Regulating the Weapons Trade: The Code of Conduct on Arms Transfers

Congratulations! Your strong and persistent grassroots advocacy over the past six years has paid off. Legislation to further a Code of Conduct on Arms Transfers was enacted last year as part of the State Department Authorization bill. Rep. Cynthia McKinney (GA) provided the steadfast leadership that moved legislators to enact the new law, which bears the overstated title of “International Arms Sales Code of Conduct.”

Origins of Code of Conduct legislation

The first “Code of Conduct on Arms Transfers” legislation was introduced in 1993 by Rep. McKinney (GA) and then Sen. Mark Hatfield (OR). Their bill would have initiated a U.S. policy to restrict U.S. weapons sales and transfers to countries that violate human rights, are undemocratic, do not comply with the UN Conventional Arms Register, or engage in armed aggression (as defined by international law).

The original Code proposal would have required the State Department to include in its annual Human Rights Report a review of each country based on these four criteria. That review would have been used to determine the eligibility of countries for U.S. weapons transfers. The original Code proposal included a provision to allow the President to waive the criteria for an otherwise ineligible country, if U.S. national interests were at stake. A later version of the original proposal also called for U.S. initiatives to begin multilateral negotiations for an International Code of Conduct.

Although the House first passed the Code in 1997, passage by both houses did not come until 1999. At that time, Reps. Gejdenson (CT) and McKinney, with the support of Reps. Gilman (NY)and Smith (NJ), inserted language for the present Code in the State Department Authorization bill.

Provisions of the enacted Code

The new law is a compromise version of the 1993 proposal. This compromise does not actually restrict U.S. weapons transfers, as the original Code would have done. Rather, the new law directs the President to initiate multilateral negotiations for an International Code of Conduct which would be based on specified criteria. The legislation also directs the Secretary of State to include in the State Department’s annual Human Rights Report an assessment of the degree to which each country meets the criteria.

The criteria in the new Code legislation differ slightly from the original Code criteria. They specify that, to be eligible for weapons transfers, a country must 1) promote democracy, 2) respect human rights, 3) not be engaged in acts of aggression which are contrary to international law, 4) not support terrorism, 5) not contribute to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and 6) not be located in a politically unstable region.

Where to from here?

The new law has some decided weaknesses but also presents exciting opportunities. On the negative side, the law does not restrict U.S. weapons transfers. As a result, weapons transfers can continue unabated unless and until an International Code is negotiated, ratified, and implemented, a process that could take years. Moreover, the failure of the U.S. government to restrict weapons transfers by U.S. manufacturers according to Code of Conduct criteria denies the President the high moral ground from which to call for an International Code.

On the positive side, the requirement that the State Department assess countries with respect to Code criteria will provide important information about countries receiving U.S.-made weapons. This information could serve to heighten awareness of the degree to which U.S. weapons fuel regional conflicts or are used by repressive governments in ways that violate human rights. The legislation also strengthens the proposal for an International Code of Conduct on arms transfers which has been made by a group of Nobel Peace Prize recipients.

Representatives of FCNL and other participants in the Arms Transfer Working Group have initiated talks with officials at the Department of State to discuss ways to implement the new law. We expect that talks will be opened, either in the United Nations or in another multilateral venue.

Your efforts on behalf of the Code have helped to move the U.S. and the international community closer to restraining weapons suppliers from selling conventional weapons to any dictator or human rights violator with the money to buy them.