Progress Toward an International Code of Conduct on Weapons Transfers

In 1993, following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the U.S. Operation Desert Storm, Rep. Cynthia McKinney (GA) and Sen. Mark Hatfield (OR) teamed up to address a very real problem: the proliferation of conventional weapons around the globe. They asked their colleagues and the President to consider whether it would not be safer and less expensive to deny weapons to dictators, rather than to arm them to the teeth and then have to address the consequences. Rep. McKinney and Sen. Hatfield worked for several years in partnership with concerned citizens across the U.S. Finally, they succeeded in persuading Congress and the President that arms transfers were a problem and that restricting weapons transfers to governments that do not respect human rights would be a good way to begin to address the problem. Such restrictions would be formulated in a Code of Conduct on Arms Transfers.

In 1997, Congress passed and Pres. Clinton signed a bill that directed the Executive branch to take initiatives toward developing an international Code of Conduct and to report the results of these initiatives to Congress. Although the bill did not establish a U.S. Code of Conduct, it created a dynamic that has helped to move the international community closer to the goal of an international Code. A Code of Conduct has taken on a special relevance in the wake of September 11, as Pres. Bush and Congress are preparing to provide military aid to any country that will support the War on Terror.

Nobel laureates support Code

The campaign for an international Code of Conduct is led by Oscar Arias, a former president of Costa Rica and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. The campaign has been endorsed by 17 other Nobel Peace Prize Laureates.

The Nobel Laureates' Code of Conduct on International Arms Transfers sets forth principles for regulating weapons transfers and military aid and training. These principles are

• respect for human rights and international humanitarian law;
• commitment to promote regional peace, security, and stability;
• compliance with international arms embargoes, military sanctions, and transparency measures;
• opposition to terrorism; and
• the promotion of sustainable development.

In 2000, the Nobel Laureate group collaborated with lawyers from Cambridge University to transform these principles into a set of obligations. The obligations, however, do not require the creation of any new international law. Rather, they are based on commitments that states have already accepted under existing international law and customary humanitarian law.

Framework Convention on Arms Transfers

The result of these efforts is a draft Framework Convention on International Arms Transfers. This Convention could be adopted by governments worldwide. Participation by the major arms exporting countries is particularly important. These countries include the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.).

The Framework Convention calls on nations to agree to

• systematically monitor all of their international arms transfers;
• refrain from transferring weapons or providing military training to countries or groups that, based on previous history, are likely to use these tools to violate human rights or humanitarian law or to violate internationally established standards of non-aggression;
• avoid transfers of weapons that could adversely affect a country’s sustainable development or the peace and security of a region, or that would lead to violent crimes;
• refrain from transferring weapons or providing military training when there is a high risk that such weapons or training will be diverted to countries that abuse human rights.

An international Code of Conduct on arms transfers would increase global security. However, achieving such an international agreement will be a long-term effort, perhaps requiring several decades of sustained work. U.S. participation in an international Code will be central to the success of the effort. A congressional initiative at this time to establish these principles in U.S. law could create new momentum for international action.