Weapons Trafficking

Background

Weapons trafficking is a concise but narrow term. Though historically, weapons trafficking has concentrated upon illicit transfers of ammunition, arms, and associated materials, it has expanded in recent decades to include acquisition, manufacture, possession, storage, and use of such weapons and materials. The process of weapons trafficking is somewhat hard to understand because of the multiplicity of forms that it can take. Weapons trafficking is driven by demand from a variety of clients, including armed participants in wars, bandits and insurgents, criminals and criminal organizations, embargoed governments, and individuals who desire firearms but who are prohibited from owning them by local laws and regulations. Although some weapons that are transferred illicitly are manufactured especially for this purpose, many others are procured from a variety of sources, including arms captured in battle, gun owners, legitimate manufacturers, and military arsenals.

The types of transactions that comprise weapons trafficking also vary greatly. The majority of weapons trafficking transactions are small transactions by individuals or firms that knowingly fail to comply with regulations and laws related to arms transfers, such as when guns are sold to forbidden recipients. Larger transfers of weapons, often involving high-value shipments delivered to out-of-the-way locations, are conducted by dishonest brokers or middlemen who utilize established networks and channels that are also employed for smuggling other illicit goods, such as narcotics or counterfeit products. Finally, governments themselves sometimes deal in covert weapon sales, both by ignoring the first two types of transactions and by deals arranged directly through government agencies. The types of weapons sold also vary significantly. Many weapons involved in illicit transfers are firearms and light weapons, which are easily transportable and fairly easy to conceal. Firearms and light weapons have a relatively low cash value and can be transported by individuals or smuggled in legitimate shipments of other goods. Once delivered, firearms and light weapons are easily maintained and operated by the end purchaser and are appropriate for a variety of unlawful uses. In contrast, major weapons, such as missiles, tanks, and aircraft, have a high cash value, are difficult to transport, and are much more closely watched by government entities.

Precisely which weapons transfers can be deemed “illicit” is open to some debate. During much of the Cold War, the United States, the Soviet Union, and their allies asserted that supplying arms to nonstate rebel groups (also known as “freedom fighters”) was a legitimate activity. Although nations facing insurgencies and their allies maintained this behavior was illegal, enough uncertainty existed that neither side protested as vigorously as it might have done. After the end of the Cold War, these feelings changed, and by the mid-1990s, a variety of opinions converged to better define illicit transactions. In 1996, for example, the United Nations (UN) Disarmament Commission defined “illicit arms trafficking” as any international arms trade that is in contravention of state or international laws. Although certain practices are still contested, a growing consensus regarding weapons trafficking has led to growing international cooperation in an attempt to defuse crises springing from such activity.

...