12. Memorandum submitted by Saferworld,
BASIC, and ISIS
INTRODUCTION
Saferworld, the British American Security Information
Council (BASIC) and the International Security and Information
Service (ISIS) have a joint project entitled "Iraq conflict",
which aims to be an authoritative source of information on the
conflict and to provide critical analysis of UK, EU and US policy.
Set up in January 2003, the rationale behind the project was to
ensure that wider concerns about the consequences of military
action were raised and that any action should be in strict adherence
to international law. Post conflict, the project has turned its
attention towards longer-term reconstruction issues including
legal aspects and regional dimensions. The project (www.iraqconflict.org)
has commissioned discussion papers and web notes from a wide range
of experts[8],
including those with military, humanitarian and local insight.
In addition we have produced a weekly (now bi-weekly) e-mail bulletin
for those who make and shape policy, including government officials,
journalists and parliamentarians that provides an overview of
recent developments and highlights key issues that may not have
received much media attention elsewhere.
This submission draws upon the experiences of
Saferworld in various conflict regions in Africa and Eastern Europe
and all three organisation's specialist knowledge of arms, security
and peace-building issues.
SUMMARY—THE
URGENT NEED
FOR INCREASED
SECURITY
As aid agencies have made clear, there remains
an urgent need to improve security in Iraq before effective reconstruction
efforts can be carried out. This submission focuses on three issues:
small arms; demobilisation; and policing, all of which must be
more effectively addressed if we are to achieve stability in Iraq
and increase the safety of local people.
1. Controlling the spread of small arms
Iraq is thought to be one of the most heavily
armed countries in the world, with levels of gun ownership similar
to those in Somalia, the Yemen and the United States. Small arms
and light weapons are widely available in Iraq where it is believed
there are enough for every person (24 million) to possess at least
one. Arms proliferation particularly in the aftermath of war poses
various dangers to society. Numerous studies have proved that
the increased availability of small arms is associated with an
increased incidence of violence. According to newspaper reports
242 people have died in Baghdad alone since the end of the conflict,
the majority from gunshot wounds. It is perhaps salient to recall
that when the civil war in El Salvador ended the incidence of
gun violence and crime increased, and more civilians were killed
in its immediate aftermath than during the years of fighting.
Addressing the spread of small arms will require
a comprehensive approach that includes:
Since the end of the war, in Baghdad alone,
the 3rd Infantry Division has removed 2.6 million small-arms rounds,
nearly 50,000 heavy machine-gun rounds, 13,700 grenades, 50,000
Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) rounds, 7,700 artillery rounds,
and nearly 19,000 mines. In addition, they have found more than
20,000 rifles, 4,200 pistols, 995 RPG launchers, 286 mortar tubes,
26 tanks, and one missile launcher. According to Capt. Elisabeth
Walker an officer for the 3rd Infantry `I was in Bosnia so I'm
not surprised by the volume, but I think Iraq is worse. It is
an astronomical amount of stuff and its stored in houses and neighbourhoods'.[9]
The ready availability of weapons in Iraq is
not a recent phenomenon. Weapons left over from the end of the
Ottoman Empire in 1918 and World War I I are sold in bazaars throughout
Iraq. Modern weapons from the US, Turkey and Iran are available
in illicit arms markets. In addition civilians possess weapons
that were either looted from government arsenals, both in 1991,
and now, or were provided to them by opposing forces (Iran to
the main Shia group, Ba'ath party to supportive Sunni and Shia
leaders) There were also reports that during the conflict, British
soldiers were given orders to store AK47 rifles from defeated
Iraqi soldiers, so that they could be handed to pro Western rebels
with the aim of provoking an uprising in Basra[10].
There is an urgent need to reduce the number
of weapons in circulation. Coalition forces', orders to close
arms bazaars and the introduction of a "gun amnesty"
requiring that anyone found in public with a weapon will have
it confiscated, are welcome. However unless these moves are integrated
into a more comprehensive approach and greater levels of security
are provided, many people will refuse to hand over weapons and
arms sales will simply move underground. We are concerned by reports
that coalition forces may have distributed weapons during the
war. This requires clarification, as does the issue of whether
or not the weapons were registered.
There are many armed groups in Iraq and as has
been seen in Afghanistan this will provide a serious threat to
future stability. This is an extremely challenging issue. Already
the leaders of the military wing of the main Shia party, SCIRI,
have threatened to end all dialogue because of the coalition's
proposed disarmament of their 20,000 strong Badr Brigade.
It is clear that disarmament will only be possible
if different groups are given a stake in the political process
and the capacity of the state to provide for their security is
created. There is a need to develop a clear strategy here—one
that will allow for the progressive disarming of militia in tandem
with its implementation. The provision of development incentives
for weapons collection may offer one such solution.
— Securing and destroying stockpiles
Soon after entering Iraq on March 21 coalition
forces found stockpiles of small arms and light weapons and ammunition
in former military installations, factories, government buildings,
schools and hospitals. It is estimated that there are over 2,000
sites across the country. Every town with a population of more
than 30,000 had ammunition stored in it[11].
UNDP and coalition forces are struggling to destroy such huge
stocks. Increased resources must be made available for this urgent
task. There have been reports that some donors have refused to
allow development assistance to be spent on weapons destruction
but the threat that these stocks pose to stability is making sustainable
development impossible.
The dangers of arms caches in residential areas
has been frequently illustrated as in April when someone fired
four flares into a depot where US forces had consolidated collected
weapons. The flares ignited the stockpile, including at least
one FROG-7 missile that launched and detonated in a neighbourhood
nearby. At least six civilians were killed.
The looting of stockpiles is also of concern.
According to a recent report in the Philadelphia Inquirer arms
looted from state stocks are being sold on the streets.
Priority must be to secure weapons stockpiles,
to avoid stockpiling in residential areas, to conduct an inventory
of weapons and to destroy the surplus to ensure that there is
no leakage onto the illicit market. Increased resources are required
in order to destroy weapons. Such a task clearly has developmental
objectives at its core.
— Increasing public awareness
"Gun Culture" is perhaps understandably
pervasive in Iraq. Indeed there is a popular Iraqi saying; "Give
everything to your friend except your car, your wife and your
gun". Since the end of the war increasing numbers of middle
class Iraqis have also chosen to arm themselves in order to protect
their families and business from crime and looting[12].
This emphasises the urgent need to restore law
and order that commands the respect of the vast majority of Iraqis.
This would be based upon Iraqi law rather than western laws imposed
by what would be perceived as an occupying force (see policing
below).
In order to increase security and allow development
to take root, there is a need for a popular information campaign
to raise awareness of the dangers of small arms and the importance
of disarming. Such programmes could be based on those used in
schools to highlight the dangers of landmines.
2. Reintegrating demobilised troops
Chief Administrator, Paul Bremer has abolished
the Iraqi Army, Security Service, Defence and Information Ministries.
The move effectively makes 400,000 Iraqis unemployed. Soldiers
will be given just one month's pay upon leaving and anyone above
the rank of Colonel will not be entitled to any severance package
or be able to work in the new defence force or government. Bremer
has also announced the exclusion of numerous administrators and
technocrats from any role in new Iraqi government structures because
they were Ba'ath party members.
Experience from other post-conflict countries
shows the dangers of simply demobilising soldiers without providing
effective economic and social support to reintegrate them into
communities and provide them with viable futures. The presence
of such a large number of unemployed troops is potentially hugely
destabilising. Furthermore it is unclear what measures are in
place to ensure that they hand in their weapons.
The UN's most senior humanitarian official in
Iraq, Ramiro Lopes da Silva has warned "What you are potentially
going to create is more banditry and a low-intensity conflict
in the rural areas".
The rapid establishment of a comprehensive demobilization,
disarmament and reintegration programme is vital. A priority is
the provision of education, training and employment opportunities
to the former troops.
3. Providing effective community-based policing
There is a long history of distrust between
repressive state security forces and local communities in Iraq.
This not only makes it difficult to secure the co-operation of
the public to stem the flow of small arms it can also actually
increase the demand for weapons. There is a danger that this mistrust
is continuing because of the failure of coalition troops to provide
security.
Whilst 4,000 US military police are now being
deployed to Baghdad and the State Department is consulting other
governments about the creation of an international police force,
we are concerned by the reports[13]
that prior to the war the Pentagon ignored warnings that a substantial
military police force would be necessary and should be deployed
immediately after the invasion. Such a move could have prevented
the lawlessness and looting from which Iraq continues to suffer.
There is an urgent need to provide effective
policing to increase security and community safety. Efforts should
focus on ensuring that the coalition peacekeepers and military
police and the reconstituted Iraqi police forces work with local
communities to build trust, with a timeline to hand over policing
to an established and respected local police force as soon as
practical.
If Iraq is to replicate the successful community
policing examples found in Africa and the Balkans it will require
various initiatives including: establishing a representative police
service, creating local community-police forums to discuss security
needs, developing a national community policing policy, developing
training curricula and a public awareness campaign to disseminate
this.
For further information please contact:
Alice Hutchinson
| Paul Ingram |
| ahutchinson@saferworld.org.uk
| pingram@basicint.org |
| Saferworld | BASIC
|
| 46 Grosvenor Gardens |
Lafone House |
| London SW1W 0EB | 11-13 Leathermarket Street
|
| Tel: 0207 881 9290
| London SE1 3HN |
| Fax: 0207 881 9291 |
Tel: 0207 407 2977 |
| www.saferworld.org.uk |
Fax: 0207 407 2988 |
| | www.basicint.org
|
2 June 2003
|
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8
These included Air Marshall Sir Timothy Garden, former US Ambassador
Robert Barry, Glenys Kinnock MEP, London Iraqi, Munder Adhami.
This submission draws on information in a paper by Rachel Stohl,
Senior Analyst at the Center for Defense Information. Back
9
"Iraqs other disarmament challenge: small arms" Christian
Science Monitor 2 May 2003. Back
10
"AK47s are seized to arm the `good guys'" Daily Telegraph
31 March 2003. Back
11
"Iraqs other disarmament challenge: Small Arms" Christian
Science Monitor 2 May 2003. Back
12
"Middle classes rush to buy guns as lawlessness spreads"
The Times May 15 2003. Back
13
"Pentagon was warned to plan Iraq policing" The Guardian
28 May 2003 Back
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