Security Council resolution 2616 (2021) [on consideration during mandate renewals of role of peace operations in supporting national authorities in combating illicit transfer and diversion of arms in violation of arms embargoes]
Symbol: S/RES/2616 (2021)
Date: 2021-12-22
Status: adopted
Agenda: S/76 [193] SMALL ARMS
S/ X Maintenance of international peace and security.
Subjects: ILLICIT ARMS TRAFFICKING|ARMS EMBARGO|SANCTIONS COMPLIANCE|PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS|WEAPONS TRACING|STOCKPILE MANAGEMENT
Votes in favour: 12
Votes against: 0
Abstentions: 3
Voting record:
country: CHINA
vote: abstention
country: ESTONIA
vote: yes
country: FRANCE
vote: yes
country: INDIA
vote: abstention
country: IRELAND
vote: yes
country: KENYA
vote: yes
country: MEXICO
vote: yes
country: NIGER
vote: yes
country: NORWAY
vote: yes
country: RUSSIAN FEDERATION
vote: abstention
country: SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES
vote: yes
country: TUNISIA
vote: yes
country: UNITED KINGDOM
vote: yes
country: UNITED STATES
vote: yes
country: VIET NAM
vote: yes

               United Nations                                                                   S/RES/2616 (2021)
               Security Council                                                 Distr.: General
                                                                                22 December 2021




               Resolution 2616 (2021)
               Adopted by the Security Council at its 8942nd meeting, on
               22 December 2021

                    The Security Council,
                    Reaffirming the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations,
                     Gravely concerned that the illicit transfer, destabilizing accumulation and
               misuse of small arms and light weapons in many regions of the world continue to
               pose threats to international peace and security, cause significant loss of life,
               contribute to instability and insecurity and continue to undermine the effectiveness of
               the Security Council in discharging its primary responsibility for the maintenance of
               international peace and security,
                     Concerned that illicit trafficking and diversion of arms and related materiel of
               all types undermine the rule of law and human rights, and has the potential to
               undermine the respect for international humanitarian law, can impede the provision
               of humanitarian assistance and have wide ranging negative humanitarian and
               socioeconomic consequences,
                     Recognizing that arms embargoes are, inter alia, aimed at preventing illicit flows
               of arms, including small arms and light weapons, and related materiel to confli ct
               situations that the Security Council has determined to be a threat to international
               peace and security, and therefore contribute to respect for international humanitarian
               law, the safety of and preventing the endangerment of civilians, including the
               disproportionate impact on women, such as exacerbating sexual and gender-based
               violence, as well as the impact on children, refugees, internally displaced persons and
               other groups in vulnerable situations, as well as to the safety of peacekeepers and
               humanitarian personnel, and recalling the Council’s relevant resolutions and
               statements of its President,
                    Further recognizing that each Council-mandated arms embargo is context
               specific and is subject to periodic review by the Security Council,
                     Emphasizing that the provisions in this resolution on addressing the illicit
               transfer, destabilizing accumulation and diversion of arms and related materiel in
               violation of Council-mandated arms embargoes, are to be interpreted in accordance
               with the Charter of the United Nations,
                    Acknowledging the important contribution of Council-mandated arms
               embargoes in countering the illicit transfer, destabilizing accumulation and misuse of
               small arms and light weapons, and noting the need to improve information sharing on



21-19549 (E)
*2119549*

S/RES/2616 (2021)

               possible arms embargo violations between groups of experts, peacekeeping missions
               within their mandates and other relevant United Nations entities,
                     Condemning the illicit flows of arms and related materiel of all types, in
               violation of Council-mandated arms embargoes, including when they result in
               supplies to and between non-State actors, including terrorists and criminals, and when
               they undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Member States, as a serious
               threat to peace and stability, and calling upon Member States to prevent and disrupt
               procurement networks for such weapons,
                    Stressing the importance of Member States providing and exchanging timely
               and up to date information on possible arms embargo violations in order to identify
               and combat illicit trafficking sources and supply chains,
                     Recognizing the importance of building Member States’ capacities to enable
               them to gather information on all aspects of networks that use false documentation to
               evade inspections and facilitate breaches of Council-mandated sanctions, including
               information on suspected traffickers and trafficking routes, suspected illicit financial
               transactions and brokering activities for, or diversion of, arms and related materiel of
               all types,
                    Welcoming the cooperation between Member States, including through joint
               border activities, with a focus on the prevention of arms trafficking in violation of
               Council-mandated embargoes,
                     Acknowledging with appreciation the efforts made by intergovernmental,
               regional and subregional organizations, including through regional initiatives,
               strategies and action plans, in supporting Member States in the effective
               implementation of arms embargoes imposed by the Security Council, and in capacity -
               building to prevent and address the illicit trade in, and destabilizing accum ulation of,
               small arms and light weapons, and to prevent their illicit diversion in violation of
               Council-mandated embargoes,
                     Reiterating that United Nations peacekeeping operations and other relevant
               Council-mandated entities, located in a Member State or region with a Councilmandated arms embargo, may, as mandated by the Council, assist with appropriate
               expertise and capacity-building for host governments in the field of weapons
               collection, disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration programmes, enhan cing
               physical security and stockpile management practices, record keeping and tracing
               capacities, development of national export and import control systems, enhancement
               of border security, and strengthening judicial institutions and law enforcement
               capacity,
                     Urging the full and effective implementation of the Programme of Action to
               Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in
               All Its Aspects, and recognizing its important contribution to international efforts on
               this matter,
                     Noting that marking, tracing, and record-keeping of arms, including small arms
               and light weapons, by Member States, particularly countries in conflict and post -
               conflict situations, can serve to detect violations of applicable arms embargoes and
               identify weaknesses in stockpile management, and further urging the full and
               effective implementation of the International Instrument to Enable States to Identify
               and Trace, in a Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons
               (International Tracing Instrument) in this regard,
                    Stressing the importance of assisting Member States under Council-mandated
               arms embargoes to monitor and control stockpiles of arms, including small arms and



2/4                                                                                                        21-19549

                                                                                                   S/RES/2616 (2021)

           light weapons, in order to prevent looting or their acquisition from national stockpiles
           by non-State actors, including terrorists, criminals and other unauthorized recipients,
                 Acknowledging the value of the Security Council Sanctions Committees’
           guidance, including through non-binding guidelines, to Member States for complying
           with the provisions and obligations under the respective resolutions that impose
           sanctions,
                 Stressing that measures taken by Member States to comply with Councilmandated arms embargos, including measures to counter illicit trafficking and
           diversion of arms and related materiel, as well as illicit financing, must comply with
           their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law
           and international human rights law, as applicable, and further stressing the importance
           of Member States sufficiently addressing this matter through domestic authorities, in
           accordance with their national laws,
                  Urging Member States to mainstream perspectives that take into account the
           disproportionate impact of the flows of illicitly trafficked weapons on women and
           children in policymaking and implementation processes of programmes to combat the
           illicit trafficking and diversion of arms and related materiel of all types, in violation
           of Council-mandated embargoes, and recognizing the importance of women’s full,
           equal and meaningful participation in all such efforts,
               Taking note of the recommendations in the Secretary-General’s report to the
           Council of 30 September 2021 entitled “Small arms and light weapons” ( S/2021/839),
                 1.   Resolves to consider, on a case-by-case basis and when appropriate, during
           the renewal of mandates of peace operations that coincide where arms embargoes
           have been mandated by the Security Council, whether and how the pe ace operations
           could support relevant national authorities in combating the illicit transfer and
           diversion of arms in violation of the arms embargoes in their respective areas of
           operation;
                 2.    Also encourages its peace operations and relevant United Nations entities
           to assist in reinforcing capacities of host nation authorities, at their request, in data
           collection and training to counter the illicit transfer of arms and related materiel of
           all types, where appropriate and consistent with their mandates;
                  3.   Emphasizes that the capacity of States under Council-mandated embargoes
           to exert effective control over their existing arms and ammunition stockpiles and
           future imports with a view to preventing such weapons from being diverted to the
           illicit market will be duly considered by the Council when evaluating the possible
           lifting of an arms embargo;
                 4.    Stresses that subject to the particular exemptions to each arms embargo,
           arms and related materiel of all types that are supplied, sold or transferred as secur ity
           or disarmament assistance under exemptions should not be resold to, transferred to,
           or in other ways made available for use by parties other than the designated end user
           or other users explicitly permitted under the relevant embargo, and should not hav e
           end uses other than those specified or otherwise explicitly permitted under the
           relevant embargo;
                5.    Encourages, as a best practice, the establishment of baseline arms
           inventories by States under Council-mandated embargoes, as well as arms marking
           and registration systems, in situations where a United Nations arms embargo
           coincides with disarmament, demobilization and reintegration efforts;
                6.   Encourages Member States to ensure adequate marking and recordkeeping measures are in place to trace arms, including small arms and light weapons,


21-19549                                                                                                         3/4

S/RES/2616 (2021)

               as required by the international and regional instruments to which they are parties,
               and consider how best to assist, where relevant and upon their request, neighboring
               countries of States under Council-mandated embargoes in preventing and detecting
               illicit trafficking and diversion in violation of embargoes;
                    7.   Encourages regional land, air, and maritime cooperation, as applicable, to
               detect and prevent violations of Council-mandated arms embargoes as well as to
               report cases of violations in a timely manner to the corresponding sanctions
               committees;
                     8.    Requests the full cooperation of Member States, in particular those under
               Council-mandated arms embargoes, with the corresponding Panel of Experts, and
               further stresses the importance of allowing such Panels of Experts, whenever and
               wherever possible, to conduct inspections, or to be provided with samples, of seized
               military equipment transferred illicitly in contravention of the respective embargoes;
                     9.   Affirms its resolve to designate, where appropriate and under applicable
               sanctions regimes, those individuals who have been involved in activities prohibited
               by Council-mandated embargoes;
                     10. Encourages Member States to undertake due diligence measures
               concerning the export of the commercially-available components of weapons systems
               to States under Council-mandated embargoes that may be used by designated
               individuals and entities or armed groups in contravention of the respective embargoes;
                    11. Encourages Member States, as well as relevant international
               organizations, in a position to do so, to provide capacity building and the training of
               national customs, border control, and other such relevant agencies, to carry out
               inspections regarding Council-mandated embargoes;
                     12. Recognizes the value of Member States’ engagement with the private
               sector and other relevant stakeholders and sharing information about the
               implementation of the provisions and obligations contained in resolutions
               establishing arms embargoes;
                     13. Requests the Secretary-General to consider recommendations in his
               regular country specific reporting to the Security Council, as and when appropriate,
               on tasks that could be performed by peace operations and relevant UN entities that
               coincide where arms embargoes have been mandated by the Security Council, in
               accordance with their mandates, to provide assistance to relevant national authorities,
               inter alia, in monitoring of said embargoes, identification of illicit sources of arms,
               and tracing seized, found and surrendered arms, as well as tasks to support relevant
               sanctions committee expert panels;
                    14. Requests the Secretary-General to include further information on general
               trends of illicit trafficking and diversion in contravention of Council -mandated arms
               embargoes, as well as further recommendations on this matter, in the biennial reports
               pursuant to resolution 2220 (2015).




4/4                                                                                                      21-19549