By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, May 22 -- When the UN Security Council adopted its resolution on Small Arms and Light Weapons on Friday there were six abstentions, including China, Russia, Venezuela and all three of the Security Council's African members, Angola, Nigeria and Chad.
Angola's Permanent Representative Ismael Gaspar Martins, speaking also for Chad and Nigeria, said in the Council after that vote that “unfortunately our proposals regarding the issue of proliferation and access to small arms and light weapons to non state actors were not sufficiently considered in this resolution. As a country which has gone through a very painful experience, it would be political unacceptable not to seize this opportunity to address the problem of supply of weapons to non state actors.”
The resolution said it is “emphasizing that the illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons can aid terrorism, and illegal armed groups and facilitate increasing levels of transnational organized crime and underscoring that such illicit trafficking could harm civilians, including women and children, create instability and long-term governance challenges and complicate conflict resolution.” But the resolution did not mention non-state actors.
Chad's Permanent Representative Mahamat Zene Cherif said in the chamber after the vote, “Chad has observed with regret that a resolution as important as this and the object of which was to help those regions affected by the impact small arms and light weapons, and more specifically Africa, would be adopted without involving the representatives of the Continent in this Council.”
After the meeting was over, at the Security Council stakeout, Inner City Press asked Angola's Gaspar Martins about the argument that the resolution's reference to terrorism covered non-state actors.
He said the two concepts are different. Inner City Press asked about the trend, with the Security Council declining to hear from former president Chissano for the African Union on Western Sahara. He said, there is a problem with the Council. Video here.
Inner City Press asked Chad's Mahamat Zene Cherif about two examples: the airdropping of weapons into Libya, and the “arm and equip” program for the Free Syrian Arm. Mahamat Zene Cherif said the objection was broader that these two cases, destabilization is happening in a number of places. Gaspar Martins added that the intervention in Libya has led to the spread of terrorism in the Sahel; he cited Kenya as well.
When Lithuania's Raimonda Murmokaite came out, Inner City Press asked her about these abstentions and these two cases, and Angola noting the offer of a carve out for private security contractors from the concept of non-state actors.
Raimonda Murmokaite said that it is not private security companies causing mayhem -- Inner City Press said, “Blackwater,” she said “not exactly” -- but terrorist groups and their offshoots as well as criminal gangs. “These are the guys... not some nebulous non-state actors,” she said. “We have have gladly included pirates,” she said, or human traffickers or smugglers, on which the EU is separately asking for Security Council action. We'll have more on that.
