26 August 2005, 19:18
T.CarrGanyana,
Below is some information you may find helpful.
The United Nations
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its ProtocolsBy its resolution 55/25 of 15 November 2000, the General Assembly adopted
the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
In accordance with Article 38, Annex l of the
aforementioned resolution, the United Nations Convention against Transnational
Organized Crime entered into force on 29 September 2003.
The following Three Protocols were adopted in conjunction with the
United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime:
1. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons,
Especially Women and Children.
2. Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Air and Sea.
3. Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms,
Their Parts and Components and Ammunition.
The purpose of this Protocol is
to promote, facilitate and strengthen cooperation among States Parties in
order to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit manufacturing of and
trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition.
This Protocol came into force on 3 July, 2005 [see news releases below].
***************************************************************************
ELEVENTH UN CONGRESS
ON CRIME PREVENTION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Bangkok, Thailand 18-25 April 2005
PROLIFERATION OF SMALL ARMS BANNED
Ratification by Zambia Completes Efforts to End Production and
Trafficking in Small Arms
BANGKOK, 25 April (UN Information Service) --
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has announced the
entry into force of the Firearms Control Protocol, after Zambia became
the fortieth nation to ratify it. The Protocol, a critical component of
the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime,
is an opportunity and an obligation for countries to control one of
the biggest killers of our time, small arms. With Zambia’s ratification,
the fortieth, the minimum number of State parties was reached, so that
the Protocol can enter into force. Kalombo Thomson Mwansa, Minister
of Home Affairs for Zambia, deposited the instruments of ratification
during the 11th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and
Criminal Justice in Bangkok.
Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director, UNODC, says, “Small arms traffickers
have littered the world with the victims of their trade. Small arms are
a multi-billion dollar business. More than 500,000 people are killed every
year by small arms, one every minute. From the Balkans to Western Africa,
from the Andeans to Afghanistan, insurgents are armed by traffickers focused
on profit rather than political causes. Pistols, submachine guns, grenades
and portable antiaircraft missile systems are banned by this Convention.â€
This Small Arms Protocol is part of a larger effort to control crime. Over
the past five years, UNODC has brokered five important crime-fighting
instruments: the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and
its three Protocols, and the Convention against Corruption. All but the
last are already up and running, powerful tools in the effort to control
crime. The Convention against Corruption is expected to enter into force
before the end of 2005.
“Governments are on the spot nowâ€, says Mr. Costa, “because finally,
it is their turn to transform Conventions into actual policy and practice.â€
Over the past two decades, a growing number of States have been racked
by violence, when local disputes turn into larger conflict and major
killing. In the UN Millennium Report, United Nations Secretary-General
Kofi Annan says “ ... in terms of the carnage they cause, small arms,
indeed, could well be described as ‘weapons of mass destruction’â€.
Failed governments and post-conflict situations offer terrorists and
criminal gangs opportunities to trade “guns-for-drugsâ€. The UNODC
Executive Director continues to assert there are clear links between
drugs, arms, and terrorism. Mr. Costa commended the government of
Zambia for its resolve, and added, “Along with the other 39 States
who have ratified this protocol, Zambia is sending a powerful
message to criminal gangs and gunrunners around the world -- ‘Your time is up’â€.
******************************************************************************
United Nations Firearms Protocol Enters into Force
VIENNA, 6 July, 2005 (UN Information Service) -- On 3 July, 90 days after
the date of deposit of its fortieth instrument of ratification, 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 (the Firearms Protocol),
entered into force.
The Firearms Protocol was adopted in May 2001 by General Assembly resolution
55/255, as the third supplementary Protocol to the United Nations Convention
against Transnational Organized Crime, which entered into force in September 2003.
The other two Protocols supplementing the Convention are: the Protocol to
Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and
Children, in force since December 2003; and the Protocol against the
Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, in force since January 2004.
The objective of the Firearms Protocol, which is the first legally binding
instrument on small arms adopted at the global level, is to promote,
facilitate and strengthen cooperation among States in preventing,
combating and eradicating the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking
in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition.
By ratifying the Firearms Protocol, States make a commitment to adopt a
series of crime control measures and implement in their domestic
legislation three sets of provisions: the first set of provisions
establishing criminal offences related to illegal manufacturing of
or trafficking in firearms on the basis of the Protocol requirements
and definitions; the second set of provisions setting up a system of
government authorizations or licensing, to ensure legitimate manufacturing
of and trafficking in firearms; and the third set relating to the
marking and tracing of firearms.
So far, the Protocol, signed by 52 Member States, has received the following
42 ratifications: Algeria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bulgaria,
Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, El Salvador,
Estonia, Grenada, Guatemala, Jamaica, Kenya, Lao People’s Democratic Republic,
Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius,
Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Panama, Peru, Poland, Romania,
Saint Kitts and Nevis, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Turkey,
Turkmenistan, Uganda and Zambia.
The entry into force of the Firearms Protocol enables its consideration as
an additional item in the agenda of the second session of the implementation
mechanism of the Convention and its Protocols, the Conference of the Parties,
to be held in Vienna, Austria, from 10 to 21 October 2005. It therefore
offers the opportunity to further streamline the efforts of the international
community to tackle the threats posed by firearms by regularly reviewing the
implementation of the provisions of the Protocol, assessing related
difficulties and paving the way to the provision of technical assistance
necessary to overcome such difficulties.
*******************************************************************************
Regards,
Terry
