Council Decision 2014/912/CFSP of 15 December 2014 in support of physical security and stockpile management (PSSM) activities to reduce the risk of illicit trade in small arms and light weapons (SALW) and their ammunition in the Sahel region

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Articles 26(2) and 31(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,

Whereas:

1. On 15 and 16 December 2005, the European Council adopted the EU Strategy to combat the illicit accumulation and trafficking of SALW and their ammunition. In that Strategy, the European Council acknowledges that the abundance of stocks of SALW and ammunition makes such arms easily obtainable by civilians, criminals, terrorists and combatants alike and stresses the need to pursue preventive action to tackle the illegal supply of conventional weapons and their demand. It also singles out Africa as the continent most affected by the impact of internal conflicts aggravated by the destabilising influx of SALW.

2. On 21 March 2011, the Council endorsed the European Union Strategy for Security and Development in the Sahel, which provides an integrated framework for Union engagement in the Sahel region. One of the four strands of actions of the Strategy aims at strengthening the capacities of the security, law enforcement and the rule of law sectors in this region to fight threats and handle terrorism and organised crime in a more efficient and specialised manner and link them to measures of good governance.

3. On 14 June 2006 in Abuja, Nigeria, the Member States of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) adopted the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, Their Ammunition and Other Related Materials, which entered into force on 29 September 2009. On 30 April 2010 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Member States of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the Republic of Rwanda adopted a Central African Convention for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, their Ammunition, Parts and Components that can be used for their Manufacture, Repair or Assembly. In both Conventions, signatory States have undertaken, inter alia, to take the necessary measures to ensure the safe and effective management, storage and security of their national stocks of SALW, in accordance with the appropriate standards and procedures.

4. Burkina Faso, Mali and Nigeria have ratified the Arms Trade Treaty, as have 23 Member States, while Chad, Mauritania, and Niger have signed it. Article 16(1) of the Arms Trade Treaty provides that, in implementing the Treaty, each State Party may seek assistance including legal or legislative assistance, institutional capacity-building, and technical, material or financial assistance. Such assistance may include stockpile management, disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programmes, model legislation, and effective practices for implementation. Each State Party in a position to do so shall provide such assistance, upon request.

5. Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania and Nigeria are States Parties to 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 ‘Firearms Protocol’).

6. All UN Member States are committed to the effective implementation of the UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (‘UN Programme of Action’), as well as of the International Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace, in a Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons.

7. At the Fifth Biennial Meeting of States to Consider the Implementation of the UN Programme of Action (New York, 16-20 June 2014), all UN Member States reiterated that proper management of SALW stockpiles, in particular in conflict and post-conflict situations, is essential to prevent accidents and reduce the risk of diversion to the illicit trade, illegal armed groups, terrorists, and other unauthorised recipients. UN Member States called for strengthened international and regional cooperation and assistance on stockpile management and physical security issues, and undertook to take advantage, where feasible, of technological advances to strengthen stockpile management, including physical security measures.

8. The popular uprising in Libya in February 2011 and the ensuing armed conflict, and the political and security crises in Mali in 2012 have illustrated how non-State actors, including terrorists, can take advantage of improperly secured and managed government-owned stockpiles to divert SALW and ammunition, to the detriment of peace and security. In a context of increased activity by non-State actors in the Sahel region, including in northern Nigeria, the improvement of weapons and ammunition security in Sahel States has become a priority.

9. The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC), which is part of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), has a long experience of lending support to Sahel States and civil society in their implementation of international and regional instruments on SALW control, in line with its mandate received from the UN General Assembly (Resolution 40/151 G, 16 December 1985).

10. Since 2013, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), through the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), has been assisting the Malian authorities in mine action and weapons and ammunition management, in line with UN Security Council Resolutions 2100(2013) and 2164(2014).

11. The non-governmental organisation Mine Advisory Group (MAG) has recently started a regional project addressing urgent conventional weapons and ammunition security and management issues in target countries within the Sahel-Maghreb region.

12. Under Council Decision 2011/428/CFSP⁽¹⁾, the Union has financed, inter alia, the provision of marking equipment to law enforcement agencies in several West African States, as well as training on the International Tracing Instrument and on the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines.

13. Under Council Decision 2013/320/CFSP⁽²⁾, the Union is supporting measures aimed at ensuring the sound physical security and stockpile management (PSSM) of the Libyan weapons arsenals, in order to reduce the risks posed by the illicit spread of SALW and ammunition for the security of Libya and of its neighbouring countries, including in the Sahel.

14. Under Council Decision 2013/698/CFSP⁽³⁾, the Union is supporting the establishment of a global reporting mechanism on illicit SALW and other conventional weapons and ammunition (‘iTrace’), based in particular on in-field research into SALW and ammunition circulating in conflict-affected areas, including in Africa.

15. Under its Common Security and Defence Policy, the Union has launched three actions in the Sahel region, namely, first, EUCAP Sahel Niger, which started on 8 August 2012, to support the fight against organised crime and terrorism in Niger; second, the European Union Training Mission in Mali, which started on 18 February 2013, to contribute to the restructuring and the reorganisation of the Malian Armed Forces though training and advice; and, third, EUCAP Sahel Mali, which was launched on 15 April 2014, to provide strategic advice and training for the internal security forces in Mali.

16. Under the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace, since 2011 the Union has been supporting the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in its efforts to promote the ratification and implementation of the Firearms Protocol, in particular, in West Africa. Under that Instrument, since 2010 the Union has been providing financial support to the Regional Centre on Small Arms (RECSA) in the Great Lakes Region, the Horn of Africa and Bordering States based in Nairobi,

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