CHAPTER seven of the UN Charter elaborates what measures are to be taken to maintain or restore international peace and security by the Security Council. But all five permanent members of the Security Council are collectively responsible for over 70 per cent of all weapons export globally.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, US exports are 58pc higher than those by Russia. Recently India signed a deal of $5.2 billion with Russia to acquire the S-400 air defence missile system.

SIPRI estimates that India hiked its arm imports by 43pc between 2007-11 and 2012-2016 which is far greater than those of its regional rivals, China and Pakistan.

A large number of countries, especially Gulf states, buy weapons mostly from the US.

The small arms trade is worth an estimated US $85bn per year. China’s arm exports rose by 38pc between 2008-12 and 2013-17.

Beijing has the second last largest defence budget after America.

Continuity in international the arm sale has become a humanitarian disaster. Civil wars in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan and South Sudan have left millions died.

Treaties on disarmament — like SALT I and II — have been signed, and the Arms Trade Treaty came into force in 2014 with the aim of monitoring arms export. But so far there has been no visible impact on the overall trade in arms.

Sana Ali
Karachi

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2018