The General Assembly,
Understanding the importance of limiting the trade of armaments with the likelihood to harm non-combatants or violate extant and future World Assembly human rights legislation,
Appreciating the work of GA#399 “Responsibility in Transferring Arms” in creating a model framework of acceptable arms transfers, especially working to limit arms transfers that could reasonably cause extensive harm,
Disappointed, however, at the several issues arising from the resolution, including:
- The definition of armaments, being “military equipment, specifically weapons and ammunition,” potentially limiting the regulations around transfers of peripheral equipment that nonetheless can be utilized in a harmful manner;
- The mention of end-user certificates, implied to limit unwitting transfers through an intermediary, provides no details on the timescale for the “final recipient,” potentially preventing future transfers of a perfectly acceptable nature, as well as providing no avenue for enforcement;
- The definition of conquest, unwittingly allowing all wars that do not primarily intend to acquire territory through military force, resulting in an incredibly narrow application of arms transfer restrictions that may allow transfers to member nations waging war not via conquest, but through other means that nonetheless assault national sovereignty;
- The absence of concern to future developments of human rights legislation in the World Assembly in clause 8a, which states that arms transfers are only prohibited if they violate human rights legislation passed prior to GA #399, binding the hands of the General Assembly in instituting new human rights legislation or address the misgivings of human rights legislation passed prior to GA #399 out of fear for disarming the prohibitions included in GA #399;
- The absence of concern to future human rights legislation in clause 8a, which implies that arms transfers are only prohibited if they violate human rights legislation passed prior to GA #399, binding the hands of future authors and a disregard for any future human rights legislation; and
- The removal of the “reasonable evidence” standard for the possibility that a transfer to a non-member state could be then transferred out of compliance with the provisions of GA #399, instead relying only on the “intent” of the initial transferring agent.
Believing that GA #399 does not account for conflict outside of wars of conquest, potentially allowing arms transfers that can aid with attempts to interfere with the national sovereignty of member nations and conduct violence against their citizens without meeting the original resolutions definition of conquest;
Concerned that the issues above, particularly the nonobservance of human rights legislation passed after GA #399, prevents a responsible regime for the prohibition of arms transfers,
Hopeful that more exact legislation will replace GA #399 to prevent unnecessary harm to non-combatants, as well as violations of extant and future World Assembly human rights legislation,
Hereby repeals GA #399, “Responsibility in Transferring Arms”
