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"B JOINT ACTION
of 17 December 1998
adopted by the Council on the basis of Article J.3 of the Treaty on European Union on the European Union’s
contribution to combating the destabilising accumulation and spread of small arms and light weapons
(1999/34/CFSP)
(OJ L 9, 15.1.1999, p. 1)
Corrected by:
"C1 Corrigendum, OJ L 93, 8.4.1999, p. 27 (1999/34)1999X0034 — EN — 17.12.1998 — 000.001 — 1
JOINT ACTION
of 17 December 1998
adopted by the Council on the basis of Article J.3 of the Treaty on
European Union on the European Union’s contribution to combating the
destabilising accumulation and spread of small arms and light weapons
(1999/34/CFSP)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article J.3
thereof,
Having regard to the general guidelines of the European Council held on 26
and 27 June 1992, which identified the areas falling within the security sphere
which could, as from the entry into force of the Treaty on European Union, bethe subject of joint actions,
Whereas the excessive and uncontrolled accumulation and spread of small
arms and light weapons (hereafter referred to as ‘small arms’) (
1) has become
a problem of great concern to the international community and this
phenomenon poses a threat to peace and security and reduces the prospectsfor sustainable development in many regions of the world;
Whereas the European Union welcomes the adoption and declaration of a
moratorium on the importation, exportation and manufacture of light weapons
in Ecowas Member States by the Authority of Heads of State or Government
of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) at its 21stsession;
Whereas the UN Security Council adopted unanimously on 19 November
1998 Resolution 1209 (1998) on the situation in Africa, illicit arms flows toand in Africa;
Whereas the UN General Assembly addressed, in particular in Resolutions
52/38J on Small arms and 52/38G on consolidation of peace through practical
disarmament measures, the problems caused by the destabilising accumu-lation and spread of small arms;
Whereas the Group of Governmental Experts on Small Arms has been
reestablished by the Secretary-General in accordance with Resolution 52/38J,
to continue the work already accomplished under the Panel of Governmental
Experts on Small Arms;
Whereas the UN Economic and Social Council recommended that States
work towards the elaboration of an international instrument to combat theillicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and
components and ammunition within the context of a United Nations
convention against transnational organised crime;
Whereas the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) is actively
pursuing its efforts in the fight against the criminal use of firearms;
Whereas in the spirit of the ‘Brussels call for action’ and in the interest of
upholding State responsibility to protect citizen security within a frameworkof good governance and integrated approach to security and sustainable
development it is required to take comprehensive measures for the elimination
of uncontrolled circulation of small arms;
Whereas the present initiative builds on, and is complementary to already
existing EU initiatives, in particular the EU programme for preventing andcombating illicit trafficking in conventional arms adopted by the Council on
26 June 1997 and the EU code of conduct on arms exports adopted by the
Council on 8 June 1998;
Whereas the European Community has supported actions of demobilisation
and reintegration of former combatants and of weapons collection in thecontext of its humanitarian aid, reconstruction and development cooperation
policy,!B
(1) See Annex.1999X0034 — EN — 17.12.1998 — 000.001 — 2
HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING JOINT ACTION:
Article 1
1. The objectives of this Joint Action are:
— to combat and contribute to ending the destabilising accumulation and
spread of small arms,
— to contribute to the reduction of existing accumulations of these weapons
to levels consistent with countries’ legitimate security needs, and
— to help solve the problems caused by such accumulations.2. This Joint Action entails the following elements:— building consensus on the principles and measures referred to in Title I,— making a multifaceted contribution as referred to in Title II.
TITLE I
Principles on preventive and reactive aspects
Article 2
The European Union shall enhance efforts to build consensus in the relevant
regional and international
"C1fora3(e.g. the UN and OSCE) and among
affected States on the principles and measures "C1set out in Article 3 and
on those set out in Articles 4 and 5 as the basis 3 for regional and
incremental approaches to the problem and, where appropriate, globalinternational instruments on small arms.
Article 3
In pursuing the objectives set out in Article 1, the European Union shall aim
at building consensus in the relevant international
"C1fora3, and in a
regional context as appropriate, for the realisation of the following principlesand measures to prevent the further destabilising accumulation of small arms:
(a) a commitment by all countries to import and hold small arms only for
their legitimate security needs, to a level commensurate with theirlegitimate self-defence and security requirements, including their abilityto participate in UN peacekeeping operations;
(b) a commitment by exporting countries to supply small arms only to
governments (either directly or through duly licensed entities authorised
to procure weapons on their behalf) in accordance with appropriateinternational and regional restrictive arms export criteria, as provided inparticular in the EU code of conduct, including officially authorised
end-use certificates or, when appropriate, other relevant information on
end-use;
(c) a commitment by all countries to produce small arms only for holdings as
outlined in (a) above or exports as outlined in (b) above;
(d) in order to ensure control, the establishment and maintenance of national
inventories of legally-held weapons owned by the country’ s authorities
and the establishment of restrictive national weapons legislation for smallarms including penal sanctions and effective administrative control;
(e) the establishment of confidence building measures, including measures to
promote increased transparency and openness, through regional registers
on small arms and regular exchanges of available information, on exports,imports, production and holdings of small arms, and on national weaponslegislation, and through consultations between the relevant parties on the
information exchanged;
(f) the commitment to combat illicit trafficking of small arms through the
implementation of effective national controls, such as efficient borderand customs mechanisms, regional and international cooperation andenhanced information exchange;
(g) the commitment to challenge and reverse ‘cultures of violence’, by
enhancing public involvement through public education and awarenessprogrammes.!B1999X0034 — EN — 17.12.1998 — 000.001 — 3
Article 4
In pursuing the objectives set out in Article 1, the efforts of the European
Union shall aim at building consensus in the relevant international "C1fora
3, and in a regional context as appropriate, for the realisation of the
following principles and measures to reduce existing accumulations of small
arms:
(a) the assistance as appropriate to countries requesting support for
controlling or eliminating surplus small arms on their territory, in
particular where this may help to prevent armed conflict or inpost-conflict situations;
(b) the promotion of confidence-building measures and incentives to
encourage the voluntary surrender of surplus or illegally-held smallarms, the demobilisation of combatants and their subsequent rehabili-tation and reintegration, such measures to include compliance with peace
and arms control agreements under combined or third-party supervision,
respect of human rights and humanitarian law, the protection of the ruleof law, in particular as regards the personal safety of former combatants
and small arms amnesties, as well as community-based development
project and other economic and social incentives;
(c) the effective removal of surplus small arms encompassing safe storage as
well as quick and effective destruction of these weapons, preferably under
international supervision;
(d) the rendering of assistance through appropriate international organi-
sations, programmes and agencies as well as regional arrangements.
Article 5
The Member States will promote, where appropriate, in the context of
resolving armed conflicts,
(a) the inclusion of provisions with regard to demobilisation, elimination of
surplus weapons and integration of ex-combatants into peace agreements
between the parties to the conflict, into mandates of peace-supportoperations or other relevant missions in support of the peaceful
settlement,
(b) the consideration of the possibility of making necessary provision for
measures ensuring the removal of small arms in the context of
demobilisation by the UN Security Council in case the country or parties
concerned are not in a position to comply with the relevant obligations.
TITLE II
Contribution by the European Union to specific actions
Article 6
1. The Union will provide financial and technical assistance to programmes
and projects which make a direct and identifiable contribution to the
principles and measures referred to in Title I, including relevant programmesor projects conducted by the UN, the International Committee of the RedCross, other international organisations and regional arrangements and NGOs.
Such projects might include, inter alia , weapons collection, security sector
reform and demobilisation and reintegration programmes as well as specificvictim assistance programmes.
2. In providing such assistance, the EU shall take into account in particular
the recipient’s commitments to comply with the principles mentioned inArticle 3; their respect of human rights; their compliance with international
humanitarian law and the protection of the rule of law; and their compliance
with their international commitments, in particular with regard to existingpeace treaties and international arms control agreements.
Article 7
1. The Council shall decide on:
— the allocation of the financial and technical contribution referred to in
Article 6,!B1999X0034 — EN — 17.12.1998 — 000.001 — 4
— the priorities for the use of those funds,
— the conditions for implementing specific actions of the Union, including
the possibility of designating, in certain instances, a person responsible
for its implementation.
2. The Council shall decide on the principle, arrangements and financing of
such projects on the basis of concrete and properly-costed project proposalsand on a case-by-case basis, without prejudice to Member States’ bilateralcontributions and operation of the European Community.
3. The Presidency shall, under the conditions set out in Article J.5(3) of the
Treaty:
— ensure liaison with the United Nations and any other relevant
organisation involved,
— establish, with regional arrangements and third countries, the contacts
needed to implement the Union’ s specific actions.
It shall keep the Council informed.
Article 8
The Council notes that the Commission intends to direct its action towards
achieving the objectives and the priorities of this Joint Action, where
appropriate by pertinent Community measures.
Article 9
1. The Council and the Commission shall be responsible for ensuring the
consistency of the Union’ s activities in the field of small arms, in particular
with regard to its development policies. For this purpose, Member States andthe Commission shall submit any relevant information to the relevant Council
bodies. The Council and the Commission shall ensure implementation of their
respective action, each in accordance with its powers.
2. Member States shall equally seek to increase the effectiveness of their
national actions in the field of small arms. As far as possible, actions takenpursuant to Article 6 shall be coordinated with those of Member States and ofthe European Community.
Article 10
The Council will review annually the actions taken in the framework of this
Joint Action.
Article 11
This Joint Action shall enter into force on the day of its adoption.
Article 12
This Joint Action shall be published in the Official Journal.!B1999X0034 — EN — 17.12.1998 — 000.001 — 5
ANNEX
The Joint Action shall apply to the following categories of weapons, while not
prejudging any future internationally agreed definition of small arms and light weapons.These categories may be subject to further clarification, and may be reviewed in thelight of any such future internationally agreed definition.
(a) Small arms and accessories specially designed for military use
— machine-guns (including heavy machine-guns),
— submachine-guns, including machine pistols,
— fully automatic rifles,— semi-automatic rifles, if developed and/or introduced as a model for an armed
force,
— moderators (silencers).
(b) Man or crew-portable light weapons
— cannon (including automatic cannon), howitzers and mortars of less than 100
mm calibre,
— grenade launchers,
— anti-tank weapons, recoilless guns (shoulder-fired rockets),— anti-tank missiles and launchers,
— anti-aircraft missiles/man-portable air defence systems (Manpads).!
B1999X0034 — EN — 17.12.1998 — 000.001 — 6