| The Conventional Weapons Threat: Control the Illegal Arms Trade and Ban Cluster Bombs |
Despite the grave threat they pose to human rights and security, concerns about conventional weapons too often fly under the radar of the international community. The vast, largely unregulated flow of small arms and light weapons--weapons that can operated by one person or a small group--is an incredibly destructive force in the lives of civilians and endangers US soldiers in conflict zones. Unexploded cluster bombs, which often look like toys to unsuspecting children, have maimed and killed thousands of civilians and contribute to anger and resentment against the nations who deploy these weapons in battle, including the United States. The US has a moral imperative, as well as an urgent security need, to work cooperatively with the international community to stop the havoc brought about by these dangerous conventional weapons. Illustrating the scope of the threat from the illegal arms trade, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan aptly stated, "The death toll from small arms dwarfs that of all other weapons systems...In terms of the carnage they cause, small arms, indeed, could well be described as 'weapons of mass destruction.'"4 On average, small arms and light weapons kill 300,000 people worldwide every year, primarily civilians.5 Many more "die, are injured, abused, forcibly displaced and bereaved as a result of armed violence."6 The vast flow of small arms and light weapons contributes to global instability and fuels conflict. While conflict can exist without these weapons, the easy access and volume of weapons increases risk in unstable regions. The lack of sufficient export controls also endangers US soldiers in conflict zones. Over ten million small arms and light weapons were collected during the Taliban's rise to power in Afghanistan. This accumulation of arms helped that state become a refuge for terrorists and a threat to US national security interests.7 In 2007, the Government Accountability Office reported that the Defense Department "…cannot fully account for at least 190,000 weapons reported as issued to Iraqi forces."8 Like the illegal arms trade, the use of cluster bombs endangers civilians, especially children, and poses serious human rights concerns. Cluster bombs are indiscriminate weapons that rain small "bomblets" on targeted areas. Combat statistics indicate that between 10 and 40 percent of the bomblets fail to explode, becoming de facto landmines.9 The bomblets often explode at a later time when stepped on or picked up by unsuspecting civilians. Delegates at a major conference on cluster bombs in early 2008 estimated that four out of ten people killed or injured by cluster bombs are children.10 Despite the clear danger to innocent civilians, some countries still claim that cluster bombs have a necessary military purpose, and they were used in recent conflicts such as the Iraq war and the conflict between Israel and Lebanon. The US did not attend the international conference to finalize language in a treaty banning cluster bombs, and its current policy is that cluster bombs have a necessary military utility. The US made attempts to include loopholes in the treaty that would undermine efforts to decrease the threat from cluster bombs.11 The US government has taken some positive steps to address the threat of conventional weapons in recent years. The Fiscal Year 2008 budget included a provision prohibiting the sale or transfer of cluster bombs with a failure rate higher than one percent.12 The Bush administration has increased funding for programs designed to destroy stockpiles of conventional weapons. These initiatives are important, but 2009 offers opportunities to expand programs and work more actively with the international community to reduce the threat from small arms and light weapons.
1. "Gun Point," Christopher Hayes, The American Prospect, November 21, 2003 |