Richard Dwomoh

The Un Security Council and Small Arms Proliferation: Legislating the Illicit Trade in Arms Richard Dwomoh

"The death toll from small arms dwarfs that of all other weapon systems []. In terms of the carnage they cause, small arms could well be described as weapons of mass destruction." The afore mentioned remarks by Kofi Annan, the former Secretary General of the UN, is not only a recognition of the devastating effects of arms proliferation, but it equally sums up the carnage and terror being wrought across the globe through the illicit trade in arms. This book offers a framework through which the UN Security Council may legislate to regulate the arms trade, as an alternative to the UN General Assembly consensus stricken Arms Trade Treaty process. The author illustrates why the Council would need to determine the illicit trade in arms as a threat to international peace and security. He also challenges the Council to pursue a legislative act akin to its resolutions 1373 (2001) and 1540 (2004) on countering the threat of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction respectively, to regulate the arms trade. The book is especially useful for UN policymakers, state officials, civil society organizations, and scholars interested in the global arms trade and its human cost.