The Global Reported Arms Trade

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms, the Office for Disarmament Affairs is publishing this special edition of the Disarmament Study Series. This volume contains a newly written overview of the Register for reference by governments and the interested public, original material to guide national points of contact in preparing and submitting reports for the Register, and the report of the 2016 Group of Governmental Experts on the continuing operation of the Register. The United Nations Register of Conventional Arms is an annual reporting mechanism through which governments can share information on weapons they transferred the previous year. Member States reporting to it provide information on the build-up and volume of the conventional arsenals which it deems essential to maintain a credible defence and perform effective peacekeeping tasks.

The multi-billion dollar business of the international conventional arms trade involves virtually every country in the world. Around the globe, people's lives are being irrevocably changed by the effects of guns, tanks, and missiles. These weapons have the potential to cause a deadly and current threat - one responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths a year. This succinct and accessible new book explores the complexities and realities of the global conventional weapons trade. The first book on the subject in nearly a decade, The International Arms Trade provides an engaging introduction to the trade, the effects, and the consequences of these weapons. The authors trace the history of the arms trade and examine how it has evolved since the end of the Cold War. In particular, they assess the role of the largest arms exporters and importers, the business of selling conventional arms around the world, and shed new light on the illicit arms trade and the shadowy dealers who profit from their deadly commerce. The book also looks closely at the devastating effect the business can have on countries, societies, and individuals and concludes with an evaluation of the various existing control strategies and the potential for future control opportunities. The International Arms Trade will be invaluable for students and scholars of international relations and security studies, and for policymakers and anyone interested in understanding more about the conventional arms trade.

The Global Arms Trade is a timely, comprehensive and in-depth study of this topic, a phenomenon which has continued to flourish despite the end of the Cold War and the preoccupation with global terrorism after 11 September 2001. It provides a clear description and analysis of the demand for, and supply of, modern weapons systems, and assess key issues of concern. This book will be especially useful to scholars, policy analysts, those in the arms industry, defence professionals, students of international relations and security studies, media professionals, government officials, and those generally interested in the arms trade.

A gripping and urgent investigation into the secretive world of the global arms trade - from a former member of the African National Congress Revealing the corruption and the cover-ups at the heart of ex-President Jacob Zuma's South Africa Andrew Feinstein delves behind BAE's controversial transactions in South Africa, Tanzania and eastern Europe and the revolving-door relationships that characterise the US Congressional-Military-Industrial Complex. The Shadow World exposes both the formal government-backed trade in arms as well as the illicit deals and lays bare the shocking links between the two. 'Essential reading for anyone who cares about justice, transparency and accountability in both the public and private spheres, and for anyone who believes that it is more important to invest in saving lives than in the machinery of death' Archbishop Desmond Tutu 'Andrew Feinstein has written an authoritative guide to the business of war. Chilling, heartbreaking and enraging' Arundhati Roy 'The nobility and justice of Feinstein's sentiments are indisputable. The arms trade is a loathsome commerce conducted by people who wear suits and occupy big boardroom tables, but should have trouble sleeping at night' Max Hastings, Sunday Times 'Remarkable and courageous . . . The Shadow World is a heroic book by an author who, in writing it, has put himself in the firing line' Iain Macwhirter 'Feinstein's book is a singularly powerful study, and deserves to be read by anyone who wants to see light shining on such a shadowy world' Independent

The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs is publishing this paper on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms. It aims to provide guidance in support of Member State participation in the Register. The text includes an overview of the Register for reference by Governments and the interested public, as well as original material to guide national points of contact in preparing and submitting reports for the Register. The second part of the paper contains the report of the 2022 Group of Governmental Experts on the continuing operation of the Register.

This report documents the government submissions to the UN on the transfer of arms in seven weapons categories in 1992 and compares this data with information published by SIPRI in its arms trade register. It assesses the results of the UN register and the prospects for improving it in 1994.