Arms Control

The Assad regime continues its chemical weapon strikes, despite Obama Administration claims to have destroyed its illegal stockpile. Assad denies having any chemical weapons, while his forces brazenly gas men, women, and children.  This hearing will highlight these horrific attacks and what can be done to protect vulnerable Syrian civilians. The Committee will hear chilling accounts, including from brave responders working to save the lives of those targeted by the Assad regime.

The Colombian military, with the help of FARC guerrillas, has begun clearing landmines in a small town in the north of the country where the number of explosives exceed the number of inhabitants.

While the U.S. government has some of the most comprehensive laws and regulations controlling arms exports, this briefing paper shows that the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is missing some key controls to prevent the use of intermediaries with problematic backgrounds, particularly when DoD employs one of its new congressionally approved authorities to train and equip foreign security forces.

The Ambassador discussed three essential issues at a Security Council Open Debate on Small Arms/Light Weapons: the scope of the small arms and light weapons problem and the violence that results; the importance of stockpile security and management; and what we need to do to disrupt supply routes.