Country: Denmark
Committee: DISEC
Topic: Preventing the Illicit Arms Trades
Delegate: Mikayla Lomas
School: Williamston High School
The illicit arms trade is not a new problem, this problem has been happening for many years. The illicit trade of many small weapons or firearms happens in many parts of the globe, but specifically, the areas that have been afflicted by conflict, organized crime, and violence. In these areas, the need for illicit weapons is in high demand. The illicit arms trade helps fuel the ongoing conflicts happening in the world along with civil wars that can tear nations apart and cause more violence and destruction in the world. Many of these trades happen on the black market local and even regional level. Due to the level, they are being sold on, this makes it so the arms are publicly available to those who are in search of suck weapons. In data that was analyzed in the Small Arms Survey 2013 indicated that large amounts of firearms that have been seized across the Mexico border are traced back to the United States annually. The market for small arms and light weapons (SA/LW) seems to be the most troubling. These SA/LW can account for approximately 60-90% of the 100,000+ deaths due to conflict each year. In one of the United States State Departments Patterns of Global Terrorism report, about 175 terrorist attacks were identified and about half were committed with small arms or light weapons. The weapons are usually bought in small firearms shops in the United States and then brought back across the border, the more and more arms are being bought, the amount can turn into a huge number. The committee and its members need to come together on this pressing issue that has caused so many casualties to find a solution.
Denmarks does not have a national agency that is specifically responsible for guidance on policy, research and monitoring effort to eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, but the Danish police districts do in fact support and coordinate efforts to prevent and eradicate the illicit trade of the SA and LW both in Denmark and the world. Denmark has passed many acts/orders/laws/etc. To combat the illicit trade. Some of the key legislative acts that deal with the legal firearms trade, possession, and distribution are the Danish Weapons and Ammunition order, the Danish War Material Act, the Danish Weapons and Explosives Act and the Danish Weapons and Ammunition Circular. All of these have been established in Denmark to help combat the illicit arms trade. To add to the acts passed, Denmark has changed some of its punishments such as minimum punishments doubling from its original number. These are just some of the many steps that Denmark has taken.
One of the first steps that need to be taken is by setting up more checkpoints near/on borders and in the country, and along with more in-depth scanning and checks. By having more checkpoints and in-depth checks you will be able to find more people smuggling weapons or even small arms and light weapons. This would be mostly headed by the United Nations Security Council, but both the Security Council and the countries that are implementing these procedures need to work together. With the increasing numbers of small arms and light weapons trade increasing, government organizations, allies to the country that is implementing these procedures and the Security Council need to start to focus on what will happen in the future and how can this be prevented from happening. Another solution that Denmark feels will be helpful is setting restrictions on the number of types of weapons being manufactured. By regulating the types of weapons allowed to be made countries will slowly be able to know how many of that type of weapon there is. Denmark believes that the illicit arms trade is a very pressing issue and that it needs to be worked on to be solved. We as a country are hoping that the other countries take into consideration the lives and risk that is present currently without solutions.
- Mikayla Lomas
