• E4J University Module Series: Firearms

• Module 5: International Legal Framework on Firearms

• Introduction and learning outcomes

• Key issues

  • International public law and transnational law
  • International instruments with global outreach
  • Commonalities, differences and complementarity between the global instruments and tools for their implementation
  • Tools to support the implementation of the global instruments on firearms and conventional weapons
  • Other United Nations processes
  • The Sustainable Development Goals
  • Multilateral and regional instruments
  • Summary
  • References

• Exercises

• Possible class structure

• Core reading

• Advanced reading

• Student assessment

• Additional teaching tools

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• First published in July 2019
  

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  This module is a resource for lecturers  

 

Tools to support the implementation of the global instruments on firearms and conventional weapons

 

The adoption of UNTOC, the Firearms Protocol, UNPoA, ITI and ATT has resulted in the need to facilitate the provision of assistance to Member States and guide policymakers, legal advisors and legislators who wish to review or amend their domestic legal framework, or adopt new legislation in a manner consistent with these instruments.

The development of tools to support the transposition and implementation of the norms of the international treaties was further required due to the challenges posed by the technical nature of some of the norms. Most of the tools developed by international organizations were based on a broad consultative process, which has included subject experts from both public and private sectors, representatives of non-governmental organizations and academia. Below is a non-exhaustive list of the most relevant tools developed in relation to the different instruments. Additional tools are also referenced in the annex to this Module as core or advanced reading suggestions.

 

UNTOC and the Firearms Protocol

 

Travaux Préparatoires of the negotiations for the elaboration of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols thereto

The Travaux Préparatoires contains the official records of the negotiations of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three supplementary Protocols: the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children; the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air; and the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition. Its purpose is to track the progress of the negotiations in the open-ended intergovernmental Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of a Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, established in 1998, and to provide a comprehensive picture of the background of the Convention and its three Protocols, and with the issues confronted by the Ad Hoc Committee and the solutions it found. Thus, the publication is intended to provide a better, in-depth understanding of the Convention and its Protocols.

Legislative Guide for the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols thereto and the Legislative Guide for the Implementation of 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 publication contains one guide for each single instrument. A dedicated part of the Guide is reserved for the Firearms Protocol. The main purpose of the legislative guides is to assist States seeking to ratify or implement the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its supplementary Protocols. The guides lay out the basic requirements of the Convention and the Protocols thereto, as well as the issues that each State party must address, while furnishing a range of options and examples that national drafters may wish to consider as they try to implement the Convention and its Protocols. The guides take different legal traditions and varying levels of institutional development into account and provide, where available, implementation options. The Guide provides an explanation of the provisions that are mandatory, optional or only to some degree compulsory under the Protocol, and the elements of those provisions which are particularly essential to ratification and implementation efforts. It also provides detailed and specialized advice on how to interpret the provisions. The Legislative Guide is available in all UN languages.

Model Legislative Provisions against Organized Crime

The model legislative provisions against organized crime were developed in response to a request made by the General Assembly to the Secretary-General to promote and assist the efforts of Member States to become party to, and implement, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols thereto. The model legislative provisions will facilitate the review and amendment of existing legislation and the adoption of new legislation by Member States, and they are designed to be adapted to the needs of each State, whatever its legal tradition and social, economic, cultural and geographic conditions.

Digest of Organized Crime Cases. A compilation of good practices and lessons learned

On the occasion of the Tenth Anniversary of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Organized Crime Convention), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Italian and the Colombian Governments, and INTERPOL decided to launch an initiative aimed at facilitating and assisting States in the implementation of the Convention and its Protocols, by providing them with a compilation of illustrative cases of organized crime, and related " good practices" in investigative and prosecutorial techniques, as well as in international cooperation in criminal matters. The Digest presents a compilation of illustrative cases and related good practices in criminalization, investigations, prosecution and legal experiences in dealing with organized crime and its various forms and manifestations. The Digest is available in English, French, Spanish and Italian.

Model Law against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition

Developed in 2010 by UNODC in response to the request of the General Assembly to the Secretary-General to assist State parties in strengthening their domestic legal framework in a manner consistent with the international legal regime on firearms. The Model Law was developed with the aim of providing concrete help for policy and lawmakers to translate the treaty language of the Firearms Protocol into domestic legal provisions and help them in strengthening their legislative regimes on firearms in a manner consistent with the Firearms Protocol. The Model Law was developed in 2009 with the support of numerous experts during three expert meetings, and published in 2010. A second revised version was published in 2013. The Model Law is available in all UN languages.

Technical Guide to implement the Protocol Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition

The Technical Guide was developed with the aim of facilitating and supporting the practical implementation of the more technical provisions of the Firearms Protocol beyond its normative transposition into domestic law. The Technical Guide contains practical measures and examples of national implementation in countries from different regions and legal backgrounds.

Comparative Analysis of Global Instruments on firearms and other Conventional Arms: Synergies for Implementation

This Paper reviews and analyses: the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), approved on 2 April 2013; the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition (Firearms Protocol); the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons (PoA), of 2001; and the International Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace, in a Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons (International Tracing Instrument or ITI) of 2005, to identify synergies and complementarities between them, and to assist State parties to these instruments, or those considering accession to them, in implementing the relevant provisions at the national level.

 

Arms Trade Treaty

 

Arms Trade Treaty Implementation Toolkit

The ATT Implementation Toolkit was developed by UNODA to support State parties as well as other States that want to abide by the ATT. It consists of ten modules, which reflect the good practices that can guide national authorities in the implementation of their obligations under the ATT. The Toolkit supports countries in adopting adequate legislation to establish arms export control systems, set up oversight processes, and improve the stockpile management procedures. The modules provide guidance on the development of appropriate governmental regulation of the cross‐border trade of conventional arms with specific focus on ensuring sufficient administrative and technical resources for the implementation activities.

 

UN PoA on SALW and ITI

The United Nations in collaboration with numerous partners have developed the Modular Small-arms-control Implementation Compendium (MOSAIC) with the aim to provide practical guidance on establishing effective controls over SALW during the course of their lifecycle, and thus prevent their diversion into the illicit market. The Compendium contains six series of notes, which do not carry any legal weight but combine the best small arms expertise with a focus on practical implementation. The practical guidance notes cover the objectives of the PoA on SALW and ITI, as well as include references to the ATT and the Firearms Protocol. They also ensure consistency in the support provided by various UN entities to requesting states.

 

Next: Other United Nations processes

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