Mandate for SALW destruction
Where does the mandate for arms destruction stem from?
Most international and regional instruments on small arms and light weapons make reference to the need to destroy confiscated, seized or collected small arms and light weapons. The following document provides extracts from the key international and regional instruments on small arms and light weapons, as follows:
United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (UNPoA)
Section II. 16. To ensure that all confiscated, seized or collected small arms and light weapons are destroyed, subject to any legal constraints associated with the preparation of criminal prosecutions, unless another form of disposition or use has been officially authorized and provided that such weapons have been duly marked and registered.
19. To destroy surplus small arms and light weapons designated for destruction, taking into account, inter alia, the report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations on methods of destruction of small arms, light weapons, ammunition and explosives (S/2000/1092) of 15 November 2000.
Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UN Protocol)
Article 6.1. Without prejudice to article 12 of the Convention, States Parties shall adopt, to the greatest extent possible within their domestic legal systems, such measures as may be necessary to enable confiscation of firearms, their parts and components and ammunition that have been illicitly manufactured or trafficked.
6.2. States Parties shall adopt, within their domestic legal systems, such measures as may be necessary to prevent illicitly manufactured and trafficked firearms, parts and components and ammunition from falling into the hands of unauthorized persons by seizing and destroying such firearms, their parts and components and ammunition unless other disposal has been officially authorized, provided that the firearms have been marked and the methods of disposal of those firearms and ammunition have been recorded.
Article 9. A State Party that does not recognize a deactivated firearm as a firearm in accordance with its domestic law shall take the necessary measures, including the establishment of specific offences if appropriate, to prevent the illicit reactivation of deactivated firearms, consistent with the following general principles of deactivation:
(a) All essential parts of a deactivated firearm are to be rendered permanently inoperable and incapable of removal, replacement or modification in a manner that would permit the firearm to be reactivated in any way;
(b) Arrangements are to be made for deactivation measures to be verified, where appropriate, by a competent authority to ensure that the modifications made to a firearm render it permanently inoperable;
(c) Verification by a competent authority is to include a certificate or record attesting to the deactivation of the firearm or a clearly visible mark to that effect stamped on the firearm.
Bamako Declaration on an African Common Position on the Illicit Proliferation, Circulation and Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons (Bamako Declaration)
3A iv) develop and implement, where they do not exist, national programmes for: * the identification and the destruction by competent national authorities and where necessary, of surplus, obsolete and seized stocks in possession of the state, with, as appropriate, international financial and technical support;
2. WE THEREFORE AGREE that, in order to promote peace, security, stability and sustainable development on the continent, it is vital to address the problem of the illicit proliferation, circulation and trafficking of small arms and light weapons in a comprehensive, integrated, sustainable and efficient manner through:
vi) the enhancement of the capacity of Member States to identify, seize and destroy illicit weapons and to put in place measures to control the circulation, possession, transfer and use of small arms and light weapons;
Southern African Development Community Protocol on the Control of Firearms, Ammunition and Other Related Materials in the Region of the Community (SADC Protocol)
Article 10: Disposal Of State-Owned Firearms
1. States Parties undertake to identify and adopt effective programmes for the collection, safe-storage, destruction and responsible disposal of firearms rendered surplus, redundant or obsolete through, inter alia,:
(a) peace agreements,
(b) demobilisation or reintegration of ex-combatants; and
(c) re-equipment, or restructuring of armed forces or other armed state bodies.
2. State Parties shall pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article consider:
(a) encouraging full preparation for, and implementation of the collection, safe-storage, destruction or responsible disposal of firearms as part of the implementation of peace agreements;
(b) establishing and implementing guidelines and procedures for ensuring that firearms, ammunition and other related materials rendered surplus, redundant or obsolete through the re-equipment or re-organisation of armed forces or other state bodies are securely stored, destroyed or disposed of in a way that prevents them from entering the illicit firearm market or flowing into regions in conflict or any other destination that is not fully consistent with agreed criteria for restraint; and
(c) destroying surplus, redundant or obsolete state-owned firearms, ammunition or other related materials.
Article 11: Disposal Of Confiscated Or Unlicensed Firearms
1. States Parties undertake to adopt co-ordinated national policies for disposal of confiscated or unlicensed firearms that come into the possession of state authorities.
2. States Parties undertake to develop joint and combined operations across the borders of States Parties to locate, seize and destroy caches of firearms, ammunition and other related materials left over after conflicts and civil wars.
The Nairobi Protocol for the Prevention, Control and Reduction of Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa (Nairobi Protocol)
Article 8. States Parties undertake to identify and adopt effective programmes for the collection, safe-storage, destruction and responsible disposal of small arms and light weapons rendered surplus, redundant or obsolete, in accordance with domestic laws, through, inter alia, peace agreements, demobilisation or (re-) integration of ex-combatants, or re-equipment of armed forces or other armed state bodies. States Parties shall accordingly:
- develop and implement, where they do not exist, national programmes for the identification of surplus, obsolete and seized stocks of small arms and light weapons in possession of the state;
- ensure that small arms and light weapons rendered surplus, redundant or obsolete through the implementation of a peace process, the re-equipment or re-organisation of armed forces and/ or other state bodies are securely stored, destroyed or disposed of in a way that prevents them from entering the illicit market or flowing into regions in conflict or any other destination that is not fully consistent with agreed criteria for restraint.
Article 9. States Parties undertake to:
- adopt within their domestic legal systems, such measures as may be necessary to enable confiscation of small arms and light weapons that have been illicitly manufactured or trafficked;
- maintain and further develop joint and combined operations across the borders of States Parties to locate, seize and destroy caches of small arms and light weapons left over after conflicts and civil wars;
- encourage law enforcement agencies to work with communities to identify small arms and light weapons caches and remove them from society;
- establish an effective mechanism for storing impounded, recovered or unlicensed illicit small arms and light weapons pending the investigations that will release them for destruction.
Article 12. States Parties shall introduce programmes to encourage:
- small arms and light weapons in lawful civilian possession may be voluntarily surrender their small arms and light weapons for destruction/disposal by the State in accordance with its domestic laws;
- illegal small arms and light weapons holders shall surrender their small arms and light weapons for destruction. In such cases, the State may consider granting immunity from prosecution.
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