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| 4.12 As a coherent strategy linking the classic triumvirate of ends, ways and means SACR provides a viable solution to small arms proliferation. For success in world politics does not depend solely or even uniquely upon superiority in numbers or in technology, however important those attributes may be. Advantages in either respect may not suffice as long as there is a dearth of strategic vision. 4.13 It must be our goal to explain why and how these two levels of actionBcrime control and arms controlBcan, integral to the cooperative regulatory approach, combine to form the basis for the complete overhaul of the international trade in small arms. SACR will help provide the basis for reducing future supply. Underlying SACR is the basic idea of "cooperative disarmament." Putting the sole emphasis on commercial activity to the exclusion of governmental action is unacceptable, because it perpetuates the pursuit of parochial interest by key supplier States, in many cases at the expense of recipient States. This process results in grievances and, in turn, political animosity and thus, ultimately, poses serious threat to collective action on small arms proliferation. SACR is a security concept that helps to overcome the division between crime control and arms control by putting in place stringent supplier restrictions and the duality of the interaction between nonproliferation, SACR, and control. 4.14 A deeper understanding of nonproliferation as a function of SACR is predicated on some understanding of the concept of small arms action within the UN framework. An accurate assessment of SACR as a function of nonproliferation, then, must precede any discussion of the specific steps taken for the purposes of advancing SACR as amenable to nonproliferation. 4.15 With SACR originating as a response to the perceived threat perception emanating from small arms proliferation it is important to document the underlying versus precipitating causes for small arms control. The cooperative regulatory approach constitutes an intervening variable between Security First and the comprehensive and integrated approach that helps move the relationship from crime control to arms control, thus giving rise to an equitable resolution to the proliferation dilemma which, in turn, feeds back into renewed small arms control efforts. EPG's leadership in response to diversion on the part of key supplier States may prove conducive to mobilizing international support in favor of arms control at the expense of crime control. 4.16 Cooperative arms regulation and disarmament must address security and developmental concerns. It must be integrated into national programs as well as into international cooperation efforts. While the task is a daunting one, many international development agencies have already taken steps to incorporate security sector reform and other conflict prevention strategies into their assistance programs. 4.17 Integral to cooperative disarmament, preventive measures must pursue two objectives: first, to limit and control availability and access to small arms (supply side) and secondly, to reduce the demand for such weapons (demand side). On the supply side such an approach necessitates measures aimed at effectively regulating legal transfers between states based on a principle of responsible restraint, controlling the availability, use and storage of small arms within states, preventing and combating illicit transfers, collecting and removing surplus arms from both civil society and regions of conflict, increasing transparency and accountability, support for research and information sharing. 4.18 On the demand side, the international community must commit to helping reverse cultures of violence through support for the reform of the security sector (both police and military) in affected states as fundamental to good governance, through the promotion of norms of civilian non-possession and of government restraint, by enhancing demobilization and reintegration programs for ex-combatants, by halting the abhorrent use of child fighters and by effectively combating the culture of impunity that fuels the illicit arms trade. Continued |