EN Official Journal of the European Union L 278/15

COUNCIL DECISION (CFSP) 2015/1908

of 22 October 2015

in support of a global reporting mechanism on illicit small arms and light weapons and other illicit conventional weapons and ammunition to reduce the risk of their illicit trade (‘iTrace II’)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Articles 26(2) and 31(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,

Whereas:

(1) On 13 December 2003, the European Council adopted the European Security Strategy, identifying five key challenges to be faced by the Union: terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, regional conflicts, State failure and organised crime. The consequences of the illicit manufacture, transfer and circulation of conventional weapons, including small arms and light weapons (‘SALW’), and their excessive accumulation and uncontrolled spread are central to four of these five challenges. They fuel insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and many other regions of the world, exacerbating conflict and undermining post-conflict peace-building, thus posing a serious threat to peace and security.

(2) On 15 and 16 December 2005, the Council adopted the EU Strategy to combat the illicit accumulation and trafficking of SALW and their ammunition (‘EU SALW Strategy’), which sets the guidelines for EU action in the field of SALW. The EU SALW Strategy stresses that SALW contribute to a worsening of terrorism and organised crime, and are a major factor in triggering and spreading conflicts, as well as in the collapse of State structures.

(3) The EU SALW Strategy also asserts that the Union should strengthen and support the machinery for the monitoring of sanctions and support the strengthening of export controls as well as the promotion of Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP (1) by, inter alia, promoting measures to improve transparency.

(4) With the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in SALW in All Its Aspects (‘UN Programme of Action’), adopted on 20 July 2001, all UN Member States have undertaken to prevent the illicit trafficking of SALW, including their diversion to unauthorized recipients, and, in particular, to take into account the risk of diversion of SALW into the illegal trade when assessing applications for export authorizations.

(5) On 8 December 2005, the UN General Assembly adopted an International Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace, in a Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit SALW.

(6) At the 2012 Second Review Conference on the UN Programme of Action, all UN Member States reaffirmed their commitment to preventing the illicit trafficking of SALW, including their diversion to unauthorized recipients, as well as their commitments contained in the UN Programme of Action relating to the assessment of applications for export authorisations.

(7) On 2 April 2013, the UN General Assembly adopted the text of the Arms Trade Treaty (‘ATT’). The object of the ATT is to establish the highest possible common international standards for regulating or improving the regulation of the international trade in conventional arms, to prevent and eradicate the illicit trade in conventional arms and to prevent the diversion of conventional arms. The Union should support all UN Member States in implementing effective arms-transfer controls in order to ensure that the ATT will be as effective as possible, in particular as regards the implementation of Article 11 thereof.

(8) The Union previously supported Conflict Armament Research Ltd (CAR) by means of Council Decision 2013/698/CFSP (2).

(9) The Union wishes to finance the second phase of a global reporting mechanism on illicit SALW and other illicit conventional weapons and ammunition in order to reduce the risk of their illicit trade and to continue to contribute to the achievement of the goals described above,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

With a view to the implementation of the EU SALW Strategy and the promotion of peace and security, the project activities to be supported by the Union shall have the following specific objectives:

— continuing to maintain and further enhancing an accessible and user-friendly global information-management system on diverted or trafficked SALW and other diverted or trafficked conventional weapons and ammunition (‘iTrace’) in order to provide policymakers, conventional arms control experts and conventional arms export control officers with relevant information to develop effective, evidence-based strategies and projects against the illicit spread of SALW and of other conventional weapons and ammunition,

— conducting in-field research into SALW and other conventional weapons and ammunition circulating in conflict-affected areas, uploading all collected evidence onto the information-management system, sending formal trace requests to national governments where required, and releasing, when verified (including by formal trace), information publicly on the iTrace system,

— centralising existing policy-relevant documentation on transfers of SALW and of other conventional weapons and ammunition in the global information-management system, including national arms-export reports, country reports to the UN Conventional Arms Register and the UN Programme of Action on the Illicit Trade in SALW, the texts of national, regional and international instruments, and verified reports of illicit SALW and other illicit conventional weapons and ammunition transfers compiled by UN sanctions-monitoring groups, civil-society organisations and the international news media,

— increasing awareness by outreach on the findings of the project, promoting the purpose and available functions of iTrace to international and national policymakers, conventional arms control experts and arms-export licensing authorities, and enhancing international capacity to monitor the illicit spread of SALW and of other conventional weapons and ammunition as well as to assist policymakers in identifying priority areas for international assistance and cooperation and to reduce the risk of diversion of SALW and of other conventional weapons and ammunition. Outreach initiatives will also be designed to coordinate information-sharing and build sustainable partnerships with individuals and organisations capable of generating information that can be uploaded onto the iTrace system,

— providing key policy issue reports, drawn from the data generated by field investigations and presented on the iTrace system, about specific areas deserving international attention, including major trafficking patterns of SALW and other conventional weapons and ammunition, and the regional distribution of trafficked weapons and ammunition.

The Union shall finance this project, a detailed description of which is set out in the Annex to this Decision.

Article 2

1. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (‘HR’) shall be responsible for implementing this Decision.

2. The technical implementation of the project referred to in Article 1 shall be carried out by Conflict Armament Research Ltd (‘CAR’).

3. CAR shall perform its tasks under the responsibility of the HR. For this purpose, the HR shall enter into the necessary arrangements with CAR.

Article 3

1. The financial reference amount for the implementation of the project referred to in Article 1 shall be EUR 2 530 684. The total estimated budget of the overall project shall be EUR 3 020 000, which shall be provided through co-financing by CAR and the German Federal Foreign Office.

2. The expenditure financed by the amount set out in paragraph 1 shall be managed in accordance with the procedures and rules applicable to the general budget of the Union.

3. The Commission shall supervise the proper management of the financial reference amount referred to in paragraph 1. For this purpose, it shall conclude the necessary agreement with CAR. The agreement shall stipulate that CAR has to ensure the visibility of the Union's contribution, appropriate to its size.

4. The Commission shall endeavour to conclude the agreement referred to in paragraph 3 as soon as possible after the entry into force of this Decision. It shall inform the Council of any difficulties in that process and of the date of conclusion of the agreement.

Article 4

1. The HR shall report to the Council on the implementation of this Decision on the basis of quarterly narrative reports prepared by CAR. Those reports shall form the basis of the evaluation carried out by the Council. In order to assist the Council in its evaluation of the results of this Decision, an external entity shall carry out an evaluation of the project.

2. The Commission shall report on the financial aspects of the project referred to in Article 1.

Article 5

1. This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.

2. This Decision shall expire 24 months after the date of conclusion of the agreement referred to in Article 3(3). However, it shall expire six months after the date of its entry into force if no agreement has been concluded within that period.

Done at Luxembourg, 22 October 2015. For the Council The President F. ETGEN

(1) Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP of 8 December 2008 defining common rules governing control of exports of military technology and equipment (OJ L 335, 13.12.2008, p. 99).

(2) Council Decision 2013/698/CFSP of 25 November 2013 in support of a global reporting mechanism on illicit small arms and light weapons and other illicit conventional weapons and ammunition to reduce the risk of their illicit trade (OJ L 320, 30.11.2013, p. 34).