RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 58

GROUP 2
PHASE 1CURRENT SITUATION OF ILLEGAL FIREARMS
TRAFFICKING AND HUMAN (WOMEN, CHILDREN, AND
MIGRANTS) TRAFFICKING
Chairperson
Co-Chairperson
Rapporteur
Co-Rapporteur
Members

Advisors

Mr. Ramend Hem Raj
Mr. Toshihiro Fukushi
Mr. Ricardo Tiuseco Pamintuan
Ms. Keiko Hoshi
Mr. Hiroyoshi Amamoto
Mr. Shuichi Inoue
Mr. Sengsouvanh
Chanthalounnavong
Mr. Hubert Sareke
Mr. Suwit Savaengthong.
Prof. Hiroshi Iitsuka
Prof. Shinya Watanabe

I. INTRODUCTION
The presence of transnational organizedcriminal groups in almost all corners of theworld seems to signify that every State isfighting a losing battle against this scourgeof the modern world. Problems arisingfrom the activities of these syndicates in
the commission of so-called “hard crimes”
such as the trafficking of narcotics andpsychotropic substances, firearms, andhumans, as well as the newly-emerging“high-tech crimes” of money laundering,product counterfeiting, card fraud, andcomputer-related offenses, are shared bymost countries. This report will attempt
to show the current situation of the illegal
trafficking of firearms and humans from a
global perspective, with the end in view ofarriving at a solution founded not only on
individual but also, and more importantly,
on international multilateral efforts.

216(Fiji)(Japan)(Philippines)(Japan)(Japan)(Japan)(Laos)(PNG)(Thailand)(UNAFEI)(UNAFEI)

II. ILLEGAL FIREARMS
TRAFFICKING
Guns are manufactured and distributed
to serve the various needs of different
groups of people. On the supply end,
firearms are generally trafficked for profit:
since their underground sale isunregulated, the suppliers have absolutecontrol over their prices. There are times,
however, when they are used as currency
to purchase narcotics. Brazilian drugtraffickers trade firearms for cocaine withterrorist groups from neighboring
countries. Some guns in Papua New
Guinea are also exchanged for drugs, andthis is where transnational organizedcriminal groups make their presence felt.
Civil strife and a strong militarypresence likewise greatly contribute to theaccumulation of firearms and ammunitionin certain places. The proliferation of
firearms in Nigeria is due largely to armed
conflicts in that region. The first wave

116TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEREPORTS OF THE COURSE
occurred in the wake of the civil war of
1967-1970, while the second wave cameduring the Peacekeeping Operations,particularly in the Economic Commissionof West African States Monitoring GroupOperations (ECOMOG). And while Nigeria
used to be merely a transit nation, it has
since been transformed into a primary user.
There is, however, no relevant data linking
illicit firearms to any particulartransnational organized crime group.
In similar fashion, gun trafficking is very
rampant in Tanzania due to civil wars in
the neighboring states of Rwanda,
Burundi, Uganda, the Democratic Republicof Congo, Mozambique, and Somalia,
through Kenya. Between 1997 and 1999,
some 1,716 people have been arrested inrelation to firearms, 1,313 guns and 7,113
ammunition were seized, leading to thefiling of 1,223 cases of firearms trafficking
involving sub-machine guns,
semiautomatic rifles, pistols, shotguns, AK47s, and muzzle loading guns.
At other times, soldiers in countries thathave experienced much internal conflict orwars find themselves with no meaningfulemployment and no use for guns at thecessation of hostilities Cambodia andVietnam had a surplus of guns after the
warin that region. The military had guns,
but they needed money, so they sold theirguns at the Thai border, thus, creatingproblems for the Thai authorities. Only
strict border checks controlled its spread,
thereby drastically reducing Thailand’s
firearms problem.
From the demand end, guns support theillegal activities of organized criminalgroups in countries like Brazil, Japan,
Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, andUganda. They are also used in terrorist or
guerilla warfare, as what is happening in
the Indian states of Punjab, Jammu, andKashmir, and in Muslim Mindanao in thePhilippines. In fact, even Nomadic tribes
in Karimojong, Uganda, have 200,000
guns, mostly from Somalia and Sudan.
Two organized crime groups, the Allied
Democratic Force and the Lords ResistanceArmy, also possess a large number offirearms. And if money is not enough, there
are times when kidnapped children are
traded for guns.
How, then, are firearms being traffickedaround the globe? In Brazil, this is themain activity of frontier smugglers, mostly
at the Brazil-Paraguay area, where
firearms enter the black market. The
Russian mafia, on the other hand, sponsors
the importation of illicit arms to Brazil
through the ports of Rio de Janeiro andSantos in São Paulo. In Papua New
Guinea, firearms enter the communityfrom Australia, Indonesia, and the Solomon
Islands in container cargo vessels, lightaircraft, fishing trawlers, and by individual
couriers or through parcel ports. As an
importer, the Philippines gets its guns
mainly from the United States, and as amanufacturer, moves imported as well as
locally crafted handguns to Taiwan, Japan
Malaysia, and other Asian countries. Thisis done either by misdeclaring the contents
of cargo containers and sending them to a
fictitious consignee, or by smuggling thefirearms into non-commercial ports.
In regional trafficking of firearms,
transnational organized criminal groups
make full use of the unguarded borders ofsuch countries as India, Malaysia, Nigeria,
and Pakistan. India’s long and porous
border poses a major problem in monitoring
and controlling movement of illegal
firearms. And yet, firearms aretransported not only by land but also by
sea and air. Gun trafficking in India
continues despite the existence of the Arms
Act of 1959.

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 58
As in India, it is through penetrable
borders where firearms find their way into
Malaysia. The problem, though notserious, is compounded by the lack ofcontrol at the borders, making it ideal forarms smugglers. Because of the proximityof Muslim Mindanao in the Philippines, it
is believed that illegal firearms aretrafficked between these two countries bysea. Statistics show that in 1999, 247
pistols, revolvers, and shotguns wereseized, with 250 people arrested. In 1999,
Sabah police arrested 116 people and shot
15 others. The involvement oftransnational organized criminals,
however, has not been established. Somecountries, like Laos and Nigeria, aremerely transit points for the trafficking of
firearms so that the long hand oftransnational organized crime neveractuary touches them.
The Japanese public is fortunate enoughto be shielded from the influx of firearms,
illegal or otherwise, by its firearms control
system, as well as by the non-necessity ofprocuring firearms because of the lack ofinternal conflicts. Arid while guns werepreviously used only against criminal
elements, in recent times, even ordinary
and innocent citizens have been victimized.
The boryokudan however, has no monopolyof firearms. Even the notorious Aum Shinri
Cult, which was responsible for the fatalsarin gas incident in 1994, is involved in
the illicit manufacture of firearms, such as
AK-47s. Some of their firearms arereportedly smuggled from the Philippines.
III. HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Human trafficking, especially the
trafficking of women and children, haslately been receiving much attention
because of its human rights implications.
But trafficking in humans is of two types:
the first is initiated by the victim and is,therefore, voluntary, while the second is218

totally involuntary.
The Chinese experience explains it best.
Because of economic hardships or, perhaps,
due to government policy, many Chinesewant to leave the country in search of abetter life. Some of them are able to gain
lawful employment overseas. The problem
begins when the authorized period of stayor employment expires and they opt to stayon as illegal migrants. The second
situation, though rarer, involves, to a large
extent, human smuggling. This occurs
when prospective migrants who try but failto obtain legitimate travel documents seek
the help of triad societies and organizedcrime syndicates or “snakeheads” who arewilling to provide them with forged travel
documents for a very high fee. To pay thesefees, they sometimes resort to drugtrafficking, weapons smuggling,
kidnapping, murder, robbery, blackmail orextortion, and even terrorism: They
normally travel on long and unusualroutes, under inhuman conditions, just toreach their destination, which is usually a
progressive country like the U.S., France,
U.K., Italy, Australia, or Japan. China,
being a developed nation in its own right,
also attracts illegal migrants. At present,
however, China has no specific law onillegal migration or human smuggling.
Similarly, the problem of Japan is more
on illegal immigration rather than humantrafficking. There are instances whenpeople seeking gainful employment inJapan but cannot do so legally solicit thehelp of transnational organized criminalgroups to secure forged travel documents,
find work, and enter Japan. In 1992, forexample, among the persons deported by
the Immigration Bureau, the number of
persons who entered Japan illegally, thatis, without a valid passport, was 3,459.
Thereafter, the annual figure remained
fairly constant until 1996, when illegal
immigrants started to enter the country by

116TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEREPORTS OF THE COURSE
sea. Thus, by 1999, the number of illegal
immigrants has swelled to 9,337, with
6,281 individuals entering Japan by air the
rest by sea This shifting trend may be dueto the difficulty in getting into the country
through regular landing procedures.
Among those who opt to enter Japan by sea,more ingenious methods have recently
been uncovered, such as transferring from
Chinese to Korean fishing vessels,
traveling with forged documents aboard
vessels of legal registry, hiding in the ship’s
secret compartments, and disembarking at
non-commercial ports along the Japanese
coast. Illegal immigration, particularly by
Chinese nationals, is usually carried out
with the assistance of the triad or “snake
heads” in cooperation with the boryokudan.
In the past few years, there has also beena marked increase in the number of illegal
migrants to Fiji, mostly women and young
girls of Chinese origin. Investigations
reveal that criminal organizations are
responsible for transporting these illegal
migrants to Fiji, with assistance from theirFijian counterparts and some corrupt
Fijian authorities. Many of them initiallyenter Fiji on fishing vessels, jump into thewater, before being picked up andtransferred to smaller boats, as prearranged.
Personal economic gain also appears tobe the common reason behind thetrafficking of women from Brazil, Nigeria,
the Philippines, Thailand, and Uganda.
Trafficking of women in Brazil has
intensified in the past few years, spurredby the socio-economic difficulties in the
country. The high rate of unemployment
is actually forcing women and adolescents
into prostitution. Criminal organizationsin Brazil take women to Europe and Asia,
usually under the guise of giving them goodjobs in a regular company, or in a dancegroup or show house, and/or in a
prostitution house or striptease show.

Organized crime syndicates in Nigeria
employ various tactics in humantrafficking. They use education, gainful
employment, or success stories to attract
victims. At other times, they employ force,
coercion, fraud, or deceit. In the end, thehapless victim is forced into prostitution,
child labor, or even slavery. The averageage of women trafficked into prostitution
or slavery is 14 years.
Following global trends, there is a steadyincrease in the rate of trafficking of persons
in the Philippines. The usual methods
employed by transnational organizedcriminal groups are illegal recruitment andmail-order bride scheme, including cybermatchmaking (e.g., advertisements
seeking marriage proposals from foreign
males). These could only be perpetrated
by local syndicates working with the helpof foreign organized crime groups.
Women and children are the usual
victims of human trafficking in Uganda.
There is evidence that Ugandan children
are abducted by Sudanese rebels, brought
to Sudan and used not only in combat but
are also sold into slavery to Sudanese Arabs
or exchanged for guns. Through the years,
over 10,000 children have been abducted
and even as some of them have reportedly
been released, around 6,000 are still
missing. On the other hand, many women
who leave Uganda for promised jobs in
Europe or the Middle East end up being
sold into sex slavery. To this day, some ofthese women attempt to return home but
are unable to do so because they have nomoney and, therefore, cannot procure
proper travel documents.
On a slightly different mode, India,
Pakistan, and Thailand are similarly
situated in that the main thrust of humantraffickers in these countries is on sexual
trafficking. The commercial sex trade in
India is undoubtedly profitable. Fear of219

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 58
AIDS is forcing syndicates to look foryounger girls, with demands for virgins
rising exponentially in the last few years.
Thus, incidents of kidnapping of womenand children in India as well as in othercountries have steadily increased in recent
times. The victims end up working as
prostitutes. either in India or in othercountries, notably in Arab countries.
Trafficking in women into and from
Pakistan is now more prevalent and isactually getting worse. It used to involve
mostly foreigners, but the internaltrafficking of Pakistani women is on therise, although there is insufficient proof ofthis. The prostitution of poor young girls
has always been around, with very few
being able to escape their fate even if theywant to.
On the other hand. Thailand’s problems
in human trafficking take on many forms.
Legal as well as economic reasons
contribute to the problem. In desperate
search of jobs abroad, young Thai womenresort to small groups of illegal humantraffickers with international connections.
The high demand for prostitutes accounts
for the continued profitability of thebusiness. Some countries, like Laos andMalaysia, serve only as transit points for
trafficking women en route to a third
country for prostitution or forced labor.
IV. ANALYSIS
A perusal of the foregoing facts instantly
reveals a uniformity in the reasons orcauses surrounding the illicit trafficking of
firearms and humans, as well as in themodus operandi employed by transnationalorganized criminal groups to consummate
their acts. For some countries, such as
India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania, andUganda, and to some extent, Papua New
Guinea and the Philippines, the use of
firearms is integral to armed struggle,

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thereby feeding the fire of internal strife
or regional conflict. Transnational criminalorganizations engaged in the distributionof firearms benefit the most from situations
like these because of the ensuing
breakdown of the social order. Less
government restrictions mean more
freedom for them to operate with impunity.
In Brazil and Papua New Guinea,
firearms are also exchanged for illegal
drugs. The symbiotic relationship between
arms and narcotics dealers is all too evident
that their activities often overlap, thus,
creating a very deadly combination.
Firearms are also the weapons of choice ofterrorists. In India and the Philippines,
terrorists are getting bolder as theirfirearms become more sophisticated thanstandard government-issued firearms.
As regards human trafficking, the mostcommon reason for voluntarily venturing
to a foreign land is the desire to simply earna living. It must be noted that the favorite
destinations of illegal migrants are thedeveloped or highly industrialized nations
like the U.S., Japan, Canada, Germany,
France, and the U.K. Most womenoriginating from Brazil, India, Nigeria,
Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, andUganda usually wind up as sex workers,
servants, or abused homemakers.
Criminal elements prowling the globe forlikely victims are becoming more and morecreative, making it more difficult for theproper authorities, and the public at large,
to detect their true intentions. They devise
sterling success stories that would convinceeven the most skeptical foreign
employment aspirant.
Others make use of a mail-order bride
scheme to lure young women who wish to
fasttrack their dream of living in anothercountry. Many young and educatedFilipino women have fallen prey to this116TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEREPORTS OF THE COURSE
system. And if subtle persuasion fails, they
can always resort to deception, coercion,
and abduction.
IV. CONCLUSION
Illegal firearms trafficking and thetrafficking of humans continue to be
carried out in spite of intensified efforts byindividual States to eradicate them. The
methods utilized by transnationalorganized criminal groups to carry out such
illicit activities are still evolving both insophistication and in virulence. One of thebest solutions in sight is the relentlessdevelopment of equally innovative if not
outright crafty countermeasures
enforceable at the domestic as well as at
the global level. The unwaveringcommitment of all members of theinternational community to assist andcooperate with each other will not only
prove to be ideal but also indispensable.
The United Nations has beenendeavoring to fight and eradicate
transnational organized crime and, in fact,
has been campaigning for the adoption of
the three related Protocols on firearms,
smuggling of migrants, and trafficking inpersons for the establishment of aneffective legal framework against
transnational organized crime. A UN
Global Programme Against Trafficking in
Human Beings is also being launchedworldwide. The target year of the Vienna
Declaration on Crime and Justice: Meeting
the Challenges of the Twenty-first Century“for achieving a significant decrease in theincidence of illegal firearms and humantrafficking is 2005. None of us is bound by
this period. If the balance between crime
and law enforcement at the transnational
level could tilt in favor of the law muchsooner, then, for once, we would be one stepahead of organized crime.

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