LONDON: From Africa to Bosnia, back to Africa and on to the Middle East — the often secretive flow of guns and bullets follows the world’s cycle of wars. In the middle are the faceless brokers who have facilitated the multi-billion-dollar trade since the 1950s and 1960s when the United States and the Soviet Union used go-betweens to arm their allies to fight the Cold War by proxy.
“Small arms in Europe are not as cheap as they used to be at the end of the 1990s ... partly because the initial flood of weapons from former East Bloc armouries has slowed down,” said one European arms broker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals from his small, tight-knit community.
“But there are still ample supplies left around. For AK-47s particularly all the old East Bloc countries still have some surplus new weapons and, of course, there are lots of used ones,” he told Reuters.
The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, unleashed not only a flood of cheap arms but also the giant aircraft needed to carry them to wars in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.
From the steamy jungles of the Democratic Republic of Congo to the dangerous streets of Baghdad and the drug-ruled favelas of Rio de Janeiro, guns acquired illegally spread terror, contribute to poverty and halt development.
Ahead of a United Nations meeting in New York from June 26 — July 7 to discuss this global trade, calls are growing for tighter regulations — especially on the activities of brokers.
“Arms supply networks are increasingly sub-contracted and increasingly opaque and out of control,” small arms trade expert Brian Wood told Reuters.
“Some of the drivers of the international arms trade today are individuals with laptops, mobile phones, air tickets and shell companies. They travel around,” he said.
The International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA), a group of agencies including Amnesty International and Oxfam, estimates the global gun trade is worth around $4 billion a year, of which up to $1 billion may be illicit.
Prices for guns vary enormously from the $350-$400 per new Kalashnikov with three magazines, quoted as an example by the broker, to anecdotal stories of the same rifles changing hands for a tenth of that price in African war zones.
And if guns are available, they will be used.
IANSA wants countries to draw up global standards to regulate the international transfer of weapons and gun possession among civilians. —Reuters
