CIAO DATE: 10/2014
August 2013
The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
The circulation of military equipment in areas where security is failing creates conditions for some of this materiel to be diverted to non-state armed groups. This risk becomes more pronounced when countermeasures such as strict record-keeping, stockpile management, discipline and robust incident reporting are not taken seriously. Though the breadth and scope of diversion of weapons from peacekeeping operations is hard to quantify, a review of incidents from 1990-2013 indicates that they are neither rare nor isolated; they affect many missions and troop-contributing countries (TCCs). Diversion, be it from mission stockpiles, disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) and cordon and search efforts, or occurring during patrols, can be minimised and perhaps prevented through targeted reactive and preventive measures. There is a chronic lack of data on diversion, due to the sensitivity of the subject, lack of transparency on stocks or procedures, and a culture of minimising or dismissing such incidents altogether.
Resource link: Diversion of Weapons within Peace Operations: Understanding the Phenomenon [PDF] - 382K