Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Explosives by Criminals and Their Use for Criminal Purposes
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United Nations E/CN.15/2002/9/Add.1 Economic and Social Council Distr.: General 23 January 2002 Original: English Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Eleventh session Vienna, 16-25 April 2002 Item 5 of the provisional agenda∗ International cooperation in combating transnational crime Illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in explosives by criminals and their use for criminal purposes Report of the Secretary-General Addendum Results of the study on the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in explosives by criminals and their use for criminal purposes Contents Paragraphs Page I. Introduction.......................................................... 1-4 3 II. Analysis of relevant instruments and other documents ....................... 5-13 3 A. Report of the Group of Experts on the problem of ammunition and explosives ....................................................... 5-8 3 B. Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives for the Purpose of Detection........................................................ 94 C. International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings ....... 10 5 D. Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) .............................. 11 5 __________________ ∗ E/CN.15/2002/1. V.02-50188 (E) 180202 190202 *0250188* E/CN.15/2002/9/Add.1 E. Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials ........................................................ 12 6 F. United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime .............. 13 6 III. Analysis of the responses to the survey questionnaire on the illicit manufacturing of, trafficking in and criminal misuse of explosives ......................... 14-67 7 A. Background...................................................... 14-20 7 B. Sources of information on each country (questions 1-5) ................. 21-24 8 C. Explosive-related incidents (questions 6-9) ............................ 25-31 9 D. The extent to which incidents involved organized criminal groups and/or transnational elements (questions 7 and 14) ........................... 32-35 11 E. Other illicit sources of explosives (question 7) ......................... 36-41 12 F. Proportionate involvement of military, commercial and “home-made” or other explosives in incidents (question 8) ............................. 42-47 14 G. The seriousness of explosive-related incidents (question 9)............... 48-54 15 H. Legal controls on explosives (questions 10-12)......................... 55-63 16 I. Additional issues raised by the responses of States received after the preliminary analysis............................................... 64-67 18 Annex List of States that responded to the survey questionnaire .............................. 21 Tables Table 1. Average annual explosives incidents and average annual deaths, per 100,000 population, 1995-1999 .................................................. 10 Table 2. Analysis of responses.................................................... 12 Table 3. Opinions of national experts on the extent of the problems and whether it involves significant transnational elements ......................................... 12 2 E/CN.15/2002/9/Add.1 I. Introduction responses were also added to the original analysis, where appropriate. Other additional notes and 1. In its resolution 54/127 of 17 December 1999, the comments received from Member States were also General Assembly requested the Secretary-General, taken into consideration. from within existing or extrabudgetary resources, to 4. A summary of the discussions of the Group of convene an expert group of no more than 20 members, Experts at its two meetings and the conclusions and with equitable geographical representation, to prepare recommendations of the Group arising from the study a study on the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking are included in the report of the Secretary-General on in explosives by criminals and their use for criminal the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in purposes, taking into consideration Economic and explosives by criminals and their use for criminal Social Council resolution 1998/17 of 28 July 1998, and purposes (E/CN.15/2002/9). to report to the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice as early as possible on the results of the study. II. Analysis of relevant instruments 2. Pursuant to Assembly resolution 54/127, the and other documents Group of Experts on the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in explosives was convened twice in A. Report of the Group of Experts on the Vienna, from 12 to 16 March 2001 and from 18 to problem of ammunition and explosives 20 December 2001. At its first meeting, the Group reviewed existing documents and instruments dealing 5. In its resolution 52/38 of 9 December 1997, the with explosives and other relevant subject matter. Its General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to analysis of those documents and instruments forms the prepare a study on the problem of ammunition and basis of section II of the present report. It also prepared explosives. A Group of Experts was established and a survey questionnaire for distribution to Member duly conducted the study, which was submitted to the States, and decided to conduct additional research in Assembly by the Secretary-General in 1999 several areas itself. The survey questionnaire was (A/54/155). The study was conducted in the context of disseminated to Member States on 4 July 2001, initiatives by the United Nations to stem the negative requesting that they respond as soon as possible, but impacts associated with the uncontrolled dissemination preferably no later than 30 September 2001. As of and use of small arms and light weapons. It sought to 20 December 2001, a total of 50 States had provided provide a basis on which to decide whether controls on responses, and two further responses were received ammunition and explosives might be viable as a after the closing of the second meeting on that date. response or partial response to the problem. Generally, the perspective of the study is one of arms control as 3. On 10 November 2001, a statistical analysis of opposed to crime control, and it drew in part on the responses received by that date was prepared and broader examinations of issues relating to the distributed to members of the Group of Experts, in proliferation of small arms and light weapons. The order to permit sufficient time for them to review it Group expressed concern about a lack of accurate and prior to the second meeting. When the results were up-to-date information about ammunition and compiled on 10 November 2001, responses had been explosives, and in particular about the lack of received from 35 States. That compilation and analysis responses to a questionnaire it had circulated forms the basis of subsections A to H of section III of (A/54/155, paras. 9-10, 22, 27, 34, 36, 38, 47, 102, 104 the present report. Fifteen further responses received and 105).1 It found that controls on ammunition and up to the closing of the second meeting of the Group explosives could not constitute a complete solution to on 20 December 2001 were also reviewed and directly the harm resulting from small arms and light weapons, taken into consideration by the Group at that meeting. but that failure to address them as part of a broader The analysis of those responses, which were consistent solution would represent “a serious flaw and a missed with the earlier results, is reported in subsection I of opportunity” (A/54/155, para. 11). section III of the present report. References to those 3 E/CN.15/2002/9/Add.1 6. Regarding explosives, the report comments on the reliability of marking, as well as the effects of the simplicity of many improvised explosive devices, various additives on stability and detonation and takes note of the ease with which information performance (A/54/155, paras. 73-84). about bomb-making can be obtained in printed 8. The report makes a number of recommendations materials and on the Internet. It cites misuse of for preventing and reducing proliferation, but most are explosive devices by “extreme political groups, more applicable to small arms and ammunition than to terrorists, criminals and disaffected individuals” as a explosives per se. One relevant option identified is the widespread problem, but makes no specific establishment of global standards for tagging observations about the involvement of organized crime explosives, including military explosives, which would or transnational elements in such incidents (A/54/155, provide some limited ability to trace them back to a paras. 27-33). On the subject of trafficking, it takes place and date of manufacture (A/54/155, para. 96), note of the relationship between trafficking in although the recommendations in the report extend ammunition and weapons and in other illicit only to marking standards and not tagging (A/54/155, commodities such as narcotic drugs, and surveys the para. 105 (i)).2 The report also calls for the sources of such trafficking, ranging from theft and investigation and use of new marking technologies, diversion of legal supplies to the retrieval of surpluses and for better, more transparent sources of information remaining in post-conflict areas (A/54/155, about