Small weapons

Small weapons - data and facts

Small weapons are the weapons of mass destruction of the 21st century: Most war victims, especially among the civilian population, are killed by small weapons. They can be used for up to 50 years and also easily operated by children. Even when they were once legally exported, they often find their way to terrorist groups, private armies and criminals. Germany is one of the largest manufacturers and exporters of small weapons. The manufacturers include Heckler & Koch, Rheinmetall, Diehl, Walther and Sig. The G3 assault rifle from Heckler & Koch alone is in circulation with ten million copies in at least 80 countries around the world. Only the Kalashnikov is more common. In some places, a Kalashnikov does not cost more than $ 30 - the crisis areas of the world are showered with such cheap weapons and associated ammunition.

Every 14 minutes a person dies solely from weapons by the leading German pistol and rifle manufacturer Heckler & Koch. The estimate of the armaments information office Freiburg is essentially based on the world market share of Heckler and Koch in small weapons and known estimates of the number of victims of small weapons in warlike conflicts (approx. 95 percent of the total number of victims).

The role of Germany in arms exports

Germany plays a major role in the production and export of small arms. For years, the German arms industry has been one of the five largest arms exporters, alongside the USA, Russia, China, and France. Small arms are a massive component of these exports. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), six of the ten most significant exporting nations are EU member states.

Especially in countries with large numbers of child soldiers, such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Colombia, Yemen, Somalia, or Sudan, there are masses of small arms of German manufacture , such as the MG3 machine gun from Rheinmetall, the G3 assault rifle and the MP5 submachine gun from Heckler & Koch, and the Walther P99 or Sig Sauer SP 2022 pistols. Illegal armed groups such as Colombian paramilitaries, the Taliban, or the Islamic State, who are responsible for the massive use of child soldiers and other acts of violence, use German-made weapons.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates lead a military coalition, currently comprised of eight countries, that has been waging war in Yemen since 2015. According to the United Nations, at least 8,000 children have been killed or maimed in the armed conflict, almost half of them (3,550) by the Saudi-led coalition. The coalition has also committed other serious violations of children's rights, such as attacks on schools and hospitals. Despite this, since 2015, member states of this coalition have received German arms export licenses worth €6.4 billion for a wide range of weapons systems, from small arms to fighter jets. Many of these are being used in the war in Yemen.

Such arms exports to countries involved in serious human rights violations or armed conflicts are illegal and must be stopped. They violate not only the principle of peace enshrined in the German Basic Law, but also international treaties such as the Arms Trade Treaty, the EU Common Position on arms exports, and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This is demonstrated by the authors of the Terre des Hommes study “ German Arms Exports – European and International Obligations ,” Professor Dr. Thilo Marauhn and two other international law experts. An exception is made for arms exports to countries that have the right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter, such as Ukraine after Russia’s illegal attack. This Article 51 is, incidentally, the only exception to the otherwise comprehensive prohibition of the use of force in the UN Charter.

Demands and goals

Terre des Hommes advocates for a restrictive arms export control law and a fundamental ban on arms exports enshrined in the Basic Law (Germany's constitution). As a first and most urgent step, exports of small arms and ammunition must be stopped altogether – regardless of whether they occur through direct export, production licenses, as individual components, or as complete manufacturing facilities. This is because they are easy to conceal and transport and are widely traded and transferred illegally.

German arms must not reach crisis and conflict regions; they fuel conflicts there and cause immense suffering. Arms exports to countries with armed conflicts or human rights violations are prohibited under international law (Arms Trade Treaty) and EU law (EU Common Position on Arms Exports) – unless the recipient country has the right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter, as is the case with Ukraine.

In light of ever-increasing German arms export records and extensive arms deliveries to conflict regions, which, although approved by the German government, nevertheless violate international law, it is obvious that existing laws in Germany are insufficient. Terre des Hommes , together with the "Action Outcry - Stop the Arms Trade" campaign, is advocating for the introduction of an arms export ban in Article 26, Paragraph 2 of the Basic Law (Constitution). This should be a general ban with an exclusive licensing requirement, meaning that licenses would only be granted in clearly defined exceptional cases.

This requires a restrictive arms export law, which should include the following points in particular:

Stop the exports of "small weapons and light weapons" (according to the UN definition) and associated ammunition.
Stop the arms exports to warfare countries, countries with armed conflicts or severe human and child rights violations.
In particular, stopping all arms exports to countries in which one of the six serious children's rights violations take place in armed conflicts (according to UN definition): the recruitment of children as soldiers, killing and mutilating children, the kidnapping of children, sexual violence against children, attacks on schools and hospitals, refusal to access humanitarian aid.
Statutory anchoring of the UN Definition for small weapons and light weapons, so that pistols, hand grenades, all female types, etc. will also be recorded in the future. According to the international weapon trade agreement, this is mandatory.
No licenses for the replica of German weapons and ammunition abroad.
Mandatory controls of the end river of all armaments and hard sanctions in the event of violations.
No preferred special treatment of NATO and EU countries, also to prevent the re-export of German weapons over such countries in conflict regions.
No taxpayers' money for arms exports: no protection of arms transactions by state loans and guarantees (such as Hermes guarantees).
Highly improved transparency and reporting obligations: every arms export permit must be published and justified.
Law of liaison for victims and civil society organizations (association law).
Statutory duty of care of the armaments companies for human rights (keyword delivery chain law).

Since Germany has had great responsibility for the flood of entire regions with small weapons and other armaments in recent decades, it should be massive for disarmament and disarmament programs, politically and financially.

What you can do

Ask questions: At www.ordordmnenwatch.de there is the opportunity to ask MPs and politicians critical questions about arms exports.
Become an actual outcry with the promotion.