EU adopts comprehensive approach to scourge of illicit weapons

Illicit weapons are a threat to us all. They contribute to terrorism and organized crime within the EU. They also undermine the EU’s development and humanitarian efforts in parts of our neighborhood and Africa. EU High Representative Federica Mogherini and the European Commission today adopted a joint proposal for a comprehensive EU Strategy against illicit firearms, small arms and light weapons (SALW).

Powerful, military-grade firearms in the hands of terrorists, criminals, and other unauthorized actors pose a serious threat to our security. Illicit firearms have been used in several terrorist attacks in Europe. In the EU’s neighborhood, many conflicts are fuelled by the proliferation of illicit weapons. These conflicts cause significant suffering for the populations concerned. A total of almost 800 million people are estimated to be deprived of sufficient food due to armed conflict.

The proposal, or “Joint Communication” sets out clear objectives and concrete measures to tackle the problem. It recognizes the many actors, issues and cross-border dimensions that play a role in the context of illicit arms trade and therefore recommends a full set of action points to tackle the issue from all sides in a comprehensive way.

A multitude of different stakeholders need to be considered and involved such as police, customs, border guards, armed forces, export control bodies, manufacturers or judicial authorities. Addressing the trade of illicit arms effectively means that all of these need to exchange information and cooperate closely. Also, the issues do not just concern individual countries but all relevant countries as a group. Trade in illicit arms is indeed often transnational in nature with national, regional and global dimensions. It needs to be tackled at all of these levels. In addition, it is crucial that measures address all phases in the life cycle of firearms: manufacture, trade, export, stockpiling and disposal.

Against this background, the Joint Communication constitutes an important step forward. It proposes a set of objectives and actions for an EU Strategy against illicit firearms, small arms, light weapons and their ammunition. Once adopted by the EU Member States, the new strategy will replace an earlier but in many aspects by now outdated EU Strategy of 2005. The EU Strategy will be closely connected with the United Nations Programme of Action against the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons that will be discussed in New York in the last two weeks of July 2018.

The initiative to counter illicit arms is one element in the EU’s toolbox to tackle today’s complex security challenges. High Representative Mogherini presented in 2016 an overarching EU Global Strategy for Foreign and Security Policy that foresees an integrated and joined-up approach across internal and external policy dimensions, between Member States and EU Institutions as well as with regional and international institutions. Since then, a multitude of different initiatives in the areas of security and defense have been launched, including enhanced cooperation with NATO and the beefing-up of EU autonomous security and defense capabilities.

Original source: EC
Published on 13 June 2018