Air Safety & Arms Trafficking. Options for Development

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Amy Mitchell
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1 Air Safety & Arms Trafficking Options for Development European Parliament, Development Committee Brussels, 20 January Countering Illicit Trafficking-Mechanism Assessment Project (CIT-MAP) Hugh Griffiths, SIPRI

2 Impact of small arms and light weapons 500, 000 deaths a year 300,000 occur in armed conflicts 47 of the 49 conflicts of the 1990s were fought using SALW as the major weapns system 80% of all destabilizing SALW transfers transported via air

3 Lord of War

4 Antonov 12 used for the film Lord of War engaged in arms smuggling - operated by Aerolift - named in UN reports

5 Blood Diamond

6 Air cargo carriers facilitate war economies Transport equipment used to mine raw materials Transport raw materials such as Coltan, Casserite to outside markets Service the production such as the oil industry in Sudan, Equatorial Guinea Transport fuel, oil, cigarettes, alcohol, khat throughout conflict zones in Africa, the Balkans, CIS and Middle East Transport the protection - illicit small arms and ammunition and troops used to guard installations or terrorise civilian populations

and other arms trafficking reports Air cargo companies named in EU air

9 Of 172 air cargo carriers named/targeted by EU safety enforcement or inspection measures, 80 air cargo carriers targeted by EU and named in UN and other arms trafficking reports Air cargo companies named in EU air safety ban blacklist Companies named in UN Security Council Sanctions Committee reports

10 Key Study Statistics Of these 80 companies, 53 of these companies have subsequently been reported as officially decertified while a further 4 have had their operations restricted. (More than 66.6% closure rate) Of the 13 air cargo companies individually targeted by the EU, all 13 have been named in arms trafficking related reports

11 Key Study Findings EU air safety bans and regulations can alter behaviour of both states and commercial companies States such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Moldova, Russia, Sierra Leone and Ukraine will close or restrict unsafe air cargo carriers when subject to possible or actual EU market access denial

13 Key Study Findings Effective Solution The air safety mechanism is in broad terms the most effective mechanism to have impacted upon the activities of arms traffickers to date. However, the EC air safety enforcement regulations are designed for air safety purposes, so action would have to be taken in order to make such a mechanism fully effective.

14 Recommendation 1 First, there would have to be formal recognition on the part of EU institutions of the utility of the air safety mechanism as a means to target unsafe air cargo carriers involved in illicit or destabilizing small arms flows.

15 Recommendation 2 There would also have to be a corresponding increase in the level of resources allocated to the Commission services and European agencies charged with these tasks. Recognition of the need for adequate resources reporting mechanisms and investigative field research for gathering information on emerging air cargo carriers

16 Recommendation 3 It might be worth considering some amendments to EC regulations which would specifically target the evasion tactics of unsafe air cargo carriers involved in illicit activities. These amendments would place an emphasis on targeting aircraft not just companies that operate them.

17 Recommendation 4 It might be worth considering the air safety blacklist concept to certain key African partner state/organisation airspace through cross pillar development and transport partnerships. Such cross-cutting dual use synergy projects would boost air safety while at the same time reducing the number of air cargo carriers prepared to transfer SALW and other illicit conflict economy commodities.

18 14 May 2009: Swedish Representation, Brussels: Expert Meeting to discuss options 14 May 2009: SIPRI Report on EU options to target air cargo carriers We welcome input for the SIPRI Report and your participation in the expert meeting

19 Countering Illicit Trafficking - Mechanism Assessment Project

EU Air Safety List: Questions and answers on air carriers subject to an operating ban in the EU

EU Air Safety List: Questions and answers on air carriers subject to an operating ban in the EU What is the EU Air Safety List? The EU Air Safety List (ASL formerly referred to as the "EU blacklist") is