Ammunition: the fuel of conflict

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Introduction

Hundreds of thousands of people are killed each year through the misuse of small arms and light weapons (SALW) in violation of international humanitarian law and human rights law. Small arms ammunition is the fuel that keeps many of the world’s conflicts raging. While small arms do not themselves cause conflict, they make it much deadlier, and a shortage of bullets can reduce or even stop fighting altogether. In the Central African Republic, fighters have been known to throw away weapons because they cannot buy the right bullets for them. Due to recent fighting in Somalia, the price of a single bullet has reached a record $1.50.

Ammunition production is a global business. At least 76 states are known to industrially manufacture small arms ammunition, and the number is growing as more states acquire production equipment. Kenya and Turkey have both become producers in the last ten years. The annual global output of small arms military ammunition is now estimated at between 10 and 14 billion rounds – 33 million rounds a day.

In addition, vast stockpiles of ammunition are known to exist, particularly in Eastern Europe. Hundreds of millions of rounds have been supplied from these stockpiles to conflict zones, facilitated by a global network of arms traffickers and brokers. UN figures show that Ukraine and Belarus alone may have stocks of up to three million tonnes of surplus ammunition. While states have a right to acquire ammunition for legitimate self-defence and law enforcement according to international standards, irresponsible transfers of ammunition can have a massive impact on people and their communities.

Despite the vital role ammunition plays in fuelling conflict, international controls over its trade are inadequate, often substantially weaker than those applied to other categories of weapons. Figures show that export data exists for only 17 per cent of the 10 to 14 billion bullets manufactured every year, leaving up to 10 billion rounds for which no reliable data exists.

On 26 June, the UN Review Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons begins in New York. At this conference, governments must adopt a new global set of rules and standards for transfers of small arms and ammunition. In October 2006, at the UN General Assembly, governments should agree to negotiate a new international Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to regulate transfers of all conventional arms, including ammunition.

Date of original publication: June 2006