Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
(Chinese copies)
Source: Chinese Dawang October 24, 2023 15:27
Preamble
States Parties to the present Protocol,
Aware of the urgent need to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition, which jeopardize the security of every State, region and the world as a whole and threaten the well-being of peoples and their right to social and economic development and to live in peace,
Convinced therefore of the need for States to take all appropriate measures to that end, including international cooperation and other measures at the regional and global levels,
Recalling its resolution 53/111 of 9 December 1998, in which the Assembly decided to establish an open-ended intergovernmental ad hoc committee to elaborate a comprehensive international convention against transnational organized crime and to discuss the elaboration of international instruments, such as against the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition,
Bearing in mind the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations,
Convinced that supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime with an international instrument against the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition would contribute to preventing and combating such crime,
It is hereby agreed as follows:
I. General Provisions
Article 1
Relationship with the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
The present Protocol supplements the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. This Protocol shall be interpreted in conjunction with the Convention.
2. Unless otherwise provided in this Protocol, the provisions of the Convention shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to this Protocol.
3. Offences established in accordance with article 5 of the present Protocol shall be considered offences established in accordance with the Convention.
Article II
Statement of Purpose
The purpose of the present Protocol is to promote, facilitate and strengthen cooperation among States Parties in order to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition.
Article 3
Use of Terminology
For the purposes of this Protocol:
(a) "Firearms" means any portable tubular weapon that is fired, designed to fire or slightly modified to fire a projectile, warhead or projectile, using explosive effect, but does not include antique firearms and their replicas. Antique firearms and their replicas should be defined in accordance with the national laws of each State. But antique firearms may not, under any circumstances, include firearms manufactured after 1899;
(b) "Parts and components" means any part or replacement part designed specifically for a firearm and essential to the operation of the firearm, including the barrel, socket or receiver, sleeve or runner, bolt or breech and parts designed or modified to silence the firearm;
(c) "Ammunition" means the whole round or component thereof used in a firearm, including cartridge casings, primers, propellants, warheads or projectiles fired from firearms, provided that these components themselves are subject to the authorization of each State Party;
(d) "Unlawful manufacture" shall mean the manufacture or assembly of firearms, their parts and components or ammunition in the following cases:
1. Use of illegally trafficked spare parts;
2. There is no licence or permit issued by the competent authority of the Contracting State in which the manufacture or assembly is made; or
(3) Firearms not marked at the time of manufacture in accordance with the provisions of Article VIII of this Protocol;
Licenses or permits for the manufacture of spare parts shall be issued in accordance with the laws of the country;
(e) "Illicit traffic" shall mean the import, export, acquisition, sale, delivery, movement or transfer of firearms, their parts and components and ammunition from or through the territory of a State Party without the authorization of any State Party concerned in accordance with the provisions of this Protocol or marked in accordance with article 8 of this Protocol;
6. "Tracing" means the systematic tracing of firearms and, where possible, of their parts and components and ammunition throughout the process from manufacturer to purchaser, in order to assist the competent authorities of States Parties in detecting, investigating and analysing illicit manufacturing of and illicit trafficking.
Article IV
Scope of application
Unless otherwise provided in this Protocol, this Protocol shall apply to the prevention of the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition and to the investigation and prosecution of offences of a transnational character established in accordance with article 5 of this Protocol involving organized criminal groups.
2. The application of the Protocol would affect the right of States Parties to take action in the interest of national security in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and this Protocol shall not apply to transactions between States or to transfers between States.
Article V
Criminal convictions
Each State Party shall adopt such legislative and other measures as may be necessary to establish as criminal offences:
(1) Illegal manufacture of firearms, their parts and components and ammunition;
(b) Illicit trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition;
(c) forging or unlawfully erasing, erasing or altering the marking of firearms required by article VIII of this Protocol.
Each State Party shall also adopt such legislative and other measures as may be necessary to establish as criminal offences:
(a) Attempt to commit an offence established in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article or participation as an accomplice in such an offence, subject to the basic concepts of its legal system; and
(2) Organizing, directing, assisting or abetting the commission of offences established in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article, or facilitating or serving as counsellors for that purpose.
Article VI
Confiscation, seizure and disposal
Without prejudice to article 12 of the Convention, States Parties shall, to the maximum extent possible within their domestic legal systems, take such measures as may be necessary to enable the confiscation of firearms, their parts and components and ammunition that are illicitly manufactured or trafficked.
States Parties shall, within their legal systems, take such measures as may be necessary to prevent firearms, their parts and components and ammunition from falling into the hands of unauthorized persons, including through the seizure and destruction of illegally manufactured and trafficked firearms. Except for duly authorized forms of disposal, firearms should be marked and their disposal registered as such.
2. Prevention
Article VII
Save records
Each State Party shall effectively maintain the necessary information relating to firearms and, where appropriate and practicable, for a period of at least 10 years for the purpose of identifying and tracing firearms illicitly manufactured or trafficked and, where appropriate and practicable, identifying and tracing their parts and components and ammunition and preventing and detecting such activities. Such information should include:
(a) appropriate markings as provided for in Article 8 of this Protocol;
(b) Where international transactions involving firearms, their parts and components and ammunition, the date of issue and expiry of the licence or authorization, the State of export, the State of import, the State of transit (as appropriate), the ultimate consignee and the description and quantity of the goods.
Article VIII
Identification of firearms
In order to identify and trace each firearm, States Parties shall:
(a) at the time of manufacture of each firearm, either requiring a unique marking indicating the name of the manufacturer, the country or place of manufacture and the serial number, or any other unique, user-friendly marking consisting of a simple geometric symbol and a numerical code and/or a mixture of alphanumeric codes, so that the country of manufacture can be identified immediately by all States;
(b) Require that each imported firearm be marked with appropriate concise markings in order to identify the country of import and, where possible, the year of import, and to enable the competent authorities of that country to trace the firearm or, if the firearm is not uniquely marked, to bear such markings. The requirements of this subparagraph need not apply to firearms temporarily imported for verifiable legal purposes;
(c) Ensure that firearms are appropriately uniquely marked when transferred from government stockpiles to permanent civilian use so that all States Parties can identify the country of transfer.
States Parties shall encourage the firearms manufacturing industry to develop measures to prevent the removal or alteration of markings.
Article IX
Deactivation of firearms
States Parties that do not recognize deactivated firearms as firearms under their domestic law shall take the necessary measures, including, where appropriate, the establishment of specific offences to prevent the unlawful reactivation of deactivated firearms in accordance with the following general principles relating to deactivation:
(a) In the case of a deactivated firearm, all its essential components shall never be operational and shall not be removed, replaced or altered in a manner that would enable the firearm to be reactivated by any means;
(b) Arrangements should be made for deactivation measures to be verified, where appropriate, by a competent authority to ensure that changes to firearms will render them permanently inoperable;
(c) The verification by the competent authority shall include a certificate or record certifying that the firearm has been deactivated or a distinctive mark on the firearm indicating that the firearm has been deactivated.
Article X
General requirements for import, export and transit licensing or authorization systems
Each State Party shall establish or maintain a valid system of import and export licences or authorizations and international transit measures for the transfer of firearms, their parts and components and ammunition.
Each State Party shall verify, before issuing an export licence or authorization for the shipment of firearms, their parts and components and ammunition:
(a) the importing country has issued an import licence or permit;
(b) Without prejudice to bilateral or multilateral agreements or arrangements for landlocked States, the transit State has notified, at least in writing, prior to the shipment, that it has no objection to the transit in question.
3. The information contained in import and export licences or authorizations and accompanying documents shall include, at a minimum, the place and date of issue, the expiry date, the State of export, the State of import, the ultimate consignee, the description and quantity of firearms, their parts and components and ammunition, and, in the case of transit, the transit State involved. The information contained in the import licence shall be provided to the transit State in advance.
4. The importing State Party shall, upon request, notify the exporting State Party of receipt of the shipment of firearms, their parts and components and ammunition.
5. Each State Party shall, within its means, take such measures as may be necessary to ensure the reliability of the licensing or authorization procedure and to ensure that the authenticity of the licence or permit document can be verified or verified.
States Parties may introduce simplified procedures for the temporary import, export and transit of firearms, their parts and components and ammunition for verifiable legitimate purposes, such as hunting, shooting competitions, evaluation, exhibition or repair.
Article 11
Safety and precautions
In order to detect, prevent and eliminate the theft, loss, diversion and illicit manufacture and trafficking of firearms, their parts and components and ammunition, each State Party shall take the following appropriate measures:
(a) Requiring the security of firearms, their parts and components and ammunition during their manufacture, import, export and passage through the national territory;
(b) enhancing the effectiveness of import, export and transit controls and, where appropriate, border controls and cross-border police and customs cooperation.
Article 12
Information
Without prejudice to articles 27 and 28 of the Convention, States Parties shall, in accordance with their respective domestic laws and administrative systems, exchange information relevant to specific cases with respect to authorized manufacturers, distributors, importers, exporters and, where possible, their carriers, firearms, their parts and components and ammunition.
Without prejudice to articles 27 and 28 of the Convention, States Parties shall, in accordance with their respective domestic laws and administrative systems, exchange relevant information among themselves on:
(a) Organized criminal groups known to be involved or suspected of involvement in the illicit manufacture of or trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition;
(b) Concealment and detection methods used in the illicit manufacture of or trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition;
(c) The methods and means, points of dispatch and destination and routes commonly used by organized criminal groups engaged in illicit trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition; and
(d) Legislative experience, practices and measures relevant to preventing, combating and eradicating the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition.
States Parties shall, as appropriate, provide or exchange with one another relevant scientific and technical information useful to law enforcement authorities in order to enhance each other's capacity to prevent, detect and investigate the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition and to prosecute persons involved in such illicit activities.
States Parties shall cooperate in tracing firearms, their parts and components and ammunition that may be illicitly manufactured or trafficked. Such cooperation should include, to the extent possible, prompt responses to requests for assistance in tracing such firearms, their parts and components and ammunition.
5. Each Contracting State shall, consistent with the basic concepts of its legal system or any international agreement, undertake to maintain the confidentiality of any information it receives from another Contracting State under this Article, including patent information relating to commercial transactions, and to comply with any restrictions on the use of such information, provided that such information is requested by the Contracting State providing such information. If confidentiality is not possible, the State Party providing such information shall be notified prior to its publication.
Article 13
Cooperation
States Parties shall cooperate at the bilateral, regional and international levels to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition.
2. Without prejudice to article 18, paragraph 13, of the Convention, each State Party shall designate a national organ or a single focal point to serve as the unit of communication between it and other States Parties on matters covered by this Protocol.
States Parties shall seek the support and cooperation of manufacturers, distributors, importers, exporters, brokers and commercial carriers of firearms, their parts and components and ammunition in order to prevent and detect the illicit activities referred to in paragraph 1 of this article.
Article 14
Training and technical assistance
States Parties shall cooperate with each other and, as appropriate, with relevant international organizations, to enable States Parties, upon request, to receive the necessary training and technical assistance, including technical, financial and material assistance in those matters identified in articles 29 and 30 of the Convention, in order to enhance their capacity to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition.
Article 15
Brokers and brokerage
States Parties that have not yet considered establishing regulatory regimes governing the activities of brokering in order to prevent and combat the illicit manufacturing of and illicit trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition shall consider establishing such systems. Such a regime may include one or more measures, such as:
(a) Requiring the registration of brokers operating in the country;
(2) Requiring brokerage licenses or permits; or
(c) Require that the names and locations of brokers involved in the transaction be published on import and export licences or permits or attachments.
States Parties that have established a brokering licensing system referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article are encouraged to include information on brokers and brokering in the exchange of information in accordance with Article 12 of this Protocol and to maintain records relating to brokers and brokering in accordance with Article 7 of this Protocol.
III. Final Provisions
Article 16
Settlement of disputes
1. States Parties shall endeavour to settle through negotiations disputes relating to the interpretation or application of this Protocol.
2. Any dispute between two or more States Parties concerning the interpretation or application of this Protocol which cannot be settled by negotiation within a reasonable time shall, at the request of one of them, be submitted to arbitration. If these States Parties are unable to agree on an arbitration arrangement after six months from the date of the request for arbitration, either of them may request that the dispute be referred to the International Court of Justice in accordance with the Statute of the Court.
Each State Party may, at the time of signature, ratification, acceptance, approval or accession to this Protocol, declare that it does not wish to be bound by paragraph 2 of this Article. No other State party shall be bound by paragraph 2 of this article as far as any State party that has made such a reservation.
Any State Party which has made a reservation under paragraph 3 of the present article may withdraw it at any time by notification to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Article XVII
Signature, ratification, acceptance, approval and accession
The present Protocol shall be open for signature by States at United Nations Headquarters in New York from the thirtieth day after its adoption by the General Assembly until 12 December 2002.
2. This Protocol shall also be open for signature by regional economic integration organizations, provided that at least one member of that organization has signed it in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article.
3. This Protocol is subject to ratification, acceptance or approval. Instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. A regional economic integration organization may do the same if at least one member State has deposited its instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval. The organization shall, in that instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval, declare the scope of its competence with respect to matters governed by this Protocol. The organization shall also inform the depositary of any relevant changes in the scope of its competence.
4. Any State or any regional economic integration organization with at least one member State which has acceded to this Protocol may accede to it. The instrument of accession shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. When acceding to this Protocol, regional economic integration organizations shall declare the scope of their competence with respect to matters governed by this Protocol. The organization shall also inform the depositary of any relevant changes in the scope of its competence.
Article 18
Validity
1. The present Protocol shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after the date of deposit with the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the fortieth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, but not before the entry into force of the Convention. For the purposes of this paragraph, no instrument deposited by a regional economic integration organization may be counted in addition to those deposited by the member States of that organization.
For States or regional economic integration organizations that ratify, accept, approve or accede to this Protocol after the deposit of their fortieth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, this Protocol shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the date on which that State or organization deposited the relevant instrument or from the date on which this Protocol enters into force in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article, whichever is later.
Article 19
Correction
1. A State Party to the present Protocol may propose amendments and transmit them to the Secretary-General of the United Nations five years after the entry into force of the present Protocol. The Secretary-General shall immediately transmit the proposed amendment to the States Parties and the Conference of the Parties to the Convention for consideration and decision. States Parties to this Protocol participating in the Conference of the Parties shall endeavour to reach consensus on each amendment. If all efforts to reach consensus have not been reached, the amendment shall, as a last resort, require a two-thirds majority vote of the States Parties to this Protocol present and voting.
2. When a regional economic integration organization exercises its right to vote in matters falling within its competence in accordance with this Article, it shall have a vote equal to the number of its Member States that are Parties to this Protocol. If the member States of those organizations exercised the right to vote, those organizations could not exercise the right to vote, and vice versa.
3. Amendments adopted in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article shall be subject to ratification, acceptance or approval by States Parties.
4. An amendment adopted in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article shall enter into force for a State Party 90 days after the date of deposit with the Secretary-General of the United Nations of an instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval of the amendment.
5. Once in force, an amendment shall be binding on those States Parties that have expressed their consent to be bound by it. The other States Parties remain bound by the original provisions of this Protocol and any amendments previously ratified, accepted or approved by them.
Article XX
Withdrawal
1. A State Party may denounce the present Protocol by written notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Such denunciation shall take effect one year after the date of receipt of such notification by the Secretary-General.
A regional economic integration organization shall cease to be a Party to this Protocol when all its member States have denounced it.
Article 21
Depositary and languages
1. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall be the designated depositary of the present Protocol.
2. The original of this Protocol shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and the Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish versions of the Protocol shall be authentic.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, THE FOLLOWING SIGNED PLENIPOTENTIARIES DULY AUTHORIZED BY THEIR RESPECTIVE Governments have signed the present protocol.