Sourcing the tools of war : small arms supplies to conflict zones

Abstract

International illicit arms transfers to conflict and war zones often display features characteristic of newsworthy stories. They tend to involve shady, greedy dealers and financiers with Hollywood-type lifestyles; suspicious means of transport, with airplane registrations being changed mid-flight and jets sometimes touching down on tarmac in the middle of the jungle; and disturbingly ruthless recipients. Some cases embroil politicians and other public figures. No wonder, then, that the media are particularly eager to cover this aspect of the small arms problem. Given the intense political debates about whether to supply arms and ammunition to areas of conflict, researchers and analysts also devote substantial attention to this issue. The dynamics at work here are complex: states are pitted against religious and human rights groups; exporter states confront states that refuse to authorize particular deals; peace activists denounce gun manufacturers; and so on. Many NGOs, some intergovernmental organizations, and cer- tain governments have reported on transfers of arms—including small arms and light weapons — to various conflict zones, some of them under arms embargo. These reports provide invaluable insight into individual transfers of weapons as well as transfer patterns to particular conflict zones. Much of the writing concentrates on large international transfers to conflict regions—such as those involving many hundreds of weapons or millions of rounds of ammunition.