March 2011

In this issue:

• Libya: lessons in controlling the arms trade (essay)
• SIPRI news
• SIPRI events and activities
• SIPRI in the media
• SIPRI staff news
  
• Recent publications

Libya: lessons in controlling the arms trade

Pieter D. Wezeman

SIPRI launches two new reports in the framework of the Africa Security and Governance Project

The role of civil society in supporting police reform in Liberia and the resolution of tribal conflict in Northern Ghana were the subjects of the first two country case studies of SIPRI’s Africa Security and Governance (ASG) Project. The recently launched reports were authored by two of SIPRI’s civil society organization partners in Africa—Liberia’s Search for Common Ground (SFCG) and Ghana’s West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI). ASG is supported by the Open Society Institute (OSI). Click here for the SFCG study and here for the WACSI study.

Arms Transfers Programme experts provide written evidence to the British House of Lords

Dr Paul Holtom and Pieter Wezeman of the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme submitted written evidence to the British House of Lords for its inquiry on 'The EU’s Conflict Prevention and Peace-building Role in Sudan'. The inquiry focuses on the conflict between Northern and Southern Sudan and the implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Read the written evidence here. Contact Paul Holtom for more information.


SIPRI presents Kyrgyzstan report at German Parliament

SIPRI Conflict Programme Director Dr Neil Melvin presented the report entitled 'Promoting a stable and multiethnic Kyrgyzstan: overcoming the causes and legacies of violence' to the German Bundestag earlier this month. Download the report here. Contact Neil Melvin for more information.


Save these dates!

• 11 April: Launch of SIPRI's world military expenditure data—comprehensive information on global, regional and national trends in military spending.
•   7 June: Launch of the SIPRI Yearbook—cutting-edge information and analysis on developments in armaments, disarmament and international security, featuring a lead essay on corruption in the international arms trade by Andrew Feinstein.
  Contact SIPRI Communications Director Stephanie Blenckner for more information.

Upcoming SIPRI events and activities

SIPRI in the media

Within three days after the launch of the SIPRI Arms Transfers data for 2010, more than 1200 media outlets worldwide covered the story, with coverage continuing to this day. Contact Stephanie Blenckner for more details and a full report.

SIPRI's EthicalCargo project issued an alert to the global humanitarian aid community on 28 March, drawing attention to recent suspect flights to and from Libya. SIPRI Senior Researcher Hugh Griffiths was quoted in more than 400 media outlets including  TIME Magazine, the Guardian, and Swedish Television SVT.
 
SIPRI Senior Researcher Pieter D. Wezeman has been quoted by numerous media, including German TV ZDF and Inter Press Service, on arms transfers to Libya and on the current situation in the Middle East and Northern Africa.
 
SIPRI Programme Director Linda Jakobson commented on China's role in the Libya conflict to the Financial Times.

SIPRI Senior Fellow Siemon T. Wezeman commented on the potential use of Swedish combat aircraft Gripen in the ongoing Libya conflict to the Swedish television programme Rapport.

SIPRI Senior Researcher Dr Shannon N. Kile was quoted by Reuters on the impact of the Libya conflict on Iran. The story was picked up by defenceWeb, among others.

Bernt Berger appointed Senior Researcher with the SIPRI China and Global Security Programme

SIPRI is pleased to announce that Bernt Berger has taken up the position of Senior Researcher with the SIPRI China and Global Security Programme. Berger is an expert on Chinese foreign and security policy. Before joining SIPRI, he was a Researcher on Chinese foreign and security policy at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin (2009–11), Research Fellow at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy in Hamburg (2002–2009), and Research Fellow at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies’ Institute for Asian Studies (2007–2008). He has also held positions at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies and at Shanghai’s East China Normal University. Contact Bernt Berger.		Bernt Berger, Source: private

Recent publications

		SIPRI Background Paper Arms transfers to Zimbabwe: implications for an arms trade treaty Lukas Jeuck Zimbabwe has suffered from high levels of political violence since 2000. While some states and the European Union (EU) have responded by imposing arms embargoes, other states have expressed no concerns about the situation. The most prominent supplier of arms to Zimbabwe has been China, which supplied more than one-third of the volume of Zimbabwe’s major weapons between 1980 and 2009. Russia has identified Zimbabwe as a potential market for its arms, but has yet to make many deliveries. While the United Kingdom was a major supplier in the 1980s and 1990s, it has since stopped selling arms to Zimbabwe. Download the Background Paper here.
		SIPRI Fact Sheet Trends in international arms transfers, 2010 Paul Holtom, Lucie Béraud-Sudreau, Mark Bromley, Pieter D. Wezeman and Siemon T. Wezeman The SIPRI Arms Transfers Database now contains information on all international transfers of major conventional weapons from 1950 to the end of 2010. It is the only publicly available resource providing consistent data on international arms transfers for this length of time. This Fact Sheet describes the trends in international arms transfers that are revealed by the new data. It lists the main suppliers and recipients for the period 2006–10 and describes the changes in regional trends. Download the Fact Sheet here.
		SIPRI Background Paper Ukrainian arms supplies to sub-Saharan Africa Paul Holtom Ukraine has consistently been among the 10 largest arms exporters in the world during the past two decades, and an estimated 18 per cent of Ukrainian arms exports during 2005–2009 were for recipients in sub-Saharan Africa. The arms supplied ranged from aircraft and tanks to small arms and ammunition. This Background Paper examines the supply of Ukrainian arms and related services to sub-Saharan African countries along with some of the controversy that has surrounded these activities. In particular, Ukraine has reportedly supplied arms to the governments of several countries engaged in armed conflicts and there is also evidence that Ukrainian arms delivered to Kenya have been re-exported to Southern Sudan. The framework for Ukraine’s arms exports is also described. Download the Background Paper here.
		SIPRI  Background Paper South African arms supplies to sub-Saharan Africa Pieter D. Wezeman South Africa’s government and well-developed arms industry have sought to position the country as a key supplier of arms to African countries. This Background Paper examines how far South Africa has succeeded in this aim and why arms exports to the region could be of concern. It presents data on South African arms supplies to sub-Saharan Africa and how some of those arms have been used. It also seeks to explain the motives for and restraints on South African arms exports to sub-Saharan Africa. Finally it highlights improving transparency in South Africa about arms exports. Download the Background Paper here.
		SIPRI Fact Sheet Chronology of armaments, disarmament and international security 2010 Nenne Bodell This chronology lists the significant events in 2010 related to armaments, disarmament and international security. In addition to the headline-grabbing events, it also records the less publicized, but no less important, advances and setbacks in arms controls and international security. Download the Fact Sheet here.
		SIPRI Map of Multilateral Peace Operation Deployments in 2010 This SIPRI map presents a snapshot of multilateral peace operation deployments worldwide using the latest data available. The map shows where missions are taking place, when they started, how large they are and which organizations and coalitions are conducting them. Comprehensive data on multilateral peace operations is available in the SIPRI Multilateral Peace Operations Database, including fatalities, costs, mission mandates, national personnel contributions and lead nations. Download the map here.
		SIPRI Monograph Governing the Bomb: Civilian Control and Democratic Accountability of Nuclear Weapons edited by Hans Born, Bates Gill and Heiner Hänggi ISBN 978-0-19-958990-6 With a special emphasis on civilian control and democratic accountability, Governing the Bomb seeks to illuminate the structures and processes of nuclear weapon governance of eight nuclear-armed states: the USA, Russia, the UK, France and China as well as Israel, India and Pakistan. It examines the theoretical as well as practical functions and structures of those who possess the power to make nuclear decisions and those who have the practical means and physical opportunity to execute those decisions. Read more and order the book here.
		SIPRI Fact Sheet International transfers of combat aircraft, 2005–2009 Siemon T. Wezeman Stories like the USA's planned sale of combat aircraft to Saudi Arabia, Israel's and Canada's selection of the US Joint Strike Fighter, and ongoing competition for large orders from India and Brazil are making headlines in the media. This SIPRI Fact Sheet shows that combat aircraft together with related weapons and components accounted for one-third of worldwide arms transfers in the past five years and highlights concerns about the economic and security consequences of these transfers. Download the Fact Sheet here.
		SIPRI Policy Paper no 26 New Foreign Policy Actors in China Linda Jakobson and Dean Knox The dynamic transformation of Chinese society that has paralleled changes in the international environment has had a direct impact on both the making and the shaping of Chinese foreign policy. The international community needs to understand the complex nature of these changes in seeking China’s engagement and cooperation. Uniquely informed by the authors’ access to individuals across the full range of Chinese foreign policy actors, this SIPRI Policy Paper reveals a number of emergent trends, chief among them the changing face of China’s official decision-making apparatus and the direction that actors on the margins would like to see Chinese foreign policy take. Download the Policy Paper here.
		SIPRI Yearbook 2010: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security The 41st edition of the SIPRI Yearbook includes coverage of developments during 2009 in major armed conflicts, multilateral peace operations, military expenditure, arms production, international arms transfers, world nuclear forces and fissile material stocks, nuclear arms control and non-proliferation, reduction of security threats from chemical and biological materials, conventional arms control, controls on security-related international transfers and multilateral arms embargoes. Read more here. To order a copy, click here.