DISEC–Arms Trade
Worldwide, illicit arms accompany many of the most serious international problems. Drug and human trafficking, for example, are made possible largely through the presence of small and light firearms. These weapons can easily cross political boundaries, and even the most tightly controlled borders experience difficulty in monitoring and preventing their transfer. In addition, ars such as these pose the greatest threat to vulnerable members of populations, such as women and children. Illicit arms further destabilize already struggling regions and very seldom do they truly provide protection. Nearly every country in the world faces the challenge of battling this influx of weaponry, and drastic measures must be taken to stop it. The efforts in the past have been valiant, but the lack of international compliance is reflective of the UN’s weak punitive measures against them.
Iran feels that it has been specifically victimized by the turbulent dissemination of arms across national borders, especially as the Middle East itself serves as the stage of unrest and warfare. The proximity of Iran to regions of significant conflict exacerbates the danger faced by our citizens, who must be properly licensed and educated to own guns, which are strictly regulated. In spite of this, Iran has experienced thousands of gun deaths in the past decade, most of which could only have come from illegal arms. Many drug traffickers pass through Iran to sell in other places, and as a result, Iran has lost 3400 members of its police and military directly to these heavily armed traffickers. Iran strongly believes that it has done its part to curb this issue and that the blame for this ongoing crisis belongs heavily to surrounding nations who have not taken sufficient action.
Iran believes that these unlawful guns should be tightly regulated and that the responsibility for their dissemination falls largely on the shoulders of manufacturers who adopt irresponsible practices in their production. But Iran also recognizes that the overabundance of dangerous illicit weapons is also the result of internal destabilization and regional strife and that education on the dangers of trafficking is needed in order to see any true change. Iran also believes that the introduction of an incentive to make illicit gun holders turn in their weapons could be used successfully with stricter measures concerning the tracking and restriction of gun transfer across borders.
- Hannah Willit
