斯德哥尔摩国际和平研究所-Transparency-in-Arms-Procurement--Limitations-and-Opportunities-for-Assessing-Global-Armament-Developments_20页_259kb

Summary of "Transparency in Arms Procurement: Limitations and Opportunities for Assessing Global Armament Developments"

Core Content

This paper analyzes the current state of international transparency in arms procurement, focusing on the limitations of existing multilateral instruments and the opportunities for improving them. It highlights the importance of transparency in reducing the risk of arms races and promoting regional and global stability.

Main Points

• Global Trends in Armaments:

  • Military expenditure reached $1917 billion in 2019, the highest since 1988.
  • International arms transfers increased by 20% from 2005–2009 to 2015–2019, reaching levels not seen since the end of the Cold War.
  • These trends raise concerns about the potential for destabilizing armament accumulations and arms competition.

• Multilateral Transparency Instruments:

  • The UN Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA), the OSCE confidence-building measures (CSBMs), and the Inter-American Convention on Transparency in Conventional Weapons Acquisition (CITAAC) are key instruments.
  • Participation in these instruments has declined significantly in recent years, with only a small number of states providing comprehensive and detailed information.
  • The information available is insufficient to fully assess global or regional armament developments.

• UNROCA Limitations:

  • Focuses on arms transfers rather than procurement through national production.
  • Limited participation (only 43 of 193 UN member states submitted 2018 reports).
  • Reports are often sparse and lack detail, such as specific weapon types or whether arms are new or second-hand.
  • Not all military systems and support equipment are included in the categories.
  • Inconsistencies between exporting and importing states' reports undermine reliability.

• Regional Instruments:

  • The OSCE CSBMs are active but not fully public.
  • CITAAC, which covers the Americas, has limited participation and no recent reports from state parties since 2015.
  • The OSCE reports complement UNROCA but are not always consistent with it.

• Arms Trade Treaty (ATT):

  • Provides an alternative source of information on arms imports and exports.
  • More states report under ATT than under UNROCA.
  • Some reports are confidential, and not all major arms exporters provide detailed data.
  • ATT reports can help fill gaps in transparency, especially for states without domestic arms industries.

• Military Spending Transparency (UNMILEX):

  • Aims to increase understanding of how states allocate resources to military activities.
  • Includes categories like procurement, personnel, and research and development.
  • Participation has declined, with only 36 of 193 UN member states providing detailed data in 2018.
  • Limited detail in reports restricts their usefulness for assessing armament trends.

• Opportunities for Improvement:

  • National-level transparency can provide more detailed and comprehensive data.
  • Combining national and multilateral data may enhance the understanding of global armament developments.
  • Alternative non-governmental tools could be developed to monitor arms procurement trends more effectively.

Key Recommendations

• Revitalize participation in multilateral transparency instruments.
• Improve the quality and detail of data submitted by states.
• Consider the development of an alternative public database for arms procurement.
• Enhance coordination between different reporting mechanisms to avoid duplication and ensure consistency.
• Encourage greater openness in both national and international reporting to support confidence-building and stability.

Conclusion

The paper concludes that while multilateral transparency instruments are valuable, their current limitations in participation, detail, and reliability hinder their effectiveness. National-level transparency, combined with these instruments, can offer a more complete picture of global armament developments. Strengthening these mechanisms is essential for promoting peace, reducing miscalculations, and preventing arms races.