Combating arms trafficking in Central Asia

Two teams of experts from the OSCE travelled to Central Asia in November and December to conduct a series of workshops on combating illicit arms trafficking. The workshops were the first step in an OSCE effort to halt illegal arms traffic in the region.

A threat to security
The illegal smuggling of weapons has become a significant problem for many Central Asian states. It fuels crime, exacerbates conflict and facilitates terrorism both within and outside the OSCE area.

Although the problem is not new, the training workshops were the first meetings on the issue conducted by the OSCE and the international community.

Arms trafficking and terrorism

Originally conceived as practical initiative to build on the momentum achieved at the Tashkent Conference on Drugs, Organized Crime and Terrorism, the training workshops only became more important in the light of the OSCE's renewed determination to prevent and counter international terrorism.

Small arms and light weapons are frequently used in terrorist incidents, such as assassinations and armed attacks. Many terrorist organizations are also heavily involved in arms smuggling as a means to raise revenue and guard their operations.

The workshops addressed these problems by focusing on the implementation of the OSCE Document on Small Arms and Light Weapons. The tools contained within the Document aim to prevent weapons from being diverted from the legal trade into the black market.

The workshops
The national workshops are the initial phase of a project conceived by the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre in Vienna and sponsored by the governments of Canada, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

Workshops were held in all five Central Asian states - Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. They covered four main issues:
control over manufacture and transfer of weapons; stockpile management and security; marking and tracing; and weapons collection and destruction.The training sessions were conducted by two teams of experts from Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Poland and the Russian Federation. The participants welcomed the information provided, and shared their own experience and ideas with the expert speakers.

Key issues

Because many government ministries and agencies are involved in small arms control, local participation in each country was very broad. The ministries of foreign affairs, defence, interior and economy, as well as customs and border guard services and national security committees all sent their technical experts to take part in the workshops. Discussion focused on measures to stop cross-border traffic, reduce illegal weapons possession among the civilian population, and secure and guard state arsenals.

Participants identified a number of problems arising from instability in the region, particularly in neighbouring Afghanistan. In many cases, they asked for more assistance and training from the OSCE to cope with these problems.

Future activities

At the Bishkek International Conference on Enhancing Security and Stability in Central Asia, held in Kyrgyzstan shortly after the workshops, the Central Asian states vowed to continue the process of small arms control in the region. In the Programme of Action, ministers agreed to "prevent the destabilising accumulation and uncontrolled spread and illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons" by supporting implementation of the small arms document in Central Asia. They encouraged states to attend a follow-up meeting on small arms, to be held Almaty, Kazakhstan, in spring 2002.

Ministers also urged the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre to develop further activities in the implementation of the OSCE Document on Small Arms and Light Weapons.