斯德哥尔摩国际和平研究所-Reporting-to-the-United-Nations-Register-of-Conventional-Arms-for-2017_16页_665kb

2017 UNROCA Reporting Summary

Core Content

The United Nations Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA) is a global transparency mechanism established in 1991 to enhance confidence between states and prevent the destabilizing accumulation of arms. Member states are requested to report their imports and exports of seven categories of major arms, including battle tanks, combat aircraft, missiles, and warships, on a voluntary basis. Despite its importance, participation in UNROCA has declined over the years, with only 24.9% of UN member states reporting in 2017.

Main Points

• UNROCA's Purpose: To promote transparency and prevent excessive accumulation of arms, contributing to preventive diplomacy and encouraging restraint in arms transfers.
• Reporting Categories: Seven categories of arms considered essential for offensive operations.
• Participation Trends:
  • Reporting reached its peak in 2001 with 124 states.
  • In 2017, only 48 states submitted reports, the lowest since 1993.
  • Participation is especially low in regions with international tensions and conflicts, such as Africa and the Middle East.
• Exporter vs. Importer Reporting:
  • Large exporters (e.g., the US, Russia, France, Germany, China, the UK, Spain, Italy, Netherlands) generally report more frequently.
  • Importers, especially major ones, report less often, leading to significant gaps in data.
• Report Content Quality:
  • Exporter and importer reports often do not match, due to differing interpretations of categories, reporting dates, and transfer statuses.
  • Some arms transfers are not captured in UNROCA reports, either because they are not classified under the seven categories or because of omissions or errors.
• Comparison with Other Mechanisms:
  • The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) has a similar reporting system with a higher response rate (61% of its 89 states parties reported in 2017).
  • The OSCE also shares reports with UNROCA, but not all OSCE states report to UNROCA.
  • The ATT allows for reporting of authorized transfers and financial values, unlike UNROCA which focuses on actual transfers and item numbers.

Key Information

• 2017 Reporting:
  • 29 states reported actual exports, and 30 states reported actual imports.
  • 86 states were named as recipients of exports, but only 33 of them reported their imports.
  • 27 states were named as suppliers of imports, with 21 of them reporting their exports.
• Mismatch in Data:
  • Only 20 of 306 export lines matched import data.
  • Similarly, only 20 of 83 import lines matched export data.
• Examples of Missing Data:
  • Russia's delivery of T-72B3 tanks to Belarus went unreported.
  • Russia's delivery of MiG-29M aircraft and Ka-52 helicopters to Egypt was not included in UNROCA.
• Data Coverage:
  • UNROCA likely captures over 90% of the global arms trade, due to high participation among major exporters.
  • However, the data from importers remains incomplete, leading to inconsistencies and gaps.

Reporting by Region (2013–2017)

Conclusion

UNROCA remains the only global transparency instrument for arms transfers, despite its low participation and data quality issues. While it has been a partial success in capturing most of the global arms trade, the lack of comprehensive reporting from importers and inconsistencies in data make it less effective. The paper highlights the need for UNROCA to be reinvigorated and expanded to ensure better coverage and accuracy.