What lessons can be learnt from West African initiatives to control small arms? How can these lessons be applied to the current international debate on an arms trade treaty? This United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) paper argues that the West African experience shows that an international arms trade treaty should address arms imports as well as exports and prohibit arms transfers to non-state actors.
In October 1998, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) declared a moratorium on the import, export and manufacture of small arms and light weapons in the region. The basic principle of the moratorium is the prohibition of arms transfers in West Africa. Exemptions are allowed for legitimate security needs, maintaining order or conducting peacekeeping operations. In June 2006, the moratorium became a legally-binding instrument: the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms.
The political will behind the moratorium and subsequent convention has remained strong. The major challenge has been translating this will into practical action. Primary responsibility for this now lies with the ECOWAS Commission. Analysis of legal texts and practice to date shows that the ECOWAS Commission has played four key roles:
- Support and supervision. The ECOWAS Commission has the responsibility for gathering the resources necessary to implement the moratorium.
- Monitoring and evaluation. The evaluation of the moratorium in 2002-2003 recommended that a small arms unit be established and the moratorium be transformed into a convention. Both recommendations were implemented.
- Coordination. The ECOWAS Commission increasingly coordinates the activities of the numerous actors working on small arms control in the region, including the United Nations and civil society organisations.
- Implementation. The Convention gave responsibility for the handling of exemption procedures to the ECOWAS Commission. It introduced a standardised exemption request form and a computerised database.
ECOWAS leaders believe that efforts to control small arms in the region will not be complete without agreeing and enforcing clear principles governing the transfer of arms. Current efforts to conclude an international arms trade treaty are therefore likely to be beneficial to the region. However, the West African experience offers important lessons which should inform the development of any such treaty:
- Any treaty must cover import as well as export activities. All ECOWAS members import arms, only some export. A treaty which focussed only on exporting nations would therefore exclude ECOWAS states.
- The West African experience shows the destabilising potential of non-state actors. Any treaty should, like the ECOWAS Convention, prohibit transfers to non-state actors unless explicitly authorised by the relevant state.
- Instead of a prohibition on arms transfers, it is likely that the arms trade treaty will be based on a principle of prior authorisation for transfers. This risks making transfers automatic.
- If prior authorisation is to be a point of consensus in an arms trade treaty, it must be qualified by review criteria that take into account the situation of the destination country and the vulnerability of regions such as West Africa.
