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[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2627 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2627

    To express the policy of the United States with respect to the 
 adherence by the United States to global standards in the transfer of 
         small arms and light weapons, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              July 8, 2004

 Mrs. Feinstein (for herself, Mr. Akaka, and Mr. Leahy) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                           Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
    To express the policy of the United States with respect to the 
 adherence by the United States to global standards in the transfer of 
         small arms and light weapons, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

     This Act may be cited as the ``Security and Fair Enforcement in 
Arms Trafficking Act of 2004''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The global proliferation of small arms and light 
        weapons represents a real and pressing threat to peace, 
        development, democracy, human rights, and United States 
        national security interests around the globe.
            (2) The legitimate and responsible transfer of small arms 
        and light weapons, and the application of international 
        standards and legally binding instruments to stem the illicit 
        trade in these weapons, are important elements of United States 
        foreign policy that enhance United States and international 
        security, strengthen United States alliances and partnerships, 
        and promote global peace and freedom, and are critical to 
        efforts to combat terrorism, narco-trafficking, international 
        organized crime, regional and local conflicts, and the 
        recruitment and use of child soldiers in these conflicts.
            (3) It is in the national interest of the United States to 
        promote responsibility and restraint in the transfer of small 
        arms and light weapons, to combat irresponsible practices in 
        such transfers, to ensure that nations engaged in substandard 
        practices are held accountable, and to encourage other members 
        of the international community to meet, as minimum standards, 
        United States law and practice.
            (4) In light of the cruel terror attacks on Washington, 
        D.C., and New York City on September 11, 2001, it is in the 
        national interest of the United States to take all possible 
        measures to prevent dangerous weapons from falling into the 
        wrong hands. Special emphasis should be placed on combating the 
        proliferation of small arms and light weapons within the 
        broader counterterrorism strategy, given the clear links 
        between global networks of terrorism, networks of the illicit 
        trade in small arms and light weapons, and states that harbor 
        and support terrorists.
            (5) Small arms and light weapons are the weapons of choice 
        of terrorists and their networks. Because these groups take 
        advantage of existing licit and illicit channels, an 
        appropriate international response must target the suppliers of 
        these weapons and the brokers who facilitate illicit deals and 
        must shut down the networks that allow this trade to continue.
            (6) United States military personnel, diplomats, and 
        humanitarian workers, as well as those of the allies of the 
        United States, are threatened by the easy availability of small 
        arms and light weapons in conflict zones.
            (7) The proliferation and ready availability of small arms 
        and light weapons has been a major factor in the devastation in 
        Angola, Cambodia, Liberia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, 
        Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bosnia and 
        Herzegovina, Kosovo, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 
        Sri Lanka, East Timor, and Afghanistan and the violence endemic 
        to narco-trafficking in Colombia, Mexico, Thailand, and 
        Myanmar, and has contributed significantly to war crimes and 
        crimes against humanity perpetrated in Cambodia, Rwanda, Sierra 
        Leone, East Timor, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo.
            (8) The case of Afghanistan, where the Taliban and the al 
        Qaeda network were able to amass a small arms and light weapons 
        arsenal from various actors in the regional and international 
        illicit trade, including through links to the international 
        drug trade, other regional terrorist groups, and donations from 
        certain individuals in other countries in the region, and from 
        support of the civil war in Afghanistan by various countries, 
        clearly demonstrates how a country can become a threat to 
        regional and even global peace and security if it is 
        continuously flooded by various actors with small arms and 
        light weapons and if arms embargoes are systematically broken.
            (9) The proliferation of small arms and light weapons 
        continues to threaten civilians and members of the Armed Forces 
        of the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan, undermine 
        stabilization and reconstruction efforts Iraq and Afghanistan, 
        and complicate efforts to establish effective and viable 
        governments in those countries.
            (10) The United States and the international community took 
        an important step toward promoting global standards in the 
        transfer of small arms and light weapons in completing in 2001 
        the Protocol Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and 
        Trafficking in Firearms, their Parts and Components, and 
        Ammunition, supplementing the United Nations Convention Against 
        Transnational Organized Crime.
            (11) The United States, as a major supplier country, has a 
        special obligation to promote responsible practices in the 
        transfer of small arms and light weapons.
            (12) Because semiautomatic assault weapons and related 
        equipment, the manufacture, transfer, or possession of which is 
        unlawful under section 922 of title 18, United States Code, are 
        easily diverted to terrorist networks, the abstention by the 
        United States from all transfers, for commercial use, of such 
weapons and equipment would assist efforts to limit the global 
proliferation of small arms and light weapons.
            (13) To be successful in such efforts, it is necessary for 
        the United States to work with other countries to improve 
        effective international standards.
            (14) The United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in 
        Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, held in New 
        York from July 9 to 20, 2001, represented an opportunity to 
        develop better national and international regulations to 
        control the trade in illicit small arms and light weapons. 
        However, the Program of Action did too little to advance 
        international standards in the transfer of small arms and light 
        weapons.
            (15) At the First Biennial Meeting of States to Consider 
        the Implementation of the United Nations Programme of Action on 
        the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its 
        Aspects in July 2003, Assistant Secretary of State Lincoln P. 
        Bloomfield offered a progress report on the implementation by 
        the United States of the United Nations Programme of Action on 
        the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its 
        Aspects and asserted that the United States has done much to 
        implement the recommendations of the Programme. Nonetheless, 
        there is an urgent and pressing need for a greater United 
        States commitment to eradicating the proliferation of small 
        arms and light weapons.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS.

    It is the sense of Congress that, because of the interest of the 
United States in combating international crime, preventing the 
diversion of small arms and light weapons to narco-traffickers, 
international organized criminal networks, terrorists, and recipients 
engaged in gross and consistent violations of internationally 
recognized human rights and international humanitarian law, and 
promoting fairness in international trade, the United States should--
            (1) support the effort to negotiate a binding instrument on 
        international small arms transfers, such as the global Arms 
        Trade Treaty; and
            (2) enter into negotiations for international agreements 
        on--
                    (A) the marking and tracing of small arms and light 
                weapons;
                    (B) regulations for the activities of arms brokers;
                    (C) greater transparency in licensing and export of 
                small arms and light weapons; and
                    (D) the establishment of an international regime 
                for the destruction of surplus weapons and the security 
                of stockpiles.

SEC. 4. DECLARATIONS OF POLICY.

    (a) Affirmation of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States--
            (1) to maintain the highest standards for the management 
        of, restraint in, and safety in the export of small arms and 
        light weapons and the safety in the transfer abroad of small 
        arms and light weapons;
            (2) to refrain from exporting small arms and light weapons 
        that might be used for internal repression or international 
        aggression or contribute to regional instability; and
            (3) to increase the number of end-use checks of United 
        States transfers in small arms and light weapons and to improve 
        the quality of end-use monitoring, particularly the cooperation 
        between United States missions abroad and the Office of Defense 
        Trade Control.
    (b) Continuation of Existing Policies.--It is the policy of the 
United States--
            (1) under section 502B(a)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act 
        of 1961, not to provide security assistance, including the 
        transfer of small arms and light weapons, to any recipient that 
        engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of 
        internationally recognized human rights;
            (2) that, in an effort to protect the legitimate trade in 
        small arms and light weapons, and to ensure United States laws 
        are enforced, individuals subject to the jurisdiction of the 
        United States engaged in arms brokering activities register 
        with the Department of State and obtain a license for each 
        transaction;
            (3) to carry out rigorous end-use checks of transfers in 
        small arms and light weapons in order to prevent illegal 
        retransfers of United States small arms and light weapons;
            (4) not to authorize for export to commercial end-users 
        semiautomatic assault weapons, or related equipment, the 
        manufacture, transfer, or possession of which is unlawful under 
        section 922 of title 18, United States Code; and
            (5) to continue to observe the ``Statement of Common 
        Principles on Small Arms and Light Weapons'' agreed to by the 
        United States and the European Union at the December 17, 1999, 
        summit in Washington, D.C.

SEC. 5. INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS.

    (a) Adherence to Prohibition on Exports.--It is the sense of 
Congress that the President should enter into negotiations with foreign 
parties, beginning with the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty 
Organization (NATO) member states, for an international agreement not 
to export to commercial end-users semiautomatic assault weapons, or 
related equipment, the manufacture, transfer, or possession of which is 
unlawful under section 922 of title 18, United States Code.
    (b) Marking of Small Arms and Light Weapons.--It is the sense of 
Congress that the President should make best efforts to conclude an 
international agreement on the marking of small arms and light weapons 
for international export as advocated by the Protocol Against the 
Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and 
Components, and Ammunition, supplementing the United Nations Convention 
Against Transnational Organized Crime, adopted by United Nations 
General Assembly resolution 55/255 on June 8, 2001.
    (c) Enforcement of United Nations Arms Embargoes.--It is the sense 
of Congress that the President should enter negotiations at the United 
Nations level in order to improve the enforcement of United Nations 
arms embargoes insofar as they relate to small arms and light weapons. 
The President should propose to the United Nations Security Council the 
establishment of an arms embargo monitoring unit at the United Nations 
headquarters in New York.
    (d) Comprehensive Agreement.--
            (1) In general.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
        President should enter into negotiations on a legally binding 
        international agreement or agreements with foreign parties, 
        beginning with the European Union, that would comprise the 
        following elements:
                    (A) The marking and tracing of small arms and light 
                weapons.
                    (B) Regulating the activities of arms brokers, 
                including an international register and watchlist of 
                arms brokers.
                    (C) Greater transparency in the licensing and 
                export of small arms and light weapons.
                    (D) A prohibition against the transfer of small 
                arms and light weapons to recipients engaged in gross 
                and consistent violations of internationally recognized 
                human rights and international humanitarian law.
                    (E) Establishment of an international regime for 
                the destruction of surplus weapons and the security of 
                stockpiles.
            (2) Periodic reports.--Not later than 180 days after the 
        date of enactment of this Act, and semiannually thereafter, the 
        President shall submit an unclassified report to the 
        appropriate congressional committees describing the progress 
        toward negotiating an agreement or agreements described in 
        paragraph (1).
    (e) Implementation of Program of Action of United Nations 
Conference.--
            (1) In general.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
        President should make best efforts to advance international 
        negotiations to implement the Program of Action of the 2001 
        United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms 
        and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, as well as to advance and 
        extend the goals of the Program of Action, including--
                    (A) establishing national regulations and 
                international agreements on arms brokering;
                    (B) establishing national regulations and 
                international agreements on the marking and tracing of 
                small arms and light weapons;
                    (C) promoting greater security for weapons 
                stockpiles held by states;
                    (D) efforts to carry out more effective post-
                conflict disarmament and demobilization programs;
                    (E) criminalizing the production, possession, 
                stockpiling, and trade of illicit small arms and light 
                weapons; and
                    (F) advancing the role of civil society and 
                nongovernmental institutions in addressing the 
                proliferation of small arms and light weapons.
            (2) Periodic reports.--Not later than 180 days after the 
        date of enactment of this Act, and not later than December 31 
        of every year thereafter through 2006, the President shall 
        transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a report 
        describing the activities undertaken, and the progress made, by 
        the Department of State or other agencies and entities of the 
        United States Government in implementing the goals of the 
        Program of Action, including specific steps taken to assist 
        other countries in implementing the Program of Action.

SEC. 6. NATO PROGRAMS.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
President should propose at the North Atlantic Council--
            (1) the establishment among North Atlantic Treaty 
        Organization (NATO) members of a program on stockpile 
        management, security, and destruction of small arms and light 
        weapons; and
            (2) the establishment of cooperative programs on stockpile 
        management, security, and destruction of small arms and light 
        weapons with non-NATO states of Central and Eastern Europe and 
        the former Soviet Union.
    (b) Reports.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, and semiannually thereafter, the President shall submit to 
the appropriate congressional committees an unclassified report 
describing progress made toward the establishment of the programs 
referred to in subsection (a).

SEC. 7. INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION AGAINST THE ILLICIT MANUFACTURING OF 
              AND TRAFFICKING IN FIREARMS, AMMUNITION, EXPLOSIVES, AND 
              OTHER RELATED MATERIALS.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
Secretary of State should encourage those countries that have not done 
so to sign and ratify the Inter-American Convention Against Illicit 
Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunitions, Explosives, 
and Other Related Materials, adopted at Washington November 14, 1997, 
and entered into force July 1, 1998.
    (b) Reports.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, and annually thereafter, the President shall submit to the 
appropriate congressional committees a report describing--
            (1) the activities undertaken, and the progress made, by 
        the Department of State or other agencies and entities of the 
        United States Government in prompting other countries that have 
        not done so to sign and ratify the Convention;
            (2) the implementation of, and compliance with, the 
        provisions of the Convention by states that have signed and 
        ratified the Convention; and
            (3) the recommendations made by the Consultative Committee 
        established under the Convention, and any actions related to 
        those recommendations taken by the United States.

SEC. 8. ANNUAL REPORT ON STATES THAT HAVE NOT COOPERATED IN SMALL ARMS 
              PROGRAMS.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit to the 
appropriate congressional committees a report--
            (1) listing each state that refuses to cooperate in 
        programs related to small arms and light weapons, including 
        programs with respect to stockpile management, security, and 
        destruction, and describing to what degree the failure to 
        cooperate affects the national security of such state, its 
        neighbors, and the United States;
            (2) describing the activities undertaken, and the progress 
        made, by the Department of State or other agencies and entities 
        of the United States Government in prompting other states to 
        cooperate in programs related to small arms and light weapons; 
        and
            (3) recommending incentives and penalties that may be used 
        by the United States Government to compel states to comply with 
        programs on small arms and light weapons.

SEC. 9. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION ON CERTAIN EXPORT LICENSES.

    (a) In General.--Not less than 15 days before the grant of any 
license for export to any country described in subsection (b) of any 
lethal defense article or defense service consisting of small arms or 
light weapons in the amount of $1,000,000 or less, the President shall 
provide a detailed notification thereof to the Committees on 
Appropriations and Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committees 
on Appropriations and International Relations of the House of 
Representatives, including a statement describing the purposes for 
which the article or service is being provided to the country and 
stating whether or not such article or service has been previously 
provided to such country.
    (b) Covered Countries.--A country described in this section is a 
country where there is a clear risk that the defense article or defense 
service will--
            (1) be used in a breach of peace or act of international 
        aggression--
                    (A) to commit gross violations of human rights;
                    (B) to commit gross violations of international 
                humanitarian law; or
                    (C) to commit acts of genocide or crimes against 
                humanity; or
            (2) be diverted to commit any of the acts described in 
        paragraph (1).

SEC. 10. REGISTRY OF SMALL ARMS AND LIGHT WEAPONS SERIAL NUMBERS.

    (a) In General.--Section 38 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 
U.S.C. 2778) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(k) Registry of Small Arms and Light Weapons Serial Numbers.--(1) 
The President shall require that, prior to the export of any firearm 
listed in category I of the United States Munition List that requires a 
license for international export under this section, the exporter shall 
provide the President with written identification of the serial number 
of the firearm to be exported.
    ``(2) The President shall establish and maintain a registry of each 
serial number provided under paragraph (1).''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to applications for licenses to export filed on or after the date 
of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 11. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act--
            (1) interferes with the legitimate and lawful ownership and 
        use of guns; or
            (2) limits otherwise authorized activities of the United 
        States Government.

SEC. 12. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
        Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on 
        International Relations of the House of Representatives.
            (2) President.--The term ``President'' means the President, 
        acting through the Secretary of State.
            (3) Small arms and light weapons.--
                    (A) Covered items.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (B), the term ``small arms and light 
                weapons'' means revolvers and self-loading pistols, 
                rifles and carbines, submachine guns, assault rifles, 
                light machine guns, heavy machine guns, hand-held 
                underbarrel and mounted grenade launchers, portable 
                antiaircraft guns, portable antitank guns, recoilless 
                rifles, portable launchers of antitank missiles and 
                rocket systems, portable launchers of antiaircraft 
                missile systems, mortars of calibers of less than 100 
                millimeter, ammunition and explosives, cartridges and 
                rounds for small arms and light weapons, mobile 
                containers with missiles or shells for single-action 
                antiaircraft and antitank systems, antipersonnel and 
                antitank hand grenades, landmines, and explosives.
                    (B) Exception.--The term does not include any 
                antique firearm manufactured before January 1, 1900, or 
                any replica of such a firearm.
                                 <all>
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