DYB2011-Part-II-web

United Nations Disarmament Yearbook 2011: Part II
80
Transparency in conventional arms transfers and
military expenditures
United Nations Register of Conventional Arms
The United Nations Register of Conventional Arms was established
in 1991 as a confidence-building measure to discourage excessive and
destabilizing accumulations of arms and to reduce the risk of misperceptions
and miscalculations through enhanced levels of transparency. 23 The Register
is a voluntary reporting instrument that covers transfers of major conventional
weapons and SALW, as well as domestic arms procurement and military
holdings, on a calendar year basis. Its primary emphasis has been on major
conventional weapons but SALW are now an important part of its scope. The
Register is an evolving mechanism, whose operation and further development
are subject to periodic review by Governmental experts.
New database of the Register
Pursuant to the recommendations of the 2006 Group of Governmental
Experts on the continuing operation of the United Nations Register of
Conventional Arms to improve the user-friendliness of the Register’s database,
the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) developed
a website called “The Global Reported Arms Trade”, a technologically
up-to-date, map-based platform allowing for direct access to and comparison
of all data on arms exports and imports submitted since the beginning of
the United Nations Register. 24 This database thus provided for significantly
greater transparency in the global arms trade.
Annual report on the Register
The nineteenth consolidated report by the Secretary-General, 25 which
were issued in 2011, contained information provided by 86 Governments
on their transfers of conventional arms that took place in 2010. This figure
was higher than those reported for 2008 and 2009. Of the 86 national reports
received, 35 were “nil” reports, 33 contained information on exports, 40
contained information on imports, while 52 submissions also contained data
on national military holdings and procurement through national production.
Annex I to this chapter lists all replies received by the Secretary-
General and indicates which reply contained data on imports and exports
of conventional arms, as well as what kind of background information was
included.
23 More details are available from http://www.un-register.org/HeavyWeapons/Index.aspx
(accessed 2 June 2012).
24 Ibid.
25 A/66/127 and Corr.1-2. A/66/127/Add.1 will be issued in 2012. Available from
www.un.org/disarmament/convarms/Register/HTML/RegisterIndex.shtml.