaine from Latin America enter every year in West Africa en route to Europe where its selling
profits USD$ 2 billion11 to criminal organisations. An estimation that surpasses the annual GDP
of Guinea-Bissau. Furthermore, the same criminal groups have now expanded their illegal
operations in the region to include heroin trafficking and methamphetamine production.
It is evident that West Africa does not represent a transit zone anymore. Drugs represent a menace
that risks to hinder not only the development but also the well-being of the citizens in a region
known to have serious health problems related to HIV12. Unsafe injecting drug use can have
detrimental consequences on human health increasing the chance to transmit blood-borne
infections such as HIV, Hepatitis B and C that can also be contracted by using contaminated
equipments13.
B. The dangerous road between South America and the Far East
But why should a regional problem be a matter of concern to the international community? The
question is simply answered as follows, it is not a regional problem. The illicit drug trade represents
an almost-impenetrable web that affects all countries in the world and for which no one can
consider itself exempt. This twine of dangerous relations involving violence, power and money
has proved to destabilise governments and fund terrorist organisations including Hezbollah and Al
Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
11
WORLD DRUG REPORT (2008), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), page 13
PEOPLE WHO INJECT DRUGS (2014), United Nations AIDS (UNAIDS),
http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/unaidspublication/2014/gapreport12pops/05
_Peoplewhoinjectdrugs.pdf, page 3
"HIV prevalence among people who inject drugs is typically far greater than it is among the rest of the adult
population, with people who inject drugs bearing a 28 times higher prevalence, ranging from 1.3 to more than 2
000 times higher."
13
WORLD DRUG REPORT (2014), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), page 5
12
10
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) – the premier drug enforcement organisation in the
world in charge of drug trafficking crackdown in US – has thoroughly documented as West Africa,
in particular Nigeria, has emerged as main origin for large methamphetamine shipments destined
for the Far East14. A methamphetamine lab was seized in Nigeria which was estimated to be
capable of producing up to 440 pounds of methamphetamine per week. The same lab had buyers
in Japan, Malaysia and Republic of Korea and the value of trade was estimated approximately
$USD 8 million to $USD 40 million. In addition, Mexican drug trafficking organisations have
been participating in the methamphetamine trade and have been linked to criminal groups
operating throughout West Africa.
Furthermore, DEA arrested two Colombians in Algeria15 – including an alleged member of the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) – along with three
individuals affiliated with AQIM, on charges that the Colombians were delivering cocaine in
exchange for cash and arms that were acquired in Libya following the fall of Muammar Gaddafi.
Another matter of concern is represented by a case in December 2009 that has seen three West
African Al Qaeda associates arrested on drug and terrorism charges in Ghana and then extradited
to the United States16. The individuals allegedly agreed to transport cocaine from Mali through
North Africa into Spain with the intent to support Al Qaeda.
It has been also well-documented how People's Republic of China (hereinafter China) represents
a major transit route for drugs originated in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan, often referred as
"Golden Crescent" for being altogether the most extensive opium-producing area in the world.
Similarly, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand are well-known as "Golden Triangle" for being the most
active producers of heroin (although Afghanistan alone has leapfrogged the three on the dawn of
the new century).
After mentioning the sad record above it is evident how serious the problem is in the Far East.
Far eastern authorities struggle to curb the flourishing grey market because of the size of their
population and the vast region they are ruling on.
For instance China is home of the major consumers of heroin, opium and other synthetic drugs.
The drugs enter China's borders through Kumming, the capital city of Yunnan Province, and then
it is illegally traded all over the country despite China has the harshest drug laws. If an arrested
felony is found with a huge amount of drugs he can face the death penalty.
The growing prosperity of the Chinese nation has turned recreational drug use into an $82 billion
annual domestic business, according to the National Narcotics Control Commission. Furthermore,
a governmental report shows how methamphetamine is omnipresent in Beijing, Shanghai,
Guangzhou and Shenzhen. In Beijing, the greatest concentration was found at a treatment plant
14
Methamphetamine from West Africa to East Asia, page 6, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
James Bargent, “Arrests Point to FARC Ties to Al Qaeda in North Africa,” Insight Crime, April 8, 2013
16
Testimony of Thomas Harrigan, Deputy Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, before the
Senate
Caucus on International Narcotics Control, May 16, 2012, page 9
15
11
serving the city’s highest density of nightclubs and bars, while China’s wealthy coastal cities in
the south were determined to have the highest total consumption of methamphetamine, cocaine,
ecstasy and ketamine.
The government has launched numerous initiative to crackdown the abuse of drugs containing the
drug dealers and the criminal organisations behind them.
As illustrated so far, the phenomenon shows off its wide interconnections and danger. In light of
the Millennium Development Goals, it is important that head of States and governments
represented in the Security Council share their best practice matured within national borders and
urge all UN members states to fight and u reducing the drug trafficking activity.
Cooperation that must be conducted following the spirit and the letter of what the Secretary
General said in 2010: “integrity, accountability and transparency are crucial for managing
resources, recovering assets and combating the abuse, corruption and organized crime that are
adversely affecting the poor.” 17
C. The Ebola outbreak and its consequences to illicit drug trade
Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a severe, often fatal illness in human beings. The virus is transmitted
to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human
transmission.
The current outbreak in West Africa (the first known cases have been notified in March 2014) is
the largest and most complex Ebola outbreak since the Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976.
There have been more cases and deaths in this outbreak than all others combined.
The virus has proved to be extremely adaptable since it has been seen in 7 different countries
spreading to the American and European continents.
Since the outbreak has started, more than 9900 cases and 4800 death had been reported in Guinea,
Liberia and Sierra Leone but also Nigeria, Senegal, the US and Spain with a limited number of
introduced cases. Having gone beyond the 42-day contact tracing period without any new cases
both Nigeria and Senegal have been declared Ebola-free.
Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone are the countries that have been most affected by the virus with
Liberia spearheading the list. The virus in these countries is rampant and increasing 18 and many
aircraft carrier have decided to cut-down all flight from or to the affected countries followed by
17
Keeping the promise: a forward-looking review to promote an agreed action agenda to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals by 2015, Report of the Secretary-General
18
World Health Organisation, Key messages, http://www.un.org/ebolaresponse/pdf/WHOkeymessages_24Oct.pdf
12
governments that banned all nationals from West African countries to travel and this reaction hit
the drug barons that are now feeling the pinch.
The profits from the illicit drug trade plummet at an unprecedented degree. The main feasible route
are either not available or thoroughly examined making difficult the distribution of drugs in Europe
and Asia. The harsh environment has exacerbated the criminal organisations in the region and
stopped them from accomplishing their illegal goals although it is certain they are reorganising the
traffic.
III.
The question of arm trafficking
The world is more at war than how we are used to think of it. Conflicts are scattered in diverse
regions and the interconnections19 reached amongst nations have unintentionally facilitated the
exchange of arms and all those instruments of warfare. Nowadays, the extent and type of weaponry
currently available to terrorists, insurgents, pirates, rebels and other criminals are enormous. These
groups have exploited and developed local, regional, and global supply channels to traffic in
munitions and equipment worldwide. Their access to weaponry is facilitated through covert
transfers by governments and by legal and quasi-legal commercial dealers, outright black-market
sales, and the theft or diversion of both state-owned and privately owned arms and weapons stores.
Small arms have a number of characteristics that contribute to their rapid and frequent movement
across borders, between states, among various types of illegal organizations, and among certain
entrepreneurial individuals. These types of weapons are by definition lightweight. This
characteristic facilitates their cheap and easy transport, concealment, and covert movement. Arms
shipments have been sent to terrorist and insurgent groups by boat, in trucks, on the backs of both
humans and pack animals, and even through the mail. Light weapons are also relatively cheap,
which opens up a very large potential buyer’s market, even in the poorest parts of the world.
Finally, light weapons are durable, requiring only a minimum level of field maintenance.
A. Colombia and the American arm trafficking
Two main leftist guerrilla organizations currently exist in Colombia— the Fuerzas Armadas
Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) or the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the
Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) or the National Liberation Army20. Both of these groups
have stated their intentions to seize control of national power, although both groups have also
submitted reform agendas as part of their on-again, off-again peace negotiations with the
government of Colombia. Currently, both groups are preoccupied with consolidating, defending,
and, where possible, extending their respective bases of territorial control. Sustained access to
19
Dirty Entanglements: Corruption, Crime and Terrorism, Louise I. Shelley, page 29
Violence, Crime and Illegal Arms Trafficking in Colombia, United Nations - Office on Drugs and Crime, page 26
http://www.unodc.org/pdf/Colombia_Dec06_en.pdf
20
13
weapons and ammunition supplies is crucial to this objective and, particularly in the case of
FARC21, is widely regarded as being directly proportional to each group’s organizational strength,
power, and influence.
Central America represents the single largest source of illegal weapons to Colombia, with five
countries—El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Costa Rica—accounting for more
than a third of all arms shipped into the country. Similarly, former Cold War conflict zones
(notably Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala) have become a “magnet” for small-arms dealers,
as witnessed by the proliferation of unscrupulous entrepreneurs who acquire and sell arms to
paramilitaries and guerrillas alike, depending on who is the highest bidder. In addition to being a
source for small arms, Central America also acts as an important transit route. From 1998 to 2001,
Panama was the single largest transshipment point for weapons into Colombia. Munitions are
smuggled out of Panama either by land (mostly across the densely forested Darien Gap), by sea
(generally via the Pacific seaboard in the case of FARC or Caribbean ports in the case of the AUC),
or by air (with most flights destined for Magdalena or Choco). Currently, an estimated 50 percent
of all illegal weapons arriving in Colombia by sea are trafficked through Panama.
B. The north African arms flow
North African governments are struggling to stem the illegal flow of arms and drugs 22. An
intrigued and deadly web of trafficking has spread across north Africa since the so-called Arab
spring in 2010.
A brisk trade in European cars via Libyan ports enables many people to dodge import duties. A
fifth of Egypt’s subsidised fuel is now sold on by smugglers.
The region’s governments are becoming especially annoyed by the growing drugs trade, as
explained in detail above.
Political turmoil in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia has boosted this wave of illegal activity, as weaker
law enforcement has lowered the risks. The conflicts in Mali, Syria and Palestine are stoking
demand for Libyan weapons23. North Africa has become busier as a trade route for drug barons
keen to link South American coca terraces to European customers.
The most sinister trafficking webs have become entangled with terrorism. Jihadists in North Africa
are big customers for weapons. They are also guaranteeing safe passage for cash to smugglers.
Criminals in Algeria now depend so heavily on this arrangement that the departure of many of
21
Illicit Trafficking of Small Arms, pag 1
https://www.cccoe.k12.ca.us/supe/events/unforms/2013/DISEC-Small%20Arms.pdf
22
The Illicit Arms Trade in Africa
http://fas.org/asmp/library/articles/SchroederLamb.pdf
23
Firearms Trafficking in West Africa
http://www.unodc.org/documents/toc/Reports/TOCTAWestAfrica/West_Africa_TOC_FIREARMS.pdf
14
their jihadist bodyguards to fight in Mali has made them tetchy. Algerian authorities say that, as a
result, traffickers are targeting security forces with unusual aggression.
The rise of the Islamic militant group ISIS24 is another matter of concern. The militant group is
currently spreading conflicts in Lybia after having invaded the Middle East. The jihadist militia
has been able to amass considerable weaponry during its 16-month offensive in Syria and Iraq.
Questions remain over where the weapons came from, and most of all, how effectively ISIS can
use the powerful weapons it has acquired.
The armaments25 are predominantly a mix of veteran Soviet tanks: large, advanced US-made
systems and black market arms.
They often look for weapons from different sources, places like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria and
Eastern Europe.
The Islamic State (formerly known as ISIS) acquired tanks from the Syrian rebels, such as the T72, a relatively modern Soviet design, and the T-55, an obsolete model from World War II. The
group also has captured Chinese copies of Soviet field and anti-aircraft guns from the Iraqi and
Syrian armies. Both countries are known to have bought directly from China over a decade ago.
The turbolent presence of such a evil actor on the global stage, represents a threat to the global
community26. The warfare capabilities and dangerousness of the Islamic State must remain a
unicum. ISIS must be contained and ultimately destroyed.
24
ISIS and the third wave of Jidahism, page 339
http://currenthistory.com/Gerges_Current_History.pdf
25
Islamic State Weapons in Iraq and Syria
http://conflictarm.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Dispatch_IS_Iraq_Syria_Weapons.pdf
26
Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, Rule of Terror:
Living under ISIS in Syria
http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/CoISyria/HRC_CRP_ISIS_14Nov2014.pdf
15
IV.
Conclusion
It is clear at this point how the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons is a key driver of
conflict and instability around the world, including in the vast majority of the conflict situations
on the Security Council’s agenda.
Small arms and light weapons are intrinsically linked to terrorism, piracy and transnational
crime. They impede peace-building efforts and pose threats to civilians, peacekeepers,
humanitarian workers and civil society organisations. The illicit trade and misuse of small arms
and light weapons lead to serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
In many cases, these activities are in violation of existing Council resolutions and arms
embargoes.
The Council is called to discuss these issues and respond adequately to the unstable scenario
according to its mandate.
V. Questions a resolution should answer
- Which measures should member states adopt to curb the illicit arms trade?
- What kind of logistic support is possible to provide to West African countries in order to hinder
the international drug trafficking within their borders?
- What strategy could be implemented to coordinate the efforts against drug trafficking worldwide?
- Which legal instruments could be amended, improved or promoted for better combating the illicit
arms trade?
- Which actions should the Security Council undertake against the Islamic State?
16
VI.
Bibliography
World Drug Report 2014
http://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr2014/World_Drug_Report_2014_web.pdf
Transnational Organized Crime in West Africa:
A threat assessment
http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/tocta/West_Africa_TOCTA_2013_EN.pdf
Resolution 51/11 Commission on Narcotic Drugs
Links between illicit drug trafficking and illicit firearms trafficking
http://www.unodc.org/documents/commissions/CND/Drug_Resolutions/20002009/2008/CND_Res-2008-11e.pdf
ARMS TRAFFICKING: THE INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC
FRAMEWORK, Yale University
http://www.law.yale.edu/documents/pdf/cglc/YLSreport_armsTrafficking.pdf
LEGAL
United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and the Protocols
thereto
https://www.unodc.org/documents/middleeastandnorthafrica//organisedcrime/UNITED_NATIONS_CONVENTION_AGAINST_TRANSNATIONAL_ORGANIZED_
CRIME_AND_THE_PROTOCOLS_THERETO.pdf
United Nations Convention against Corruption
http://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/UNCAC/Publications/Convention/08-50026_E.pdf
Firearms, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/tocta/6.Firearms.pdf
17