In spite of recent developments including the marked expansion of democratic spaces, West Africa remains particularly affected by outbreaks of latent conflicts, related to the presence or activity of armed groups. Beyond specific backgrounds –local or national– these players and sources of instability are part of underlying and interdependent dynamics, which are real "conflict systems" with sub-regional implications. ...Read more.

Parade of the Central African army
Credit: Michel Luntumbue

With the borderless economy developing and multipolarity becoming a reality, China has succeeded in taking the lead of a dynamic that pushes Asia ever more to the centre of the global geopolitical landscape. In the Asia-Pacific region, such a development constitutes a dramatic challenge to regional stability, as Beijing’s long-term strategic ambitions remain clouded with concerns and uncertainty. Countries faced by this destabilizing process have so far displayed quite a mixed response to the challenge. ... Read more.

Following the fall of the regime of Muammar Gaddafi in the autumn of 2011, the EU faced several challenges likely to generate political instability, security and humanitarian issues in the Sahel-Saharan region. These can have substantial impacts on its economic interests in the region but also within its borders. Recognizing the inextricable link between security and development, it provides strategies in various fields in order to support the Sahel States’ national strategies and policies. This Strategy raises several questions: is the Strategy for the Sahel adapted to the challenges faced by the new authorities in the region? How can we move beyond words and make this Strategy effective? ... Read more.

Illegal trafficking and irresponsible arms transfers are a threat to peace and security. Their consequences are often measured in terms of human losses and development in many parts of the world. Yet so far there is still no international instrument to regulate the international transfers of conventional weapons.

Through combined efforts of civil society and some governments, the need to address this lack of global common standards has gradually become selfevident for States. In December 2006 the United Nations (UN) passed a resolution to initiate a process in order to lead to the development of an international Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). Five years later, the process is close to be fulfilled. An international UN Conference will be held in July 2012 to negotiate and, in principle, adopt a Treaty. ... Read more.

Beyond its borders, when faced with major international security challenges, the European Union is rather understood for what it is not than for what it really is. This paper aims at demonstrating that, despite more than 10 years of European Security and Defence Policy, the EU has hardly gained military skills. As long as the United Kingdom ... Read more

This GRIP report studies the concept of transparency in armaments and provides an overview of the European States’ activities in the field of exchange of information and reporting on arms transfers. Transparency, more than a fashionable concept, is key to improve democratic accountability over arms transfers and must be regarded as a factor underlying every political decision. Each transparency mechanism has been put into place to fulfill specific goals such as improving regional and international security and stability.

This report analyses reporting activities improving public transparency and the main mechanisms of exchange of information...Read more.

The adoption of a strategy against the proliferation of SALW (small arms and light weapons) has allowed the EU to better structure its many initiatives to assist areas affected by the proliferation of SALW and the promotion of multilateralism in fight against this scourge. Still its Member States are struggling to harmonise their practices in the SALW trade and thus to act preventively against diversion and proliferation. This lack of coordination could be filled through practical initiatives such as ...Read more.

Peacekeeping operations multiply and evolve, and weapon transfers towards these missions rarely raise questions. This article develops the conditions necessary for such transfers and their implications. Even though they always appear as transfers to peacekeeping operations, they are above all transfers to the troop contributing countries, which assign them to their regiments deployed in an international operation. Within these missions, with losses, corruption and traffic,... Read more.

European NGOs and academics launch a report today that sheds light on the vast tide of arms that has swept across the Mediterranean from Europe to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) over the past decade. The report, Lessons from MENA – Appraising EU transfer of military and security equipment to the Middle East and North Africa, ... Read more.

Non state actors get their weapons from several sources: theft from government stockpiles, capture from the enemy, diversion, black market, and transfers from a foreign state. One thing is certain though, the State is the main arms supplier to non state actors, willingly or not, from its own territory or from abroad. The impacts of these acquisitions are real in terms of proliferation on the short and long term and at the national and regional levels, as the Libyan case recently highlighted. Proliferation in the hands of civilians, diversion to undesirable actors, human rights abuses: States must use caution when they consider arms transfers to non state actors... Read more.

With the conviction of Viktor Bout in New York, a crucial milestone has been reached on Wednesday 2nd November in the fight against international weapon trafficking. Few weapon smugglers have to this day been effectively convicted.

Mr. Bout, former 44 year-old Russian military, who inspired the movie Lord of War, is considered as one of the main weapon traffickers ... Read more.

This quarterly monitoring is part of a 3 years project (2011-2013) on “Improving human security, conflict prevention and strengthening the rule of law in eight countries in West and Central Africa” funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
It aims to monitor the security situation in West Africa with a focus on Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger and Senegal. It examines in particular issues related to regional tensions, terrorism and cross-border trafficking,...Read more.

The new website to the United Nations Register on Conventional arms (URL : http://www.un-register.org/HeavyWeapons/Index.aspx) is a step forward toward increased transparency in armaments. More didactic and interactive, the website allows the user to easily access a valuable source of information...Read more.

The threat posed by armed and terrorists groups on peace and security in West Africa deserves our utmost attention. This datasheet on Boko Haram aims to provide information about the historical and ideological foundations of this Islamist movement raging in the North of Nigeria. It focuses on its modus operandi more and more terrorist and its area of influence which is now extended to the capital, Abuja. The datasheet is also exploring its various sources of funding. Finally, the most significant actions of this armed group are listed. This datasheet is part of a series of fact sheets on armed groups in West Africa...Read more.

The trial of Viktor Bout, suspected of international arms trafficking, will begin on the 11th October in New York. Former officer of the Soviet Air Force, Bout allegedly supplied illegal weapons to many conflict zones such as Angola, Congo, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan or Afghanistan. Until March 2008, however, he had always escaped justice in spite of information and documented evidence of his actions...Read more.

The illegal exports of dual use items pose a major risk to the struggle against the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Faced with this danger, public authorities have adopted new policies, progressively paying more attention to the role of exporting companies ...Read more.

On Thursday 14 July, GRIP and IKV Pax Christi will co-organize, together with the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a side-event on the theme: “Looking back to move forward: Experiences from implementing arms transfers policies for an Arms Trade Treaty”.
This side-event will take place during the 3rd preparatory committee for an Arms Trade Treaty (11-15 July, United Nations, New York)...Read more

Legally transferred weapons can be diverted in two ways: either they are transferred from the authorized end-user to an unauthorized end user, or they are used in unauthorized or illegal ways by the authorized end-user. This Analysis addresses the latter aspect: the end-use control. It highlights the challenges faced by exporting states when assessing the risk of diversion at the licencing stage, both in terms of collecting information and using end-user certificates... Read more

In 2009, jointly with the Parliament, the European Commission adopted the 2009/43/EC directive aimed at liberalizing de defense European market by harmonizing the national legislations of EU member states, which have until June 30, 2011 to implement it in their national legislations. Nonetheless, it presently has been observed that the transposition process entails some deficiencies, namely delays in the transposition process by some EU countries,... Read more

This paper provides an analysis of the principal mechanisms of exchange of information and reporting on transfers of conventional arms and small arms and light weapons (SALW) in which the European States take part. Because of the complexity of the Belgian institutional configuration, the participation of the four Belgian actors in charge of arms trade will be analyzed. Transparency, more than a concept in fashion, is an essential ingredient to improve democratic accountability over arms transfers.

For many years, the United Nations (UN) regularly uses sanctions to intervene in situations that threaten international peace and security. The arms embargoes are one of the sanctions used by the UN as an alternative to the use of force.

It has always been difficult to enforce an arms embargo. The media and non-governmental organizations regularly report cases of illegal shipments of weapons to countries under an arms embargo. These violations contribute to the proliferation of weapons in conflict areas that they continue to fuel and exacerbate.

This report of GRIP provides an overview of the system set up by the UN to control the arms embargoes. This system is based on monitoring the implementation of the embargo as well as verifying it. The author shows that governments, the UN, international and regional organizations, the media, organizations of civil society, ... Read more.

The ambiguity of international standards on arms trade control is well known. The Libyan crisis, however, has highlighted how weak these standards are and how easy it is to circumvent their spirit. This key dimension of international trade remains surrounded by a thick fog, through which one can barely see the tip of the iceberg.

The case described here, concerning an arms export from Italy to Libya via Malta, is only an example that came to the surface by accident. ...Read more

On April 27, 2011, the Congress of Costa Rica passed a law prohibiting Uranium Weapons in its territories. Costa Rica becomes the second country in the world to pass such a law, Belgium was the first (Belgian law of May 11, 2007, in effect since June 21, 2009, and Belgian law of July 16, 2009). This law will prohibit the use, commerce, transit, production, distribution and storage of uranium weapons in Costa Rica's territories. This landmark legislation gives momentum to other countries seeking to pass similar legislation in their own countries. ...Read more