European Parliament resolution on small arms
Date: 2001-11-15
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: arms control, arms trade, export monitoring, firearms and munitions, non-proliferation of arms

13.6.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 140 E/587

Thursday 15 November 2001

C. welcoming the rapid response given by the Commission through its Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO),
which sent a team to assess the damage on the ground, and the immediate provision of € 758 800 to
meet the urgent needs of the victims,

D. bearing in mind the Algerian authorities’ appeal for international solidarity,

1. Wishes to express its deep sorrow to the victims’ families and to the entire Algerian people and its
representatives in view of the calamity which has befallen them, and pays tribute to the courage shown by
the rescue workers;

2.
Asks the Commission to examine every possibility for extending special emergency aid to Algeria to
help the victims of this disaster, which is without precedent in Algeria and is yet further aggravating the
already precarious situation of thousands of Algerian citizens, priority being given to the poorest families
who have been the worst affected;

3.
Calls on the Commission to make available to the Algerian government a team of technical experts
to assess and quantify the damage caused, in order to identify what reconstruction measures are necessary
in terms of urban infrastructure and the organisation of services and in other spheres, and invites the
Commission and the Member States to provide aid within the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Part-
nership to help rebuild homes and repair infrastructure;

4.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments
and parliaments of the Member States and of the candidate countries, the Algerian National People’s
Assembly and the government of Algeria.

19. Trade in small arms

B5-0723, 0729 and 0730/2001

European Parliament resolution on small arms

The European Parliament,

6 having regard to its resolutions of 19 January 1995 (1), 15 January 1998 (2), 14 May 1998 (3),
7 October 1999 (4), 5 October 2000 (5) and 15 March 2001 (6) on an EU Code of Conduct on the
export or transfer of arms and the resolution adopted by the ACP-EU Joint Assembly on 21 April
1998,

6 having regard to the Joint Action adopted by the Council on the European Union’s contribution to

combating the destabilising accumulation and spread of small arms and light weapons,

A.

affirming the urgent need for more effective regulation of legal and illicit arms transfers in the wake of
the tragic events of 11 September 2001, in order to cut off lines of supply to terrorist organisations
and to tightly control transfers to governments that abuse human rights and regions of conflict and
instability,

B. welcoming the UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small
Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects as an important first step in the international effort to
reduce the immense human suffering caused by the proliferation and misuse of small arms and light
weapons,

C.

convinced that early and effective action by all States to implement the Programme of Action to
Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects
will result in significant progress towards this end,

(1) OJ C 43, 20.2.1995, p. 89.
(2) OJ C 34, 2.2.1998, p. 163.
(3) OJ C 167, 1.6.1998, p. 226.
(4) OJ C 107, 13.4.2000, p. 103.
(5) OJ C 178, 22.6.2001, p. 273.
(6)
‘Text Adopted’, Item 20.

C 140 E/588

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.6.2002

Thursday 15 November 2001

D. noting with satisfaction the commitment contained in the Programme of Action for all States to assess
applications for export authorizations according to strict national regulations and procedures that
cover all small arms and light weapons and are consistent with States’ existing responsibilities under
relevant international law; welcoming the commitment to strengthen agreed norms or measures at the
global, regional or national levels,

E.

F.

concerned that in some areas the Programme of Action does not provide for all of the international
mechanisms necessary to address all aspects of the problem, particularly in the areas of arms broker-
ing and international arms transfers and noting further, in this context, the need to establish effective
controls on the transfer and use of all categories of conventional weaponry,

gravely concerned with the lack of effective national and international controls on arms transfers and
on arms brokering, arms financiers and transporters and the inadequacy of national and regional
efforts to tackle this global issue,

1.
Calls on the Presidency-in-Office of the Council to appoint a Contact Group of States to pave the
way for negotiations on a legally binding international instrument regulating the activities of arms broker-
ing;

Calls on all States to start early negotiations on a legally binding international instrument on arms

2.
brokering and conclude such negotiations prior to the 2006 conference;

3.
Urges Member States and Associated States to adopt legislation requiring registration and licensing of
importing, exporting, transferring, and facilitating transfers by
arms brokers,
mediating financing, or arranging financial transactions, transportation, and freight forwarding between
a supplier and a recipient of arms;

including manufacturing,

4.
Calls on Member States and Associated States to prosecute violators of such requirements, as well as
violators of UN, EU and other regional and national arms embargoes, and include such violations among
extraditable offences in the modified extradition treaties;

5.
Encourages Member States and Associated States to compile and publish a list of convicted violators
and to exchange information with other governments and international law enforcement agencies about
potential or suspected illicit brokering activities, to exchange information, and provide mutual legal assist-
ance to authorities involved in the criminal investigations of, or proceedings against, illicit brokering activ-
ities;

Calls on Member States to bring all national and regional control systems for the export of arma-
6.
ments into line with States’ existing responsibilities under international law, and to take steps towards the
negotiation of a legally binding instrument setting out norms and procedures for the international transfer
of armaments, based on existing responsibilities under international law;

7.
Requests the Presidency-in-Office of the Council to take immediate steps to open discussions with
interested States on the agreement of a legally binding convention on international arms transfers and to
keep the Parliament informed about progress made in this area;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the govern-

8.
ments of the Member States and of the candidate countries.