The Scope and Implications of a Tracing Mechanism for Small Arms ...

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9
It was notable during negotiations on the UN Firearms Protocol that a
limited number of countries wished to preserve the right to exempt
certain transfers and transactions from the scope of the Protocol. As a
consequence, some weapons manufactured or imported for a
particular national security interest could, for example, have no
identifying markings.
10
Swiss military weapons are stamped with the national flag and the
initial “A” plus a quality control mark, “KW+”. Weapons subsequently
decommissioned by the Swiss military are each stamped with the letter
“P” signifying they have passed into private ownership.
11
www.smartwater.com.
12
www.datadot-uk.com.
13
Whilst record-keeping in many countries is undertaken by a regional
or federal police department, it is acknowledged that this can be a
politically sensitive issue amongst shooting rights and civil liberty
groups. There are arguments for the agency to be an independent
commercial organization, statutorily underpinned to provide
enforcement powers, but regulated by the national arms trade
association with judicial oversight and inspection undertaken by a
government department. However, this can be impractical, as police
and customs need unrestricted live access to the record-keeping
database to allow for proactive intervention against potentially
suspicious transactions.
14
Reproduced by kind permission of NCIS NFTS.
15
Reproduced by kind permission of the RCMP.
16
Black = illicit, and Grey = State sponsored.
17
Extract from the SAPS response to the Swiss-French Initiative on a
Tracing Mechanism.
18
“Illicit trafficking: the import, export, acquisition, sale, delivery,
movement or transfer of firearms, their parts and components and
ammunition from or across the territory of one State Party to that of
another State Party if any one of the State Parties concerned does not
authorize it in accordance with the terms of the Protocol or if the
firearms are not marked in accordance with Article 8 of this Protocol.”
19
“Tracing shall mean the systematic tracking of firearms and, where
possible their parts and components and ammunition from
manufacturer to purchaser for the purpose of assisting the competent
authorities of States Parties in detecting, investigating and analyzing
illicit manufacturing and illicit trafficking.”