UN Register of Conventional Arms

The number of countries submitting reports to the UN conventional arms registry declined for the third year in a row, according to data based on reports received by late September on transfers made in 2009.

In part because of that trend, it is difficult to determine whether trade in conventional weapons also declined in 2009. After increasing to record levels in 2007 and dropping precipitously in 2008, the number of exports reported in one category, small arms and light weapons, fell modestly in 2009. Major weapons exports rose as a total number, but the figures are complicated by a large transfer of missiles designated for destruction. If those missiles are removed from the total, data compiled from the register would show a net decline for the year.

A group of governmental experts examining a UN list of imports and exports of major conventional weapons has failed to agree to add an official category for small arms and light weapons to that annual record, sources familiar with the discussions said. The setback likely means that the UN Register of Conventional Arms will not see significant improvements in participation until after the next triennial meeting of experts in 2012. (Continue)

After dipping in 2006, global conventional arms exports last year rose because of increased weapons transfers by Russia, the United States, and other top suppliers, as well as the shipment of thousands of rockets by Slovakia and Turkey. All told, arms deliveries in 2007 were the largest for any year since governments started providing an annual accounting of their weapons transactions to the United Nations in 1993. (Continue)