The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) was a major recipient of small arms during the Cold War and has since received large transfers of legal and illicit weapons. Illicit transfers are often connected to support for armed groups in the Arab-Israeli conflict, and many other countries are engaged in cross-border disputes which fuel demand for arms. Israel is a major arms producer, including guns.
Human security is increasingly becoming a preoccupation of many states in the region and is made more unstable by the number of small arms in circulation. There are an estimated 50-90 million small arms in the region, with about 80% in civilian hands. For example, some 4 millionsmall arms from Iraq's former arsenal are now distributed amongst the civilian population.
At the national and regional level, governments have been focusing on the threat from larger conventional arms and nuclear weapons. Those governments that have paid attention to the threat of illicit trafficking of weapons have tended to do so on a national basis rather than through regional cooperation, which is made more difficult by ongoing conflicts in the region.
Websites with more information
Middle East and North Africa Small Arms Network (MENA) a regional network on small arms comprises NGOs from Jordan, Yemen, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt and North Sudan engaged with the small arms problem.
New Profile
Campaign against militaristion in Israel.
Middle East Conflicts Document Centre
University of Michigan (US)
Israel and the Middle East Special Report archive
Guardian newspaper (UK)
Selected Resources
Regional:
Small Arms Survey: Middle East and North Africa
Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Arab Region - National and Regional Measures
Regional Human Security Center at the Jordan Institute of Diplomacy
Summary of Conference on the Implementation by the Arab States of the UN Programme of Action
Traditional Cultural Practices and Small Arms in the Middle East - Problems and Solutions
Workshop in Amman, Jordan
Curbing the Demand for Small Arms - A Middle East Seminar
Amman, Jordan, 2001
National:
Iraq:
Eye on Iraq- Selected links and resources related to Iraq
Center for Defense Information (US)
Israel:
Violence Against Women in Israel
Amnesty International, 2005
Child Recruitment in Israel
New Profile report, 2004
Israel and the Occupied Territories and the Palestinian Authority - Killing the Future - Children in the line of fire
Amnesty International report, 2002
Yemen:
SALW Stockpiles in Yemen
Small Arms Survey Occasional Paper, 2003
Small Arms in Iraq:
Media articles: small arms in Iraq
A Dossier of Civilian Casualties in Iraq, 2003-2005
Iraq Body Count
UK and US governments must monitor Iraq casualties
British Medical Journal
Small Arms are Continuing threat in Iraq
Rachel Stohl, Center for Defense Information
Views on the conflict in Iraq
|
