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
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 a 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 (hereinafter referred to as ‘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 (hereinafter referred to as ‘EU SALW Strategy’), which sets the guidelines for EU action in the field of SALW. That Strategy identifies Africa as the continent most affected by the illicit accumulation and spread of SALW. It also acknowledges that the problem of transfers of SALW to sub-Saharan Africa cannot be isolated from that of the sources of the transfers and states that particular attention should be paid to the ways and means by which SALW are disseminated in Africa, including illegal brokering and transport.
(3)
The EU SALW Strategy also asserts that the Union should strengthen and support the machinery for sanctions monitoring 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 (hereinafter referred to as ‘UN Programme of Action’), adopted on 20 July 2001, all UN Member States have undertaken to prevent illicit trafficking in SALW, or their diversion to unauthorised recipients and, in particular, to take into account the risk of diversion of SALW into the illegal trade when assessing applications for export authorisations.
(5)
On 8 December 2005, the United Nations General Assembly adopted an International Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace, in a Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit SALW.
(6)
The 2007 Joint Africa-EU Strategic Partnership defines the prevention of the illicit trade in and excessive accumulation of SALW as an area for action through enhancing capacity, networking, cooperation and exchange of information.
(7)
At the 2012 Second Review Conference on the UN Programme of Action, all UN Member States reaffirmed their commitment to prevent illicit trafficking in SALW, including their diversion to unauthorised recipients, as well as their commitments contained in the UN Programme of Action relating to the assessment of applications for export authorisations.
(8)
On 2 April 2013, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the text of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The objective of the Treaty 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 their diversion. The Union should support all UN Member States in implementing effective arms transfer controls in order to ensure that the ATT, upon its entry into force, is as effective as possible, in particular as regards the implementation of Article 11 thereof.
(9)
The Union therefore wishes to finance a global reporting mechanism on illicit SALW and other illicit conventional weapons and ammunition to reduce the risk of their illicit trade in order 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:
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creation of 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 policy-makers, conventional arms control experts and conventional arms export control officers with relevant information and enable them to develop effective, evidence-based strategies and projects against the illicit spread of SALW and of other conventional weapons and ammunition,
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conducting in-field research into SALW and other conventional weapons and ammunition circulating in conflict-affected areas and uploading all collected evidence onto the information management system,
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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 Register of Conventional Arms and the UN Programme of Action on the Illicit Trade in SALW, the texts of national, regional and international instruments, and 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,
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increasing awareness by outreach on the findings of the project, promoting the purpose and available functions of iTrace to international and national policy makers, 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 policy makers 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,
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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 2 320 000. The total estimated budget of the overall project shall be EUR 2 416 667, which shall be provided through co-financing by CAR.
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 that agreement.
Article 4
1. The HR shall report to the Council on the implementation of this Decision on the basis of regular quarterly reports prepared by CAR. These reports shall form the basis of the evaluation carried out by the Council.
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 Brussels, 25 November 2013.