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Summer 2017
DEFENDERS
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section is to introduce norms to restrict those arms transfers, which
lead to violation of international law and human rights. It tries to do
so by bringing objective examples of human rights situations and
through highlighting the literature, which considers responsibilities
for governments, firstly within their own territories, and secondly, at
global level. These issues along with relevant arguments and examples
will be discussed here.
Small arms and light weapons
Authors writing about small arms and light weapons believe that the political
atmosphere, which came about following the end ofWorldWar II, was greatly
influential in creating conditions under which small arms were widely used
to violate human rights in various countries. Historically speaking, this
group of analysts believe that the collapse of the former Soviet Union and
globalization led to facilitation of arms trade and spillover of this problem
to those regions where governments were not able to enforce effective
control over their territories. According to figures and statistics provided
by analysts, the use of light weapons in armed conflicts across the world
between 1990 and 1998 has left four million people dead and 20 million
others homeless. However, the highly profitable trade in these weapons
increased from 300 million dollar in the middle of the 1980s to three billion
dollars in the middle of the 1990s, which indicated a remarkable increase
in demand for these weapons despite high casualties they left behind.
Mentioning these figures, Jeffrey Boutwell argues that light weapons can
turn into a major cause of human fatalities due to such advantages as being
inexpensive, high usability, their lethal nature, simplicity and sustainability,
being easily transferable, as well as widespread applications that they have
at the hands of the military, police and ordinary citizens alike. He finally
recommends that all possible means must be taken advantage of, to force
governments to accept their responsibility in the face of these casualties
and international legal norms must be also forged to prevent such a high
level of casualties.
A similar argument has been offered by other academic figures, which
considers light weapons transfers as a major factor behind breakout and
prolongation of civil wars in various countries. Michael I. Ogu has
conducted a case study on African countries in this regard and has reached
the conclusion that in addition to weakness of governments in African
countries, widespread smuggling of light weapons on a large scale across
the continent has been a major factor leading to violent behavior. He then
argued that if transfer of such weapons was brought under control and made
more limited, bloody rivalries and conflicts in African countries would be
largely prevented.
Noronha and Rosa have also touched upon this problem that transfer or