-Caveat Lector- PUBLICATION: National Post DATE: 2001.07.23 EDITION: National SECTION: World PAGE: A10 BYLINE: Steven Edwards SOURCE: National Post DATELINE: UNITED NATIONS
Terrorism; Conferences; United States HEADLINE: UN fails to agree on gun control: Dependence on <firearms>: U.S. prevents plan to stem flow of illegal arms to terrorists UNITED NATIONS - Canada masked its disappointment yesterday after a UN conference failed to agree on a gun-control regimen the United States claims would have threatened democratic decision-making in national parliaments. Key Canadian goals are absent from the final declaration at the end of the two-week conference, aimed at stemming the illegal flow of small arms to conflict zones. Instead, the United States prevailed in preventing development of an international gun-control agenda it says "went beyond the scope of appropriate international action." Urged by right-to-bear-arms lobbyists, it blocked consensus on a bid to regulate civilian ownership of military weapons, saying some commonly used hunting guns are based on military models. Washington also opposed universal curbs on supplying small and light weapons to "non-state actors" -- a political term for rebel movements, terrorists and criminal syndicates. Such a ban would prevent arming liberation groups viewed as legitimate, it argues. Two years ago, Canada said it would work with the European Union to prevent cheap and portable weapons such as pistols, assault rifles and hand-held rocket launchers reaching terrorists or criminals. Canada does not share the U.S.'s view that the rights of private gun owners were threatened by measures considered at the UN gathering, officially called the Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons In All Its Aspects. The United States said its stand was based on protecting the sovereignty of its domestic law. "The American ... positions reflect nothing more than a clear recognition of the result of a democratic process in the United States," said Lincoln Bloomfield, assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs and alternate head of the U.S. delegation to the conference. "We would not sign up to something in a multilateral arena which conflicted with something that had legitimately come out of a democratic process in the United States." He pointed out the United States, the world's largest arms supplier, has some of the strongest laws regulating small arms exports. "The United States would be pleased to work with other countries who are looking for technical help and advice" to develop similar controls, he said. "I think the focus legitimately [should be] on those countries which are crying out for some help in areas which are clearly in distress." UN figures show there are about 500 million <firearms> circulating in the world and they kill at least 500,000 people a year. Much of the slaughter takes place in Africa, where some leaders came to power through rebellions. African states agreed "reluctantly" to excluding the two provisions opposed by the United States, said Camilo Reyes, the Colombian president of the conference. They did so "in the true spirit of reaching a compromise." The final pact is not legally binding, but marks a step toward enforceable regulations. It calls for governments to ensure manufacturers keep records of gun sales and mark weapons so illegally trafficked ones can be traced. "The U.S. should be ashamed of themselves," said Jean Du Preez, a South African envoy. "We are very disappointed." But major arms exporters such as Russia and China are said to be pleased Washington took a stand -- and most of the heat. There was little reaction from Canada yesterday. "In a consensus process all countries need to work constructively," said Andre Lemay, a spokesman for the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs. Gun control opponents sent between 300 and 500 e-mails a day to the UN, threatening a revolt if the organization tries to take their guns away. The conference, which was attended by 140 countries and hundreds of activists, heard a wide array of arguments. A Canadian opponent of gun control told delegates a ban on sales to non-state actors would compromise the ability of many Canadian aboriginal people to put food on the table. "Some of our indigenous peoples depend on <firearms> for their very existence," said Tony Bernardo, executive director of the Canadian Institute for Legislative Action, based in Oshawa, Ont. "Censorship is the tool of Oppressors and a means hiding the Truth " <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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