The Programme of Action Implementation Monitor (Phase 1): Assessing Reported Progress (Occasional Paper 30)

The UN Programme of Action on small arms and light weapons (PoA) was adopted in 2001 to provide a framework for activities to counter the illicit trade in such arms. At its Second Review Conference in New York—from 27 August – 7 September 2012— the PoA has brought together member states, expert advisors, and NGOs to review the progress made in its implementation.

Launched at a conference side event hosted by the Permanent Mission of New Zealand to the UN, this Occasional Paper from the Small Arms Survey presents the initial findings of a project to monitor how states are implementing the PoA.

The Programme of Action Implementation Monitor (Phase 1): Assessing Reported Progress reports on the first phase of a multi-year project to assess implementation and impact of the PoA and the International Tracing Instrument (ITI).  This phase examines the extent to which states have implemented the PoA and the ITI [using] based on a review of national reports (relying exclusively on the information states provide on their PoA/ITI implementation).

Forthcoming phases of the project will assess their implementation based on an objective evaluation and verification of implementation efforts (through an analysis of national legislation, independent country studies, and other sources); and then will look at whether implementation efforts (assessed in Phases 1 and 2) have had an impact on the illicit trade in small arms, specifically with reference to the PoA objectives.

For the first phase, the Small Arms Survey designed a tool—the PoA Implementation Monitor (PoAIM)— to evaluate states’ PoA and ITI implementation. The PoAIM consists of a scoring system that uses indicators derived from the PoA and ITI commitments to assign points based on national implementation efforts and rank states according to their reported implementation efforts.

The Programme of Action Implementation Monitor (Phase 1): Assessing Reported Progress contains the first set of findings obtained through the PoAIM ‘scoring’ system based on a review of all 652 national reports submitted by states between 2002 and 11 June 2012.

According to the PoAIM scores, the five states with the strongest record in reporting their PoA implementation are Portugal, Mexico, Croatia, Switzerland, and Germany. Those with the weakest record are the Central African Republic, Cameroon, Barbados,  Equatorial Guinea, and Mauritania.

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