• DOI:10.1080/10736709408436548
• Corpus ID: 38160105

The development of the United Nations register of conventional arms: Prospects and proposals

@article{Chalmers1994TheDO,
  title={The development of the United Nations register of conventional arms: Prospects and proposals},
  author={Malcolm Chalmers and Owen J. Greene},
  journal={The Nonproliferation Review},
  year={1994},
  volume={1},
  pages={1-17}
}

• M. Chalmers, O. Greene
• Published 1 September 1994
• Political Science
• The Nonproliferation Review

Transfers, production, and holdings of conventional arms are security issues of concern to many states. In the aftermath of the Gulf War in 1991, there was wide agreement that "something must be done" to try to prevent the sort of destabilizing build-up in conventional arms that had taken place in Iraq in the 1980s. Specifically, it was felt that measures were needed in order to encourage responsibility and restraint in the transfers of conventional arms to regions of tension such as the Middle East. At the same time, the end of the Cold War, and the resulting unprecedented cooperation between the world’s major arms suppliers (the United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and France) heightened expectations that progress could be made towards international agreement on measures to restrain transfers. Inspired by the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty, numerous proposals for regional conventional arms control were made in 1991. However, these did not achieve widespread support. The political will to negotiate structural arms control agreements in the regions of greatest concern (the Middle East and East Asia) was weak. The incentive to help domestic arms producers offset the decline in domestic orders through increased overseas sales was substantial. And, in any case, there were significant problems in defining what balanced limits or constraints should be in a multipolar region. As a consequence of all these factors, the two main initiatives for global action on conventional arms to emerge after the Gulf War did not involve structural arms control. They were (a) the "P5" process and (b) the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms. Since the P5 process stalled on Chinese opposition to the U.S. F15 sale to Taiwan in late 1992, the United Nations Register is at present the only significant global agreement relating to conventional arms. This article will therefore examine the history of the U.N. Register and then analyze its prospects. Specifically, it reviews proposals for strengthening the Register and proposes ways of expanding it. The Register attempts to build mutual confidence between states through "transparency" or "the systematic provision of information on specific aspects of activities in the military field under informal or formal international agreements." Thus, it facilitates timely consultations between states on potentially destabilizing arms build-ups. As a transparency regime, it does not regulate or limit military activities directly. It is hoped, however, that increased transparency will encourage restraint by increasing the pressures, both domestic and international, against potentially destabilizing production or transfers of arms.