[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1555 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1555
To express the policy of the United States with respect to the
adherence by the United States to global standards in the transfer of
small arms and light weapons, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 16, 2001
Mrs. Feinstein (for herself, Mr. Leahy, and Mr. Akaka) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To express the policy of the United States with respect to the
adherence by the United States to global standards in the transfer of
small arms and light weapons, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Security and Fair Enforcement in
Arms Trafficking Act of 2001''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The global proliferation of small arms and light
weapons represents a real and pressing threat to peace,
development, democracy, human rights, and United States
national security interests around the globe.
(2) The legitimate and responsible transfer of small arms
and light weapons, and the application of international
standards and legally binding instruments to stem the illicit
trade in these weapons, are important elements of United States
foreign policy that enhance United States and international
security, strengthen United States alliances and partnerships,
promotes global peace and freedom, and are critical to efforts
to combat terrorism, narco-trafficking, international organized
crime, regional and local conflict, and the recruitment and use
of child soldiers in these conflicts.
(3) It is in the United States national interest to promote
responsibility and restraint in the transfer of small arms and
light weapons, to combat irresponsible practices in such
transfers, to ensure that nations engaged in substandard
practices are held accountable, and to encourage other members
of the international community to meet, as minimum standards,
United States law and practice.
(4) In light of the cruel terror attacks on Washington,
D.C., and New York City on September 11, 2001, it is in the
United States national interest to take all possible measures
to prevent dangerous weapons from falling into the wrong hands.
Special emphasis should be placed on combating the
proliferation of small arms and light weapons within the
broader counter-terrorism strategy given the clear links
between the global networks of terrorism, networks of the
illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, and states that
harbor and support terrorists.
(5) Small arms and light weapons are the weapons of choice
of terrorists and their networks. These groups take advantage
of existing licit and illicit channels, and an appropriate
international response must therefore target suppliers of these
weapons and brokers who facilitate illicit deals and shut down
the networks that allow this trade to continue.
(6) United States military personnel, diplomats, and
humanitarian workers, as well as those of the allies of the
United States, are threatened by the easy availability of small
arms and light weapons in conflict zones.
(7) The proliferation and ready availability of small arms
and light weapons has been a major factor in the devastation in
Angola, Cambodia, Liberia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone,
Somalia, Congo, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Sri Lanka, East
Timor, Afghanistan and the violence endemic to narco-
trafficking in Colombia, Mexico, Thailand, and Myanmar, and has
contributed significantly to war crimes and crimes against
humanity perpetrated in Cambodia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, East
Timor, Bosnia, and Kosovo.
(8) The case of Afghanistan, where the Taliban and the al
Qaeda network have been able to amass a small arms and light
weapons arsenal from various actors in the regional and
international illicit trade, including links to the
international drug trade, other regional terrorist groups, and
donations from certain individuals in other countries in the
region, and from continued support of the civil war in
Afghanistan by various countries, clearly demonstrates how a
country can become a threat to regional and even global peace
and security if it is continuously flooded by various actors
with small arms and light weapons and if arms embargoes are
systematically broken.
(9) The United States and the international community took
an important step toward promoting global standards in the
transfer of small arms and light weapons in concluding and
signing in March 2001, the Protocol on Illicit Firearms
Trafficking to the United Nations Transnational Organized Crime
Convention.
(10) The United States, as a major supplier country, has a
special obligation to promote responsible practices in the
transfer of small arms and light weapons.
(11) The United States must abstain from all transfers, for
commercial use, of semiautomatic assault weapons or related
equipment, the manufacture, transfer, or possession of which is
unlawful under section 922 of title 18, United States Code,
because such transfers could easily be diverted to terrorist
networks.
(12) To be successful in such efforts the United States
must work with other countries to improve effective
international standards.
(13) Because of the United States interest in combating
international crime, preventing the diversion of small arms and
light weapons to narco-traffickers, international organized
criminal networks, terrorists, and recipients engaged in gross
and consistent violations of internationally recognized human
rights, and promoting fairness in international trade, the
United States should enter into negotiations for international
agreements on--
(A) the marking and tracing of small arms and light
weapons;
(B) regulations for the activities of arms brokers;
(C) greater transparency in licensing and export;
(D) a prohibition against the transfer to
recipients engaged in gross and consistent violations
of internationally recognized human rights and
international humanitarian law;
(E) a prohibition against the transfer to
recipients engaged in breaking international arms
control regimes and United Nations arms embargoes;
(F) the improved enforcement of United Nations arms
embargoes, which are frequently broken by arms brokers
and covert state operations; and
(G) the establishment of an international regime
for the destruction of surplus weapons and the security
of stockpiles.
(14) The United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in
Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, held in New
York from July 9 to 20, 2001, represented an opportunity to
develop better national and international regulations to
control the trade in illicit small arms and light weapons.
However, the Program of Action did too little to advance
international standards in the transfer of small arms and light
weapons.
SEC. 3. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act--
(1) interferes with the legitimate and lawful ownership and
use of guns; or
(2) limits otherwise authorized activities of the United
States Government.
SEC. 4. DECLARATIONS OF POLICY.
(a) Affirmation of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States--
(1) to maintain the highest standards for the management
of, restraint in, and safety in the export of small arms and
light weapons and of safety in the transfer abroad of small
arms and light weapons;
(2) to refrain from exporting small arms and light weapons
that might be used for internal repression or international
aggression or contribute to regional instability; and
(3) to increase the number of end-use checks of United
States transfers in small arms and light weapons and to improve
the quality of end-use monitoring, particularly the cooperation
between United States missions abroad and the Office of Defense
Trade Control.
(b) Continuation of Existing Policies.--It is the policy of the
United States--
(1) under section 502B(a)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act
of 1961, not to provide security assistance, including the
transfer of small arms and light weapons, to any recipient that
engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of
internationally recognized human rights;
(2) that, in an effort to protect the legitimate trade in
small arms and light weapons, and to ensure United States laws
are enforced, that individuals subject to the jurisdiction of
the United States engaged in arms brokering activities register
with the Department of State and obtain a license for each
transaction;
(3) to carry out rigorous end-use checks of transfers in
small arms and light weapons in order to prevent illegal
retransfers of United States small arms and light weapons;
(4) not to authorize for export to commercial end-users
semiautomatic assault weapons, or related equipment, the
manufacture, transfer, or possession of which is unlawful under
section 922 of title 18, United States Code; and
(5) to continue to observe the ``Joint Statement of
Principles'', agreed by the United States and the European
Union at their Washington summit on December 17, 1999.
SEC. 5. INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS.
(a) Adherence to a Prohibition on Exports.--It is the sense of
Congress that the President should enter into negotiations with foreign
parties beginning with the European Union and NATO member states for an
international agreement not to export to commercial end-users
semiautomatic assault weapons, or related equipment, the manufacture,
transfer, or possession of which is unlawful under section 922 of title
18, United States Code.
(b) Marking of Small Arms and Light Weapons.--It is the sense of
Congress that the President should make best efforts to conclude an
international agreement on the marking of small arms and light weapons
for international export as advocated by the 2001 Protocol on Illicit
Firearms Trafficking to the United Nations Transnational Organized
Crime Convention.
(c) Enforcement of United Nations Arms Embargoes.--It is the sense
of Congress that the President should enter negotiations at the United
Nations level in order to improve the enforcement of United Nations
arms embargoes insofar as they relate to small arms and light weapons.
The President should propose to the United Nations Security Council the
establishment of an arms embargo monitoring unit at the United Nations
headquarters in New York.
(d) Comprehensive Agreement.--
(1) In general.--It is the sense of Congress that the
President should enter into negotiations on a legally binding
international agreement or agreements with foreign parties
beginning with the European Union that would comprise the
following elements:
(A) The marking and tracing of small arms and light
weapons.
(B) Regulating the activities of arms brokers,
including an international register and watchlist of
arms brokers.
(C) Greater transparency in the licensing and
export of small arms and light weapons.
(D) A prohibition against the transfer of small
arms and light weapons to recipients engaged in gross
and consistent violations of internationally recognized
human rights and international humanitarian law.
(E) Establishment of an international regime for
the destruction of surplus weapons and the security of
stockpiles.
(2) Periodic report.--Not later than six months after the
date of enactment of this Act, and semiannually thereafter, the
Secretary of State shall submit an unclassified report to the
appropriate congressional committees describing the progress
toward negotiating such an agreement or agreements.
(e) Establishment of United States-European Union Coordinating
Group on Small Arms and Light Weapons.--
(1) In general.--It is the sense of Congress that the
President should seek to establish a United States-European
Union Coordinating Group on Small Arms and Light Weapons and to
encourage the participation of non-European Union NATO member
states, to meet at least semiannually, and as the need arises,
to negotiate the agreements described in subsections (a), (b),
and (c), to assess trends in the flow of small arms and light
weapons to regions of conflict, to coordinate United States and
European Union activities, and to address concerns as they
arise.
(2) Periodic report.--Not later than six months after the
date of enactment of this Act, and semiannually thereafter, the
Secretary of State shall submit an unclassified report to the
appropriate congressional committees describing the progress
toward establishing a United States-European Union Coordinating
Group on Small Arms and Light Weapons, together with a list and
summary of all contacts during the period covered by each
report between the United States and the European Union and
European Union member states.
(f) Implementation of Program of Action of United Nations
Conference.--
(1) In general.--It is the sense of Congress that the
President should make best efforts to advance international
negotiations to implement the Program of Action of the 2001
United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms
and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, as well as to advance and
extend the goals of the Program of Action, including--
(A) establishing national regulations and
international agreements on arms brokering;
(B) establishing national regulations and
international agreements on the marking and tracing of
small arms and light weapons;
(C) promoting greater security for weapons
stockpiles held by states;
(D) efforts to carry out more effective post-
conflict disarmament and demobilization programs;
(E) criminalizing the production, possession,
stockpiling, and trade of illicit small arms and light
weapons; and
(F) advancing the role of civil society and
nongovernmental institutions in addressing the
proliferation of small arms and light weapons.
(2) Periodic report.--Not later than six months after the
date of enactment of this Act, and not later than December 31
of every year thereafter through 2006, the Secretary of State
shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a
report describing the activities undertaken, and the progress
made, by the Department of State or other agencies and entities
of the United States Government in implementing the goals of
the Program of Action.
SEC. 6. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION; SEMIANNUAL REPORTS.
(a) Congressional Notification of Export License Applications.--
Section 36(c) of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2776(c)) is
amended by inserting ``(or, in the case of a defense article that is a
firearm controlled under category I of the United States Munitions
List, $1,000,000 or more)'' after ``$50,000,000 or more''.
(b) Report.--Not later than six months after the date of enactment
of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State shall
submit an unclassified report to the appropriate congressional
committees on the numbers, range, and findings of end-use monitoring of
United States transfers in small arms and light weapons.
(c) Semiannual Reports.--Section 655 of the Foreign Assistance Act
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2415) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking ``Not later'' and inserting the
following:
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), not
later''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Exception.--In the case of licenses for the export of
defense articles that are firearms controlled under category I
of the United States Munitions List, the information required
by subsection (b) with respect to those firearms shall be
included in a report transmitted to the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate and the Committee on International
Relations of the House of Representatives not later than
February 1 and August 1 of each year covering the period since
the last report.''; and
(2) in subsection (b)(3), by inserting before the period at
the end the following: ``, including, in the case of defense
articles that are firearms controlled under category I of the
United States Munitions List, a statement of the aggregate
dollar value and quantity of semiautomatic assault weapons, or
related equipment, the manufacture, transfer, or possession of
which is unlawful under section 922 of title 18, United States
Code, that were licensed for export during the period covered
by the report''.
(d) Special Notification.--
(1) In general.--Not less than 15 days prior to the grant
of any license export to any country described in paragraph (2)
of any lethal defense article or defense service in the amount
$1,000,000 or less, the President shall provide a detailed
notification to the Committees on Appropriations and Foreign
Relations of the Senate and the Committees on Appropriations
and International Relations of the House of Representatives,
including a statement describing the purposes for which the
article or service is being provided to the country and stating
whether or not such article or service has been previously
provided to such country.
(2) Countries defined.--A country described in this
paragraph is a country where there is a clear risk that the
defense article or defense service will--
(A) be used in a breach of peace or act of
international aggression--
(i) to commit gross violations of human
rights;
(ii) to commit gross violations of
international humanitarian law; or
(iii) to commit acts of genocide or crimes
against humanity; or
(B) be diverted to commit any of the acts described
in subparagraph (A).
SEC. 7. REGISTRY OF SMALL ARMS AND LIGHT WEAPONS SERIAL NUMBERS.
(a) In General.--Section 38 of the Arms Export Control Act (22
U.S.C. 2778) is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
``(i)(1) The President shall require that, prior to the export of
any firearm listed in category I of the United States Munition List
that requires a license for international export under this section,
the exporter shall provide the President with written identification of
the serial number of the firearm to be exported.
``(2) The President shall establish and maintain a registry of each
serial number provided under paragraph (1).''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall
apply to applications for licenses to export filed on or after the date
of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 8. ANNUAL REPORT ON ARMS BROKERING.
Not later than six months after the date of enactment of this Act,
and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit an
unclassified report to the appropriate congressional committees on
activities of registered arms brokers, including a list of all
registered brokers and any violations of the Arms Export Control Act.
SEC. 9. ANNUAL REPORT ON INVESTIGATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF ALCOHOL,
TOBACCO AND FIREARMS.
Not later than six months after the date of enactment of this Act,
and annually thereafter, the Secretary of the Treasury, shall submit an
unclassified report to the appropriate congressional committees on
investigations and other work undertaken by the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms (including the cooperation with other agencies) to
stop United States-source weapons from being used in terrorist acts,
insurgency, and international crime.
SEC. 10. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State should
encourage those countries that have not done so to sign and ratify the
1997 Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and
Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunitions, Explosives, and Other Related
Materials and the 2001 Protocol on Illicit Firearms Trafficking to the
United Nations Transnational Organized Crime Convention.
SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on
International Relations of the House of Representatives.
(2) President.--The term ``President'' means the President,
acting through the Secretary of State.
(3) Small arms and light weapons.--
(A) Covered items.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), the term ``small arms and light
weapons'' means revolvers and self-loading pistols,
rifles and carbines, submachine guns, assault rifles,
light machine guns, heavy machine guns, hand-held
underbarrel and mounted grenade launchers, portable
anti-aircraft guns, portable antitank guns, recoilless
rifles, portable launchers of antitank missiles and
rocket systems, portable launchers of anti-aircraft
missile systems, mortars of calibers of less than 100
millimeter, ammunition and explosives, cartridges and
rounds for small arms and light weapons, mobile
containers with missiles or shells for single-action
anti-aircraft and antitank systems, antipersonnel and
antitank hand grenades, landmines, and explosives.
(B) Exception.--Subparagraph (A) does not include
any antique firearm manufactured before January 1,
1900, or any replica of such a firearm.
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