Minister calls for creation of arms surrender fund
By Andrew Parker, Political Correspondent - Feb 14 2001 00:00:00
An international arms surrender fund should be established to promote the destruction of guns,
the UK government said on Tuesday.
Robin Cook, the foreign secretary, proposed the establishment of the fund at a seminar on small arms
and light weapons.
A Department for International Development paper identifies how the ready availability of small arms in
Africa is sustaining and fuelling conflict. It says that in 1992 the Angolan government distributed an
estimated 700,000 rifles to fight Unita, the rebel movement.
A US State Department paper says the proliferation of light weapons in Africa is a post-cold war
phenomenon. "In some countries it is easier and cheaper to buy an AK-47 than to attend a movie or
provide a decent meal," it says.
In a speech in London, Mr Cook highlighted how there were 6m AK-47 automatic rifles in Mozambique
after the cold war.
Mr Cook said Britain would call for an international arms surrender fund at a United Nations
conference in July.
"To get the fund off to the best possible start, its launch could be combined with an agreed period,
immediately after the UN conference, during which all governments would undertake to collect
and encourage the surrender of surplus and illegally held weapons for destruction," he said.
However, the Campaign against the Arms Trade accused Mr Cook of hypocrisy over sales of weapons,
and said the government had approved 970 licences for small arms exports in 1999.
© Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2001.
