SMALL ARMS CONTROL
RHYTHM N' RIGHTS
Combine Campaign with Amnesty International, iansa and Oxfam
Received the below letter from Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, dated 17 October 2005
Thank you for contacting me regarding proposals by the United Nations to halt the international transfer of small arms. I appreciate hearing from you.
As you may know, on November 15, 2000, the U.N. General Assembly adopted the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, which seeks to improve cooperation in cases of extradition and joint investigations, victim and witness protection, and enables developing countries to advance their capacities for dealing with organized crime. The U.N. Convention was signed, along with two optional protocols, by the United States on December 13, 2000, and transmitted to the senate for its advice and consent on February 23, 2004. The two protocols include extensive measures to combat human trafficking and protect women and children from sexual and labor exploitation.
You may also know when the Senate receives a treaty, it is referred to the Foreign Relations Committee, which considers the treaty and debates whether or not to give its ?advice and consent? to ratification, as is required by the Constitution. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on the Convention on June 17, 2004, but no further action has been taken. As a member of this Committee, I will keep your thoughts in mind should this Convention be considered in the future. Should you be interested in learning more about this hearing, I encourage you to visit the Foreign Relations Committee website http://foreign.senate.gov..
On My 31, 2001, the General Assembly adopted a third protocol, the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, to outline specific measures to eradicate illegal manufacture and trafficking of firearms, exchange information on illegal firearms, and restrict the import and export of firearms. The U.S. has not signed this Protocol.
However, the United States is involved in some initiatives that aim to reduce conflict and curb the role of illicit arms trafficking in these situations. On December 17, 1999, the U.S. and the European Union signed a ?statement of Common Principles on Small Arms and Light Weapons.? This statement contains a pledge by the parties to observe restraints in their export policies and to harmonize these policies and procedures governing small arms. This statement also included a commitment to plan together for a United Nations small arms conference aimed at ?achieving tangible results?including an Action Plan for the international community to deal with the problem.?
At a U.N. conference focused on small arms transfers held in July 2001, a number of countries including the U.S. worked to develop the Programme of Action (PoA) to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Transfer in Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW). The PoA agreed to at this conference is not binding on any state. It encourages nations to ensure that manufacturers use markings on SALW to facilitate the tracing of illicit weapons transfers. It also encourages nations to establish procedures to monitor legal sales, transfer and stockpiling of small arms and light weapons, and urges governments to make the illegal manufacture, trade and possession of such weapons a criminal offense. Should you wish to learn more about the PoA, I encourage you to visit the U.N. website on small arms disarmament at: http://disarmament.un.org:8080/cab/salw.html for more information.
I strongly believe that we must monitor international arms trading and halt illicit arms dealings which can fuel conflict and supply terrorist organizations. The events of September 11, 2001, have been terribly painful for our country and we must continue to work together to prevent such tragedies from occurring again. I am committed to working within Congress and with the President to dedicate the necessary resources to ensure the safety and security of all Americans. I have heard from thousands of Wisconsinites who have expressed their views about how the U.S. should respond to these attacks, and about measures to protect ourselves from future acts of terrorism. I genuinely appreciate hearing all these concerns and ideas.
The fight against terrorism and against the perpetrators of the crimes of September 11, 2001, is unquestionably our first foreign policy priority. In the wake of these attacks, the President was right to make plain that the U.S. will not distinguish between the terrorists behind the attacks and those who harbor them, and he was right to propose a far more robust, less complacent policy in these cases. However, I do not believe that the Administration has been as rigorous as it should be in defining this threat and focusing on reducing it, leading me to fear that the current approach will undermine, rather than enhance, or security. Our efforts are far more likely to succeed if it is bolstered by sustained, coherent, principled American engagement with the rest of the world.
The only way to diffuse threats is through a long term commitment to re-engagement. Short-term fixes ? military strikes or freezing the assets involved in laundering terrorist assests ? may address some immediate threats, but they do little to ensure that our children will not face the same problems in the years to come. Much work must be done to track down the leaders of terrorist networks, such as Osama bin Laden, and to cut off terrorists? access to financing. It is important that the U.S. use diplomatic skill to build solid relationships around the world to facilitate crucial intelligence sharing and cooperation. We must also work with others to stop proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and developing more effective ways to prevent and contain chemical, biological, and radiological attacks.
I agree that we must also focus U.S. policy to apply the lessons we learned about the danger of indifference to south and central Asia to other parts of the world, especially weak states that are potentially terrorist heavens. A world full of weak states helps the forces of terror in two ways by providing a variety of havens for their operations and allowing them to take advantage of the opportunities inherent in the manifestations of lawlessness such as piracy, illicit air transport networks, and trafficking in arms, drugs, gemstones and people. After the September 11, 2001, attacks, I used my role as the Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on African Affairs to hold a series of hearings focusing on weak states in sub-Saharan Africa, including Somalia, Liberia and exploring U.S. Policy options that could protect U.S. interests.
Weak states also threaten basic human rights. It is my strong belief that the defense of human rights around the world is an important part of the U.S. national interest. In Somalia, in Liberia and in the Congo, the U.S. backed dictatorships utterly destroyed the institutions of the state and society, leaving civilians few tools for building a better future, and warlords ample opportunity to continue looting these countries? wealth. Regimes that thrive on corruption and injustice eventually create weak and broken states, yet it could not be more clear that our long-term national interests are on the side of accountability and respect for basic human rights.
We must speak the truth about human rights abuses and publicly condemn them, even when we speak to allies and friends. We can promote democratic forms of governance and the rule of law, so that the next generations abroad as well as at home have reason to believe that they can have a voice and make a difference. I strongly believe that building a more stable and more secure world for our children means getting the balance between justice and order rights.
As a member of the Senate Committees on the Judiciary and on Foreign Relations, I will continue to monitor arms trading and to give full consideration to measures that do not conflict with the rights guaranteed in the United States Constitution. Thank you again for contacting me.
Sincerely,
Russell D. Feingold
United States Senator