SMALL ARMS SURVEY 8 Occasional Paper No. 8 Small Arms in the Pacific Philip Alpers and Conor Twyford March 2003 A publication of the Small Arms Survey Small Arms in the Pacific Philip Alpers and Conor Twyford March 2003 A publication of the Small Arms Survey Philip Alpers and Conor Twyford The Small Arms Survey The Small Arms Survey is an independent research project located at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. It is also linked to the Graduate Institute’s Programme for Strategic and International Security Studies. Established in 1999, the project is supported by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, and by contributions from the Governments of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. It collaborates with research institutes and non-governmental organizations in many countries including Brazil, Canada, Georgia, Germany, India, Israel, Norway, the Russian Federation, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Small Arms Survey occasional paper series presents new and substantial research findings by proj- ect staff and commissioned researchers on data, methodological, and conceptual issues related to small arms, or detailed country and regional case studies. The series is published periodically and is available in hard copy and on the project’s web site. Small Arms Survey Phone: + 41 22 908 5777 Graduate Institute of International Studies Fax: + 41 22 732 2738 47 Avenue Blanc Email: [email protected] 1202 Geneva Web site: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org Switzerland ii Occasional Papers No. 1 Re-Armament in Sierra Leone: One Year After the Lomé Peace Agreement, by Eric Berman, December 2000 No. 2 Removing Small Arms from Society: A Review of Weapons Collection and Destruction Programmes, by Sami Faltas, Glenn McDonald, and Camilla Waszink, July 2001 No. 3 Legal Controls on Small Arms and Light Weapons in Southeast Asia, by Katherine Kramer (with Nonviolence International Southeast Asia), July 2001 No. 4 Shining a Light on Small Arms Exports: The Record of State Transparency, by Maria Haug, Martin Langvandslien, Lora Lumpe, and Nic Marsh (with NISAT), January 2002 No. 5 Stray Bullets: The Impact of Small Arms Misuse in Central America, by William Godnick, with Robert Muggah and Camilla Waszink, November 2002 No. 6 Politics from the Barrel of a Gun: Small Arms Proliferation and Conflict in the Republic of Georgia, by Spyros Demetriou, November 2002 No. 7 Making Global Public Policy: The Case of Small Arms and Light Weapons, by Edward Laurance and Rachel Stohl, December 2002 No. 8 Small Arms in the Pacific, by Philip Alpers and Conor Twyford, March 2003 Occasional Paper No. 8 Small Arms Survey Small Arms in the Pacific Contents Acronyms and abbreviations vi About the authors vii Acknowledgements vii Individuals and organizations consulted viii Map 1 Pacific states xii Map 2 Conflict states: Bougainville and surrounds xiv Map 3 Conflict states: Solomon Islands and surrounds xv Summary xvi I. Introduction 1 Nations surveyed 1 Limitations of the research 1 II. Stockpiles and trafficking in the Pacific 3 Legal trade: Demand and supply 4 Who buys? 6 Who supplies? 6 American small arms most common 8 iii Trade within the region 9 Lawful stockpiles 9 Heavily-armed Pacific people 12 State security force stockpiles 12 The illicit small arms trade 16 Australia 16 New Zealand 18 Papua New Guinea 20 Conflicts in the region: Drivers of demand 24 Post-conflict zones as centres and sources of illicit trade 26 Conclusion 28 III. The impact of armed conflict on Pacific island communities 29 Armed conflict: Direct and indirect impacts 30 Measuring the impacts: The challenges of quantitative research in the Pacific 31 Crime and justice-related data 31 Health-related data 32 Armed crime 32 Fiji 33 Background 34 Forced displacement and increased migration 35 Job losses and declining incomes 35 Violation of IHL and human rights 36 Conflict-related trauma 36 Access to basic entitlements: Education and health 36 Impact on economic productivity and prosperity 36 Impact on tourism 37 Small Arms Survey Occasional Paper No. 8 Philip Alpers and Conor Twyford The Solomon Islands 38 Background 39 Forced displacement 40 Violation of IHL and human rights 40 Family breakdown, violence, and criminality 41 Access to basic services: Health and education 41 Targeting of development staff 42 Impacts on development assistance 42 Impacts on economic productivity and investment 43 Bougainville 44 Background 45 Major causes of death 46 Forced displacement 46 Violation of IHL and human rights 47 Trauma, violence, and the power of the gun 47 Access to services: Health and education 48 Targeting of development staff 49 Opportunity costs of peace programmes and weapons disposal 50 Impacts on economic productivity 50 Papua New Guinea 51 Armed crime 51 iv Undercounting gun violence 51 The impacts of tribal fighting in the Highlands 52 2002 election violence: Gunpoint democracy 53 Australia 54 New Zealand 55 Conclusion 55 IV. Pacific small arms legislation: Domestic and regional issues 57 Pacific firearms law: An overview 57 What is a small arm? 59 Civilian possession and use 59 Additional prohibitions without legislation 62 Ammunition 62 Preconditions for civilian licensing 62 Deterring small arms trafficking within and between states 65 Registration 65 Marking 65 Controls on manufacture and domestic trade 66 Import and export controls 67 Gun control by import tariff 69 Visiting vessels 69 Penalty regimes 70 Collection and destruction 72 Conclusion 73 Appendix 1: Firearm laws in the Pacific 74 Appendix 2: Pacific definitions of ‘arm’ and ‘firearm’ 76 Occasional Paper No. 8 Small Arms Survey Small Arms in the Pacific V. Disarmament Pacific style: Experiences in Bougainville and the Solomon Islands 81 Bougainville: Getting the house in order 81 Practical disarmament in Bougainville 83 Challenges to disarmament 85 Stakeholder perspectives on the weapon disposal process 87 The Solomon Islands: An uneasy peace 90 Early weapon surrenders 92 Five hundred high-powered rifles still missing 94 Deterrents to disarmament 95 Campaign 2002: A new start? 97 Peace for the Solomons? 99 Conclusion: Disarmament, Pacific style 100 Appendix 1: Extract from the 2001 Bougainville Peace Agreement 101 Appendix 2: Extract from the Townsville Peace Agreement 105 VI. Regional co-operation, the Nadi Framework, and the UN 2001 Small Arms Conference 108 Towards a common regional approach 108 The Nadi Framework: Developing model legislation 110 The UN 2001 Small Arms Conference Programme of Action: Implications for the Pacific 112 v Potential for successful implementation 115 Conclusion 117 Endnotes 120 Bibliography 130 Small Arms Survey Occasional Paper No. 8 Philip Alpers and Conor Twyford Acronyms and abbreviations ABC Australian Broadcasting Corporation ADB Asian Development Bank ANU Australian National University AUD Australian dollar AusAID Australian Agency for International Development BETA Bougainville Ex-combatants’ Trust Account BPMG Bougainville Peace Monitoring Group BRA Bougainville Revolutionary Army BRF Bougainville Resistance Forces CPRF Community Peace and Restoration Fund (Solomon Islands) CRIN Customs Regional Intelligence Network DDA United Nations Department for Disarmament Affairs DDR disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States EDA excess defence article EPG Eminent Persons Group EU European Union FF French franc FJD Fiji dollar vi FMS foreign military sales FRSC Forum Regional Security Committee (of the Pacific Islands Forum) FSM Federated States of Micronesia GDP gross domestic product GPG Guadalcanal provincial government GPMG general purpose machine gun GRA Guadalcanal Revolutionary Army ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross IFM Isatabu Freedom Movement IHL international humanitarian law IPMT International Peace Monitoring Team IPPNW International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War MEF Malaita Eagle Force MP member of parliament MPG Malaita provincial government NISAT Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers NSW New South Wales NZ New Zealand NZAID New Zealand Agency for International Development NZD New Zealand dollar OCO Oceania Customs Organization OPM Organisasi Papua Merdeka PFF Police Field Force PGK Kina (Papua New Guinea currency) PILOM Pacific Islands Law Officers’ Meeting PMC Peace Monitoring Council PMG Peace Monitoring Group PNGDF Papua New Guinea Defence Force Occasional Paper No. 8 Small Arms Survey Small Arms in the Pacific PPCC Peace Process Consultative Committee RNZAF Royal New Zealand Air Force RPNGC Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary RSIP Royal Solomon Islands Police SALW small arms and light weapons SID Solomon Islands dollar SLR self-loading rifle (often a NATO military assault rifle) SPCPC South Pacific Chiefs of Police Conference TMG Truce Monitoring Group TPA Townsville Peace Agreement UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNGA United Nations General Assembly UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNIFIL United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon UNOMB United Nations Observer Mission on Bougainville UNRISD United Nations Research Institute for Social Development USD US dollar UXO unexploded ordnance VT Vatu (Vanuatu currency) WDC Weapons Disposal Committee WHO World Health Organization WTO World Trade Organization vii About the authors Philip Alpers is a senior fellow at the Harvard Injury