Tyler Lenzke
World Affairs
Position Paper
Preventing and combating illegal arms brokering activities
Malta does not allow illegal arms brokering and they do prevent and combat any attempt
to do such activity. This responsibility is mostly taken by the AFM, the Armed Forces of Malta.
This Practice has been an objective of the United Nations and the country of Malta since the end
of the Second World War in 1946. The Focus is to eliminate all weapons of mass destruction,
particularly nuclear weapons and also the countless violations of human rights and even acts of
genocide. Small weapons were also recognized as being a threat because of the portability and
when they are [illegally] obtained, directly or indirectly, by terrorist groups, drug traffickers, or
underground organizations can pose a danger to regional and international security. The Country
of Malta does recognize the importance of preventing and combating illegal arms brokering
activities and will work to stop and eliminate any violations.
One way that the Country of Malta and the UN has begun to take action is with the Arms
Trade Treaty which was passed by the general assembly in April of 2013. The ATT (Arms Trade
Treaty) provides a tracking system for all conventional arms and ordnance (including larger
systems such as aircraft and tanks) traded in international commerce, and that the last legal
owner of a weapon used in violation of human rights law can be identified and held accountable.
This treaty also prohibits circumvention of arms embargos and transferring weapons with the
knowledge that they will likely be used to violate human rights laws. Although for reasons of
national security, it does not apply to arms that remain within their country of origin. This Treaty
has been signed by 114 countries which includes Malta, and has been ratified by 8. This means it
is not in force.
The Armed Forces of Malta maintains a military organization with the primary aim to
defend and protect the islands integrity. This means that the AFM does take a lot of the
responsibilities to fight terrorism, drug trafficking, and illegal immigrant operations. It is not up
to the military alone to protect the whole nation; Citizens should report and help protect the
country. Citizens in Malta do privately own guns and they are kept track of by the Government.
Malta has a very low smuggling and trade of weapons and they have restrictive gun laws.
Imports and Exports of firearms in Malta are limited and controlled by the transfer control law.
The number of crimes committed with weapons in Malta is low. Malta does have a small arms
registry because statistics are kept on every gun in the nation with the current number of
privately owned arms being 48,000. In Malta the manufacture of small arms, ammunition and/or
their components is prohibited.
Malta does not have a major problem with illegal arms brokering and trading activities
and does monitor all weapons coming into and leaving the country. Malta is a fairly safe and
peaceful place with weapons and crimes and terrorism being very low. Malta does a very good
job of keeping illegal arms out and making people register to have them. The Country has very
strict laws about firearms, making people be officially licensed to own a gun or small firearm.
Works Cited
"UN Office for Disarmament Affairs — Strengthening Peace and Security through
Disarmament." UN News Center. UN, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
"Guns in Malta: Firearms, Armed Violence and Gun Law." Guns in Malta:
Firearms, Armed Violence and Gun Law. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2014
"Malta." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Feb. 2014. Web. 20 Feb. 2014
Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2014
"The Arms Trade Treaty - UN Office for Disarmament Affairs." UN News Center.
UN, n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.