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

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

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• <strong>The</strong> States parties undertake to establish <strong>and</strong> maintain complete<br />

national inventories <strong>of</strong> firearms, ammunition <strong>and</strong> other related<br />

materials held by security <strong>for</strong>ces <strong>and</strong> other State bodies (Article 8.a);<br />

• <strong>The</strong> States parties incorporate as a priority into their national laws <strong>and</strong><br />

the regulation <strong>and</strong> centralized registration <strong>of</strong> all civilian owned firearms<br />

in their territories (Article 5.3.d);<br />

• States parties undertake to consider a coordinated review <strong>of</strong> national<br />

procedures <strong>and</strong> criteria <strong>for</strong> (...) establishing <strong>and</strong> maintaining national<br />

electronic databases <strong>of</strong> licensed firearms , firearm owners, <strong>and</strong> brokers<br />

within their territories (Article 7);<br />

• <strong>The</strong> States parties undertake to improve the capacity <strong>of</strong> the police<br />

<strong>for</strong>ces, customs, border guards, army, judiciary <strong>and</strong> other relevant<br />

agencies to fulfil their roles (...) establishing <strong>and</strong> improving national<br />

databases (...) (Article 6.b etc.);<br />

• <strong>The</strong> States parties undertake to establish national databases to facilitate<br />

the exchange <strong>of</strong> in<strong>for</strong>mation relative to importing, exporting <strong>and</strong><br />

transfers (Article 16.b).<br />

<strong>The</strong> OSCE Document<br />

• <strong>The</strong> participating States shall ensure that accurate <strong>and</strong> detailed records<br />

<strong>of</strong> their own holdings <strong>of</strong> small arms within their territory are maintained<br />

<strong>and</strong> held as long as possible with a view <strong>of</strong> improving small arms<br />

traceability (Article II.2.C.). <strong>The</strong> participating States shall ensure<br />

furthermore that their stockpiles are subject to proper inventory <strong>and</strong><br />

control (Article IV.B.1.);<br />

• <strong>The</strong>y furthermore undertake to adopt <strong>and</strong> apply national measures <strong>of</strong><br />

control <strong>for</strong> these records <strong>and</strong> (Article I.3.i), to develop norms, principles<br />

<strong>and</strong> measures in this area, based on the concept <strong>of</strong> cooperative security<br />

<strong>of</strong> the OSCE, <strong>and</strong> acting in concert with other international authorities<br />

(Article I.2.).<br />

Comparison:<br />

1. Recorded data: most <strong>of</strong> the mechanisms establish general rules such as<br />

“comprehensive <strong>and</strong> accurate records”, “precise <strong>and</strong> detailed”, or<br />

“with necessary in<strong>for</strong>mation to trace” firearms. <strong>The</strong> Protocol is more<br />

accurate in this regard, as it provides details about the data to be<br />

recorded. It would be worthwhile to set precise common st<strong>and</strong>ards <strong>for</strong><br />

registration, especially <strong>for</strong> the purposes <strong>of</strong> increasing the efficiency <strong>and</strong>

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