International responses / Comment
Proliferation of light weapons and state crisis: challenges to post-war reconstruction
03/11/2006 By Mabel González
UN peacekeeping missions have become more complex over the last few years: they intervene in open conflicts or they assume the responsibility of reconstructing States and nations after the end of an armed conflict.
This involves creating or strengthening effective institutions and promoting socioeconomic and political reforms. The proliferation of light weapons typical of many post-conflict contexts is a great obstacle to do it.
Disarmament programmes usually have trouble making progress and the international community is reluctant to adopt global measures to control illegal armament trade and traffic.
In many cases, the resulting situation is paradoxical: countries providing funds and troops for a peacekeeping mission can find that their efforts are fruitless due to several factors, among others, the presence of arms they sold or whose trade they refused to regulate.
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Keywords
Disarmament Peace process UNBio author: Mabel González
Coordinator of the disarmament campaign of Greenpeace-Spain. A journalist, Mabel González holds an MA in Information on Southern Countries from the University Complutense of Madrid. She is also Visiting Professor in several Spanish and international universities.
