2014@163@2014 PoA RussianFederation E

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Report on the implementation in the Russian Federation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects and the International Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace, in a Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit Small Arms and Weapons (as at December 2013)

I. Implementation in the Russian Federation of the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects Under Russian legislation, small arms and light weapons are not in a separate category of conventional arms. The general procedure for regulating transfers of military goods applies to small arms and light weapons. The Russian Federation takes the recommendations of the Programme of Action into account as much as possible during consideration of issues concerning the problem of small arms and light weapons and is adopting effective measures at the national, regional and international levels to prevent the unlawful proliferation of such weapons.

A.

National level

1.

National coordination agency

The problem of the unlawful proliferation of small arms and light weapons is multifaceted and its specific aspects fall within the jurisdiction of different Russian departments. In general, the task of combating the illicit manufacture and circulation of and trafficking in small arms and light weapons is performed jointly by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defence, the Federal Security Service, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation, the Federal Service for Technical and Export Control, the Federal Customs Service, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and other federal bodies concerned within the limits of their jurisdiction. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs coordinates the negotiation process relating to all issues concerning small arms and light weapons at the international level. 2.

National point of contact

A national point of contact has been established in the Russian Federation to provide for liaison between States on matters relating to the implementation of the Programme of Action: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department of Security and Disarmament Matters, Section for Military and Technical Cooperation (Smolenskaya-Sennaya Pl., 32/34, Moscow, 119200, telephone: (499) 244-22-30, fax: (499) 795-14-83/12-32, e-mail: [email protected]). 3.

Legislation, regulations and administrative procedures

All types of activity related to small arms and light weapons in the Russian Federation are subject to licensing. 3.1. Development, manufacture, repair and recycling of small arms and light weapons Licences for the development, manufacture, repair and recycling of small arms and light weapons, the manufacture of cartridges for small arms and light weapons and the development, manufacture and

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recycling of ammunition are issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Federal Service for Defence Contracts in accordance with the following legal acts: (1) Federal Act No. 150 of 13 December 1996 on weapons (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 1996, issue No. 51, entry No. 5681; 1998, issue No. 30, entry No. 3618; issue No. 31, entry No. 3834; issue No. 51, entry No. 6269; 1999, issue No. 47, entry No. 5612; 2000, issue No. 16, entry No. 1640; 2001, issue No. 31, entry No. 3171; issue No. 33, entry No. 3435; issue No. 49, entry No. 4558; 2002, issue No. 26, entry No. 2516; issue No. 30, entry No. 3029; 2003, issue No. 2, entry No. 167; issue No. 27, entry No. 2700; issue No. 50, entry No. 4846; 2004, issue No. 18, entry No. 1683; issue No. 27, entry No. 2711; Rossiyskaya Gazeta, 22 July 2012); (2) Federal Act No. 99 of 4 May 2011 on the licensing of specific types of activity (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 2011, issue No. 19, entry No. 2716; issue No. 30 (part 1), entry No. 4590; issue No. 43, entry No. 5971; issue No. 48, entry No. 6728; 2012, issue No. 31, entry No. 4322; 2013, issue No. 9, entry No. 874; issue No. 27, entry No. 3477; (3) Federal Act No. 3 of 7 February 2011 on the police; (4) Presidential Decree No. 56 of 21 January 2005 on matters concerning the Federal Service for Defence Contracts, confirming the regulations on the Federal Service for Defence Contracts (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 2005, issue No. 5, entry No. 358); (5) Presidential Decree No. 248 of 1 March 2011 on issues relating to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, establishing the powers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, including in the area of controls over the sale of weapons in the territory of the Russian Federation; (6) Government Decision No. 967 of 21 November 2011 on the organization of the licensing of specific types of activity (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 2011, issue No. 48, entry No. 6931; 2012, issue No. 17, entry No. 1965; issue No. 36, entry No. 4916; issue No. 37, entry No. 5002; issue No. 39, entry No. 5267; 2013, issue No. 44, entry No. 5764); (7) Government Decision No. 438 of 5 June 2008 on the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 2008, issue No. 24, entry No. 286); (8) Government Decision No. 604 of 19 June 2012 on the Federal Service for Defence Contracts, as amended by Government Decision No. 988 of 2 November 2013 (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 2012, issue No. 26, entry No. 3522); (9) Government Decision No. 581 of 13 June 2012 on the licensing of the development, manufacture, testing, assembly, installation, technical servicing, repair, recycling and sale of weapons and military equipment (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 2012, issue No. 26, entry No. 3522); (10) Government Decision No. 865 of 28 August 2012 on the licensing of the development, manufacture, testing, storage, repair and recycling of civilian and service weapons and basic components of firearms, and of the trade in civilian and service weapons and basic components of firearms; (11) Government Decision No. 925 of 14 September 2012 on the licensing of the development, manufacture, testing, storage, sale and recycling of ammunition (including cartridges for civilian and service weapons and component parts of cartridges) and of pyrotechnic devices under categories IV and V in accordance with the national standard and of the use of pyrotechnic devices under categories IV and V in accordance with technical regulations;

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(12) Government Decision No. 124 of 4 March 2010 on measures to regulate trade in civilian and service weapons, which sets out the procedure for access by private security organizations to service weapons for temporary use within agencies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In accordance with the administrative procedures adopted in the Russian Federation, at the manufacturing stage of small arms and light weapons, the following are subject to control: (a) Use of technical documentation on weapons; (b) Registration and storage of specialized technical equipment; (c) Registration of parts, assembly units and the finished product in the process of manufacture, transport and storage; (d) Procedure for the storage and destruction of weapons, including defective weapon parts; (e) Procedure for the marking and stamping of weapons. 3.2. Foreign trade activities involving small arms and light weapons Decisions on the export, import and re-export of small arms and light weapons are taken by the President, the Government or the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation on the basis of the following legislative and regulatory acts: Federal Act No. 164 of 8 December 2003 on the bases for State regulation of foreign trade activities, as amended by Federal Act No. 122 of 21 August 2004 (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 2003, issue No. 50, entry No. 4850; 2004, issue No. 35, entry No. 3607; 2005, issue No. 30, entry No. 3128; 2006, issue No. 6, entry No. 636; issue No. 3, entry No. 280; 2010, issue No. 45, entry No. 5750; issue No. 50, entry No. 6594; 2011, issue No. 29, entry No. 4291); Federal Act No. 150 of 13 December 1996 on weapons (art. 17); Federal Act No. 114 of 19 July 1998 on military and technical cooperation between the Russian Federation and foreign States (arts. 4 and 9) (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 1998, issue No. 30, entry No. 3610; 2006, issue No. 44, entry No. 4532; 2007, issue No. 21, entry No. 2466; issue No. 49, entry No. 6032; issue No. 50, entry No. 6240; 2009, issue No. 19, entry No. 2279; 2010, issue No. 27, entry No. 3426; 2011, issue No. 15, entry No. 2034; 2012, issue No. 29, entry No. 3988); Federal Act No. 183 of 18 July 1999 on export control (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 1999, issue No. 30, entry No. 3774; 2002, issue No. 1, part 1, entry No. 2; 2004, issue No. 27, entry No. 2711; 2005, issue No. 30, part 1, entry No. 3101; 2007, issue No. 49, entry No. 6044 and entry No. 6079; 2009, issue No. 19, entry No. 2279; 2011, issue No. 27, entry No. 3880; issue No. 30, part 1, entry No. 4590); Presidential Decree No. 235 of 18 February 1993 on the procedure for imposing an embargo on the supply of weapons and military equipment, the provision of military technical services and the supply of raw material, materials and equipment and the transfer of military and dual-use technology to foreign States, including members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) (Compendium of Acts of the President and Government of the Russian Federation, 1993, issue No. 8, entry No. 658); Presidential Decree No. 1478 of 8 November 2011 on the coordinating role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in the conduct of a uniform foreign policy of the Russian Federation (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 1996, issue No. 12, entry No. 1061);

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Presidential Decree No. 1357 of 17 November 2003 on the federal State unitary enterprise Rosoboroneksport (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 2003, issue No. 47, entry No. 4518; 2004, issue No. 34, entry No. 3539; 2005, issue No. 38, entry No. 3800); Presidential Decree No. 1083 of 16 August 2004 on questions relating to the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 2004, issue No. 34, entry No. 3539; issue No. 43, entry No. 4189; 2005, issue No. 13, entry No. 1137; issue No. 49, entry No. 5202; 2007, issue No. 52, entry No. 6425; 2008, issue No. 15, entry No. 1527; issue No. 49, entry No. 5764; issue No. 50, entry No. 5901; 2009, issue No. 1, entry No. 93; 2011, issue No. 3, entry No. 523; issue No. 21, entry No. 2925; issue No. 31, entry No. 4708); Presidential Decree No. 1062 of 10 September 2005 on questions relating to military and technical cooperation between the Russian Federation and foreign States (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 2005, issue No. 38, entry No. 3800; 2007, issue No. 52, entry No. 6425; 2008, issue No. 49, entry No. 5764; issue No. 50, entry No. 5901; 2009, issue No. 42, entry No. 4917; issue No. 50, entry No. 6074; 2011, issue No. 21, entry No. 2925; issue No. 31, entry No. 4708; issue No. 44, entry No. 6241; issue No. 48, entry No. 6881; issue No. 49, part 5, entry No. 7264; 2012, issue No. 3, entry No. 405; issue No. 13, entry No. 1487; issue No. 32, entry No. 4483; issue No. 41, entry No. 5583; 2013, issue No. 6, entry No. 498; issue No. 26, entry No. 3314; issue No. 30, part 2, entry No. 4086; issue No. 31, entry No. 4199; issue No. 44, entry No. 5723); Presidential Decree No. 54 of 18 January 2007 on certain questions relating to military and technical cooperation between the Russian Federation and foreign States (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 2007, issue No. 4, entry No. 492; issue No. 52, entry No. 6425; 2009, issue No. 42, entry No. 4917; 2012, issue No. 3, entry No. 405; 2013, issue No. 6, entry No. 498); Presidential Decree No. 1577 of 26 November 2007 on the open joint-stock company Rosoboroneksport (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 2007, issue No. 49, entry No. 6131); Presidential Decree No. 1052 of 10 July 2008 on matters concerning Rostekhnologiya, a State corporation established to promote the development, manufacture and export of high-technology industrial goods (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 2008, issue No. 28, entry No. 3362; 2009, issue No. 1, entry No. 100; issue No. 3, entry No. 362; issue No. 49, part 2, entry No. 5923; 2010, issue No. 15, entry No. 1778); Government Decision No. 1109 of 2 October 1999 approving the regulations on the provision by the federal executive authorities of military and technical support and control of the development, manufacture and supply of military goods, as amended by Government Decision No. 730 of 5 September 2011 (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 1999, issue No. 41, entry No. 4927; 2011, issue No. 37, entry No. 5242); Government Decision No. 604 of 6 October 2006 approving the regulations on the monitoring of compliance by the competent authorities of foreign States with obligations concerning the proper use of specific types of military goods supplied from the Russian Federation (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 2006, issue No. 42, entry No. 4379; 2009, issue No. 12, entry No. 1439); Government Decision No. 641 of 4 November 2006 approving the regulations on the register of organizations authorized to engage in foreign trade activities involving military goods (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 2006, issue No. 46, entry No. 4792; 2008, issue No. 50, entry No. 5946; 2011, issue No. 37, entry No. 5242); Government Decision No. 831 of 1 December 2007 approving the rules for listing military goods licensed for delivery to foreign clients and the rules for listing States licensed to receive deliveries of

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military goods included in the list of military goods licensed for delivery to foreign clients (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 2007, issue No. 50, entry No. 6293; 2008, issue No. 50, entry No. 5946; 2011, issue No. 35, entry No. 5096; 2012, issue No. 21, entry No. 2660); Government Decision No. 863 of 29 October 2009 approving the rules on obtaining end-user certificates when importing foreign-made military goods into the Russian Federation (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 2009, issue No. 45, entry No. 5343); Order No. 52 of 3 July 2001 of the Russian Federation Committee on Military and Technical Cooperation with Foreign States approving the instructions on the procedure for submission to the Russian Federation Committee on Military and Technical Cooperation with Foreign States of information and documents necessary for the registration of contracts concerning foreign trade activities involving military goods (Bulletin of Regulatory Acts of the Federal Executive Authorities of the Russian Federation, No. 37, 10 September 2001); Order No. 59 of 28 August 2009 of the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation approving the instructions on procedures for the submission of documents to obtain licences and reports on the use of licences issued, and on required formalities for licences, licence applications and supplementary lists of military goods (Bulletin of Regulatory Acts of the Federal Executive Authorities of the Russian Federation, No. 44, 2 November 2009). 3.3. Transit The transit of small arms and light weapons is governed by the regulations on the transit of arms, military equipment and military stores through the territory of the Russian Federation, approved by Government Decision No. 306 of 8 April 2000 (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 2000, issue No. 16, entry No. 1702). Transit may be effected by any means of transport with authorization from the Federal Customs Service in agreement with the Russian departments concerned, including the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Federal Security Service (para. 2 of the Decision). Small arms and light weapons are subject to border and customs control and formalities while in transit through the territory of the Russian Federation (para. 3 of the regulations). Aircraft carrying small arms and light weapons may not cross the territory of the Russian Federation without landing for border and customs formalities (para. 3 of the regulations). Small arms and light weapons in transit through the territory of the Russian Federation are provided with physical protection in accordance with Russian legislation (para. 10 of the regulations) and with Government Decision No. 219 of 28 March 2008 on the procedure for surface transit through the territory of the Russian Federation of arms, military equipment and military assets being sent to the International Security Assistance Force in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 2008, issue No. 13, entry No. 1317). 4.

Law enforcement/criminalization

In accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation of 12 December 1993, all national laws must be officially published. No regulatory or legal instruments affecting human rights, freedoms and obligations may be applied unless they have been officially published for general information (art. 15).

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The legal regulations relating to small arms and light weapons involve the need for authorization: all actions not permitted explicitly under legislative acts are prohibited. Depending on the type of violation of the procedure governing trade in small arms and light weapons, Russian legislation provides for administrative, material or criminal liability. In accordance with the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Federal Act No. 63 of 13 June 1996 (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 1996, issue No. 25, entry No. 2954), the illegal manufacture, storage, acquisition, transfer, transport and bearing of and trade in small arms and light weapons are defined as punishable criminal offences. Criminal penalties are also established for the theft, extortion, negligent storage, inadequate protection and loss of small arms and light weapons and for the violation of regulations relating to their handling. Under article 222, as amended on 25 June 1998, the illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transport and bearing of firearms, basic parts of firearms, ammunition, explosive substances or explosive devices are punishable by imprisonment for a term of up to eight years. Under article 223, as amended on 25 June 1998, the illegal manufacture of firearms is punishable by imprisonment for a term of up to eight years. Under article 224, negligent storage of firearms which allows their use by another person, if this leads to serious consequences, is punishable by restriction of liberty for a term of up to two years. Under article 225, dereliction of duty by a person responsible for the protection of firearms, ammunition, explosive substances or explosive devices, if this leads to their theft, destruction or other serious consequences, is punishable by imprisonment for a term of up to two years. Under article 226, the theft or extortion of firearms, spare parts for them, ammunition, explosive substances or explosive devices is punishable by imprisonment for up to 15 years. Under article 226.1, the smuggling of firearms or their component parts, explosive devices or ammunition, or any weapons or military equipment, is punishable by imprisonment for a term of up to 12 years and a fine of up to 1 million roubles. Under article 348, as amended on 25 June 1998, violation of the rules for the protection of weapons, ammunition or items of military equipment for official use, if, through negligence, this leads to their loss, is punishable by imprisonment for a term of up to two years. Under article 349, violation of the rules for the handling of weapons and ammunition, if, through negligence, this causes the death of a person, is punishable by imprisonment for a term of up to five years or, in the event of the death of two or more persons, for a term of up to 10 years. Measures to identify, prevent, suppress and detect offences involving weapons, including small arms and light weapons, are regulated by Federal Act No. 144 of 12 August 1995 on police operations and investigations, as amended by Federal Act No. 302 of 2 November 2013 (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 1995, issue No. 33, entry No. 3349). During the investigation of crimes covered by the foregoing articles of the Criminal Code and in cases of voluntary surrender of weapons and cartridges for them, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs implements the provisions of ruling No. 5 of the plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of 12 March 2002 on judicial practice in cases of theft or extortion of or illicit trafficking in weapons, ammunition, explosive substances and explosive devices, and article 144 of the Russian Code of Criminal Procedure.

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National measures for the enforcement of United Nations Security Council arms embargoes Prohibition of the supply of small arms and light weapons to countries in respect of which a Security Council embargo is in effect is imposed immediately by a decree of the President of the Russian Federation. The procedure for such actions is established by Presidential Decree No. 235 of 18 February 1993. In accordance with this procedure, the aforementioned deliveries and services are halted, the issuing of the appropriate licences to participants in foreign trade activities ceases, and the relevant intergovernmental agreements and contracts are suspended until the Security Council lifts the sanctions. 5.

Stockpile management and security

The circulation of small arms and light weapons in the Russian Federation is governed by the following regulatory acts: Federal Act No. 150 of 13 December 1996 on weapons; Federal Act No. 79 of 29 December 1994 on State material reserves, as amended by Federal Act No. 415 of 28 December 2010 (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 1995, issue No. 1, entry No. 3); The Federal Act of 4 March 2008 amending article 11 of the Federal Act on weapons (Rossiyskaya Gazeta, No. 50, 7 March 2008; Parlamentskaya Gazeta, No. 17, 13 March 2008); Federal Act No. 3 of 7 February 2011 on the police (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 2011, issue No. 7, entry No. 910); Presidential Decree No. 248 of 1 March 2011 on questions relating to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, as amended by Presidential Decree No. 689 of 29 August 2013; Government Decision No. 1314 of 15 October 1997 approving the rules governing the circulation of combat firearms and other weapons, ammunition and cartridges for them, and edged weapons in State paramilitary organizations, as amended by Government Decision No. 1038 of 11 October 2012; Government Decision No. 814 of 21 July 1998 on measures to regulate the circulation of civilian and service weapons and cartridges for them in the territory of the Russian Federation, as amended by Government Decision No. 179 of 28 February 2013; Government Decision No. 1575 of 18 December 1997 on the procedure for the issuing of service weapons to judges by agencies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, as amended by Government Decision No. 1267 of 6 December 2012 (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 1997, issue No. 51, entry No. 5818); Government Decision No. 718 of 5 December 2005 on awarding weapons to citizens of the Russian Federation, as amended by Government Decision No. 664 of 12 August 2011; Government Decision No. 587 of 14 August 1992 on questions of private investigation activities and private security activities, as amended by Government Decision No. 1423 of 27 December 2012 (Compendium of Acts of the President and Government of the Russian Federation, 1992, issue No. 8, entry No. 506); Government Decision No. 274 of 16 April 2011 approving the rules on police inspections of security units of legal entities engaged in special assignments and departmental security units, as amended by Government Decision No. 605 of 20 July 2011;

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Government Decision No. 544 of 7 July 2011 amending the rules on the circulation of civilian and service weapons and cartridges for them in the territory of the Russian Federation; Government Order No. 1207 of 3 August 1996 approving the list of civilian and service weapons and ammunition for them included in the State register of civilian and service weapons (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 1996, issue No. 34, entry No. 4014); Government Order No. 868 of 21 June 2000 on the establishment of a computerized federal inventory of civilian, service and combat firearms owned by organizations and citizens (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 2000, issue No. 27, entry No. 2855); In accordance with the regulations on the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Presidential Decree No. 248 of 1 March 2011), and also a Presidential Decision of 6 July 2011, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is the central federal authority responsible for monitoring the circulation of all types of weapon in the territory of the Russian Federation and for the establishment of a single centralized federal database containing an inventory of rifled combat, service and civilian weapons. The Ministry is responsible for the implementation of national measures to detect and suppress instances of illicit trafficking in weapons and ammunition and to ascertain the channels of acquisition and transportation, the tracking of such activity through systematic intelligence operations and the organization of cooperation with other law enforcement agencies. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is taking steps to detect and suppress illicit trafficking in weapons, ammunition and explosives. In 2012, criminal investigation units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Central Administration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other departments of the Ministry carried out 54 regional preventive operations to prevent illicit trafficking in weapons, ammunition, explosive substances and explosive devices. In the course of the measures against the violation of rules on storage and illicit trafficking, 8,444 firearms were seized, including 29 automatic weapons, 125 rifles, 87 carbines, 1 machine gun, 207 pistols and 73,500 cartridges. A total of 576 criminal prosecutions were launched under article 222 of the Criminal Code, together with 172 for the unlawful manufacture of firearms (art. 223 of the Code) and 15 for the theft of weapons (art. 226 of the Code). Over the first 10 months of 2013, there were 57 such preventive operations. Measures against the violation of rules on storage and illicit trafficking involved the seizure of 15 automatic weapons, 41 rifles, 21 carbines, 92 pistols, 965 smooth-bore hunting weapons, 15 sawn-off shotguns, 201 gas-operated weapons, 73 home-made weapons and over 30,000 cartridges. A total of 278 criminal prosecutions were launched under article 222 of the Criminal Code, together with 42 for the unlawful manufacture of firearms (art. 223 of the Code) and 8 for the theft of weapons (art. 226 of the Code). The Ministry of Internal Affairs provides information to the ministries and departments concerned on violations that have been detected with regard to illicit trafficking in weapons and explosive material and prepares joint instructions on ways and means of combating illicit trafficking in weapons, ammunition and explosive material as one of the priorities in efforts to combat organized crime. Illicit trafficking in weapons involves mainly exported and imported contraband and the purchase of weapons by organized criminal groups from the population in armed conflict zones.

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Within the Ministry of Defence, the Service for the Oversight of Weapons Circulation in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and its structural subdivisions in military districts have been operating effectively. The Service is responsible for monitoring the circulation of weapons in the Armed Forces throughout the period of their use, developing a regulatory framework and coordinating the joint activities of military command structures and federal State bodies in matters relating to the circulation of weapons, monitoring the creation and use of a weapons database for the Armed Forces, organizing the test-firing of firearms within the Ministry of Defence and providing assistance to law enforcement agencies in identifying channels used for the entry of weapons into unlawful circulation. In addition, the Service is coordinating work on integrating a database containing a numbered inventory of the firearms, grenade launchers, jet-powered infantry flamethrowers and man-portable air defence and anti-tank systems in the possession of the Armed Forces into a single centralized federal databank of weapons in the territory of the Russian Federation. It is also coordinating long-term research into the possibility of using concealed markings on combat firearms to maintain a constant audit of their security in storage sites and to trace their movements by non-contact means in real time. These measures to prevent and suppress the entry of weapons into unlawful circulation are currently being taken by the Ministry of Defence within the framework of a unified control and oversight system. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and other authorized bodies systematically verify compliance with the rules on registration and storage of firearms at enterprises. Ensuring adequate security for small arms and light weapons and ammunition in the Russian Federation is a major obligation of the officials concerned. These officials are required to possess exact information at all times on the existence and condition of small arms and light weapons, to follow a strict procedure for organizing their protection, registration, storage, delivery and use that precludes loss and theft, to inspect the condition of storage sites regularly and to take immediate steps to suppress any violations discovered. The officials are appointed on the basis of the findings of a board of certification. Small arms and light weapons and ammunition are stored in separate locations, equipped with alarm systems, under continuous physical protection. Technical means of protection ensure the reliable operation of alarm systems in the event of any unauthorized opening of the storage sites of small arms and light weapons or damage to wiring (there is no device for forcibly shutting down the alarm). A weapons chamber may be opened only with the permission of the subdivision commander, and the duty officer of the unit must be duly informed. Officials who have not taken the necessary steps to ensure the security of small arms and light weapons and ammunition and persons who have stolen or lost such weapons are subject to criminal prosecution in accordance with established procedure. The competent authorities institute criminal proceedings and organize inquiries. In units and subdivisions, there is provision for recording the serial numbers of stolen (lost) and missing weapons in a separate ledger. The above-mentioned aspects of managing and protecting stockpiles of small arms and light weapons are standard procedure for the Russian Armed Forces and all State paramilitary organizations. Sites for the storage of weapons, ammunition and explosives within the Ministry of Internal Affairs system are protected by round-the-clock armed shifts in accordance with established procedure. All weapons storage sites within the Ministry of Internal Affairs system are now equipped with alarm systems that preclude unauthorized access. Special funding is allocated on an annual basis to modernize and replace technical alarm systems. The weapons and ammunition of interior ministry forces are stored at sites located on the grounds of military compounds.

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6.

Collection and disposal

6.1. Collection Following departmental instructions, checks are regularly conducted in the Russian Federation to identify any stocks of small arms and light weapons surplus to the needs of the Armed Forces and State paramilitary organizations. Such surplus stocks are taken out of service and placed in secure storage. Subsequently, they may be exported in accordance with the law or destroyed. 6.2. Disposal Illegal small arms and light weapons that have been withdrawn (confiscated or collected) by the internal affairs agencies are generally destroyed once the relevant criminal cases are settled, regardless of whether they are technically serviceable. The destruction of small arms and light weapons is carried out in accordance with departmental regulations. The recycling of surplus and obsolete stocks of small arms and light weapons in the Russian Federation is carried out only by the industrial enterprises that originally manufactured them or carried out major repairs on them. The recycling of small arms and light weapons takes into account the production capacities and the relevant licences of these companies, depending on the technical processes used, and there is no re-use of weapons or their component parts for their original purpose. A list of the firms with sole authorization to recycle firearms and ammunition is set out in Government Order No. 1049 of 21 June 2013. The procedure whereby small arms and light weapons are recycled only by the original manufacturers is the best way of ensuring that they are secure and that the quality of the work is monitored. It should be noted that, over the period 2010-2013, the Russian Federation recycled over 2.8 million items of surplus or obsolete firearms. It is planned that one programme alone, the federal programme entitled “Industrial recycling of weapons and military equipment from the years 2011-2015 in the period to 2020”, will account for the recycling of over 6.4 million items of small arms and light weapons. 7. Export controls (details of the regulations governing exports of small arms and light weapons are given in section 3.2) The authorization procedures for foreign trade activities involving military goods constitute one of the most effective means of preventing illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons. The Russian State authorities exercise State control and oversight over military and technical cooperation activities, in accordance with their mandates under the Constitution of the Russian Federation, federal law and other regulations. Federal Act No. 114 of 19 July 1998 on military and technical cooperation between the Russian Federation and foreign States provides for a State monopoly, which ensures that: Exclusive authority is exercised by the Russian State authorities; Authorization procedures for the export and import of military goods are introduced;

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Military and technical cooperation is regulated in accordance with the military, political and economic interests of the Russian Federation. The President of the Russian Federation formulates and endorses two lists for foreign trade activities involving military goods, including small arms and light weapons, which may be amended where necessary: List No. 1, which is drawn up by the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation, includes military goods licensed for delivery to foreign clients. Military goods not included in this list may be exported only on the basis of a presidential decision. List No. 2 is a list of States licensed to receive deliveries of the military goods included in list No. 1. List No. 2 is drawn up by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Decisions on the export of military goods not included in list No. 1 to States included in list No. 2 and on the export of military goods to States not included in list No. 2 are taken exclusively by the President. In decisions on the transfer of small arms and light weapons, a variety of political, economic, military and other factors are taken into account, including the international legal status of the receiving State or organization for which the contract for the supply of small arms and light weapons has been concluded, the domestic situation in the receiving country and in the region as a whole with regard to the existence of tension or armed conflict (the transfer must not lead to the destabilizing stockpiling or use of weapons), whether the receiving country respects international law and other obligations on the non-use of force and whether human rights are respected in the receiving country. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the leading federal body in the area of relations with foreign Governments and international organizations and carries out overall monitoring of the implementation of the Russian Federation’s international obligations. The Ministry coordinates the activities of other federal executive authorities in this area (Presidential Decree No. 1478 of 8 November 2011). In accordance with the regulations on the procedure for military and technical cooperation between the Russian Federation and foreign States, approved by Presidential Decree No. 1062 of 10 September 2005 (hereinafter referred to as “Decree No. 1062”), as amended by Presidential Decree No. 8380 of 14 November 2013: - The export of military goods, including small arms and light weapons, within the framework of military and technical cooperation is carried out in accordance with decisions by the President, the Government and/or the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation on the basis of licences issued by the Service in accordance with the procedure established by the regulations on the procedure for the licensing in the Russian Federation of the import and export of military goods, approved by Decree No. 1062; - Decisions to allow the export of small arms and light weapons require a duly legalized document containing an undertaking by the competent authority of the foreign State that the small arms and light weapons being exported from the Russian Federation will be used only for the stated purposes and will not be re-exported or transferred to third countries without the consent of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as “end-user certificate”) (para. 7 of the regulations on the procedure for military and technical cooperation between the Russian Federation and foreign States, approved by Decree No. 1062); - Compliance by the competent authorities of foreign States with obligations concerning the proper use of small arms and light weapons supplied from the Russian Federation is monitored in accordance with the international agreements to which the Russian Federation is a party and the procedure established by the Government of the Russian Federation (para. 12 of the regulations on

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the procedure for military and technical cooperation between the Russian Federation and foreign States, approved by Decree No. 1062, and Government Decision No. 604 of 6 October 2006 approving the regulations on the monitoring of compliance by the competent authorities of foreign States with obligations concerning the proper use of specific types of military goods supplied from the Russian Federation); - Decisions to allow the re-export or transfer to third countries of small arms and light weapons supplied to foreign clients and the transfer to third countries of small arms and light weapons manufactured under Russian licence are taken by the President or Government of the Russian Federation or by the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation in accordance with paragraph 13 of the regulations on the procedure for military and technical cooperation between the Russian Federation and foreign States, approved by Decree No. 1062; - Contracts concluded by entities involved in military and technical cooperation must include the obligation for foreign clients to use small arms and light weapons only for the stated purposes and not to allow their re-export or transfer to third countries without the consent of the Russian Federation (para. 20 of the regulations on the procedure for military and technical cooperation between the Russian Federation and foreign States, approved by Decree No. 1062). In accordance with the regulations on the procedure for granting Russian organizations the right to engage in foreign trade in military goods, approved by Decree No. 1062: - Organizations engaging in foreign trade activities involving small arms and light weapons (see section 8, “Brokering”, for details on which organizations in the Russian Federation are entitled to engage in such activities) are required to take measures to prohibit small arms and light weapons delivered to foreign clients from being re-exported or transferred to third countries without the consent of the Russian Federation. Any such cases discovered must be reported immediately to the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation (para. 12 of the regulations on the procedure for granting Russian organizations the right to engage in foreign trade in military goods, approved by Decree No. 1062); - In the context of foreign trade in small arms and light weapons, Russian legal and natural persons are prohibited from engaging in any form of brokering, with the exception of State brokering activities carried out by a State intermediary (para. 13 of the regulations on the procedure for granting Russian organizations the right to engage in foreign trade in military goods, approved by Decree No. 1062). In accordance with the regulations on the procedure for the licensing in the Russian Federation of the import and export of military goods, approved by Decree No. 1062, licences are granted only to the following Russian organizations: - The State intermediary, a specialized organization established by decision of the President either in the form of a State unitary enterprise based on the right of economic jurisdiction, or in the form of an open joint-stock company of which 100 per cent of the stock is federally owned or is transferred to a non-commercial enterprise established by the Russian Federation as a State corporation; - Rostekhnologiya, a State corporation established by the Russian Federation under federal law to promote the development, manufacture and export of high-technology industrial goods; - Organizations that develop and manufacture small arms and light weapons which have duly obtained the right to carry out foreign trade in military goods.

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The holding of a licence is a prerequisite for the completion of customs formalities and customs control in respect of small arms and light weapons and the licence is subject to registration by customs. The Russian Federation is devoting increased attention to improving the system for monitoring the end use of small arms and light weapons. The procedure for carrying out such monitoring was established by Government Decision No. 604 of 6 October 2006 approving the regulations on the monitoring of compliance by the competent authorities of foreign States with obligations concerning the proper use of specific types of military goods supplied from the Russian Federation. The Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation is responsible for coordinating monitoring. In accordance with this Government Decision, the proper use of specific types of military goods supplied from the Russian Federation is understood to mean the use of these types of goods for the purposes indicated in the end-user certificate, which contains an undertaking by the competent authority of the foreign State that military goods received from the Russian Federation will be used only for the stated purposes and will not be re-exported or transferred to third countries without the consent of the Russian Federation. The authority for the implementation of monitoring derives from the international agreements to which the Russian Federation is a party. Pursuant to the aforementioned Decision, the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation, on behalf of the Government of the Russian Federation, has signed intergovernmental agreements on monitoring the proper use of specific types of military goods with the Syrian Arab Republic (2006), Egypt (2007), Jordan (2007), the Sudan (2010), Belarus (2011), Iraq (2013) and Slovenia (2013). The practice of signing such agreements will continue. 8.

Brokering

By virtue of Presidential Decree No. 54 of 18 January 2007 on certain questions relating to military and technical cooperation between the Russian Federation and foreign States, foreign trade in military goods is conducted by the following Russian organizations: (a) The State intermediary, a specialized organization established by decision of the Russian President in the form of a federal State unitary enterprise based on the right of economic jurisdiction, or in the form of an open joint-stock company of which 100 per cent of the stock is federally owned or is transferred to a non-commercial enterprise established by the Russian Federation as a State corporation, in respect of all military goods set out in article 1 of Federal Act No. 114 of 19 July 1998 on military and technical cooperation between the Russian Federation and foreign States; (b) Rostekhnologiya, a State corporation established by the Russian Federation under federal law to promote the development, manufacture and export of high-technology industrial goods, in respect of military goods involving advertising, exhibition and marketing and the organization and holding of displays or demonstrations of samples of military goods; (c) Organizations that develop and manufacture military goods which meet the requirements of the Federal Act on military and technical cooperation between the Russian Federation and foreign States and have been duly authorized to carry out foreign trade in military goods, in respect of the supply of spare parts, assembled units, systems and fittings as well as special, training and auxiliary equipment and technical manuals for previously supplied military goods; the performance of work on inspection, calibration, extension of service life, technical servicing, repair (including modernization, which involves research and development work), recycling or other work involved in the comprehensive servicing of

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previously produced military goods; participation in setting up joint enterprises or organizations with foreign clients to provide technical services, repairs and disposal or recycling of military goods; the creation and installation of facilities in the territory of foreign States providing a full range of services for existing military goods; and the import of military goods essential to the production of the country’s own military goods, unless otherwise stipulated by a decision of the President or an international agreement to which the Russian Federation is a party. Russian natural persons and organizations are prohibited from carrying out brokerage activities with regard to small arms and light weapons unless they have obtained the right to do so in accordance with established procedure (art. 6 of the Federal Act on military and technical cooperation between the Russian Federation and foreign States). 9.

Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration

In the Russian Federation, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes have been formulated and are being carried out; they include the collection, control, storage and destruction of small arms and light weapons. The system for working with recovered weapons in the Northern Caucasus is specified in an interdepartmental order of the Ministries of Internal Affairs, Defence, Justice and Emergency Situations and the Federal Security Service on the procedure for the recording, documenting, identification, transfer and storage of weapons, cartridges, ammunition and explosives confiscated, found or voluntarily surrendered during counter-terrorist operations conducted in the territory of the Northern Caucasus region of the Russian Federation. There are programmes for buying back small arms and light weapons from the public and for the voluntary surrender of weapons. Over the course of 2013, more than 58,000 weapons and over 800,000 cartridges were surrendered to regional offices of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, including 4,776 weapons and nearly 200,000 cartridges surrendered on an indemnity basis. The regulations on the procedure for the collection of weapons are contained in Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation No. 1107 of 17 December 2012 approving the procedure for the collection of confiscated, voluntarily surrendered or recovered weapons, ammunition, cartridges for weapons, explosive devices and explosive substances. The public is regularly informed through the media about progress in the implementation of these programmes. In the interests of security and maintenance of law and order, there is no public destruction of small arms and light weapons. In order to implement disarmament programmes, particularly in post-conflict situations, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation waives criminal liability for the illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation or bearing of small arms and light weapons in the case of persons who have voluntarily surrendered weapons, provided that they have not carried out any other actions that could constitute grounds for prosecution (note to article 222, introduced by Federal Act No. 162 of 8 December 2003 (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 2003, issue No. 50, entry No. 4848)). 10. Awareness-raising As they are adopted, Russian national laws, regulations and procedures governing small arms and light weapons are announced and published in the media and are made available to the public. This also applies to information on confiscated and destroyed small arms and light weapons, which is provided by

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the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Defence. However, detailed data on illegal trafficking routes for small arms and light weapons are not widely publicized in view of the need to maintain confidentiality in combating this criminal phenomenon. The activities of law enforcement agencies, including control of the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, are covered by the relevant press services. 11. Bilateral international cooperation to prevent and suppress illicit trade in small arms and light weapons The Governments of the Russian Federation and the United States of America signed an Arrangement on Cooperation in Enhancing Control of Man-portable Air Defence Systems in Bratislava, in 2005. The purpose of the Arrangement is to stipulate specific areas of cooperation between the Russian Federation and the United States to enhance controls on man-portable air defence systems within the framework of counter-terrorist measures. The Arrangement provides for joint Russian-United States action in the following principal areas: - Exchange of information on national practices in the control of man-portable air defence systems throughout their “life cycle” (development, manufacture, transfer and disposal); - Joint efforts to suppress the unlicensed manufacture of man-portable air defence systems. The Arrangement provides for quarterly information exchanges on transfers of man-portable air defence systems to third countries and annual meetings between experts of the two parties. Cooperation on the prevention and suppression of illicit trade in small arms and light weapons is also implemented under bilateral intergovernmental agreements on cooperation to combat crime, including organized crime. The Russian Federation has signed such agreements with Belgium (2000), Denmark (2010), Egypt (1997), Finland (1993), France (2003), Germany (1999), Greece (2001), Hungary (1997), Ireland (1999), Israel (1997), Italy (2003), Kazakhstan (1997), Latvia (2010), Norway (1998), Portugal (2000), Slovenia (2001), South Africa (1998), South Ossetia (2009), Spain (1999), Sweden (1995), the United Arab Emirates (2007) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1997). In addition, a number of bilateral framework agreements (in some cases memorandums) on combating crime, including illicit trade in weapons, are in effect between the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and the Ministries of Internal Affairs of the following States: Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, China, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Estonia, France, Georgia, Hungary, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, Montenegro, Pakistan, Poland, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Republic of Tanzania, Uzbekistan and Viet Nam.

B.

Regional level

1.

Moratorium and regional programmes of action

When exporting small arms and light weapons, the Russian Federation takes full account of existing regional initiatives in this area.

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2.

Regional cooperation

Within the Council of Europe, the Russian Federation is a party to the European Convention on the Control of the Acquisition and Possession of Firearms by Individuals of 28 June 1978. The Russian Federation cooperates closely with participating States of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in formulating effective measures to reduce and eliminate the illicit proliferation of small arms and light weapons. In accordance with the OSCE Document on Small Arms and Light Weapons, the Russian Federation provides information to the OSCE secretariat, on an annual basis, not later than 30 June, on its small arms and light weapons exports to, and imports from, OSCE participating States during the previous calendar year. It also provides separate information on small arms and light weapons withdrawn from illicit circulation and destroyed on its territory. At the same time, the Russian Federation exchanges information with other OSCE participating States on national marking systems used for small arms and light weapons, on national techniques and procedures for the destruction of small arms and light weapons, and on the management and security of small arms and light weapons stockpiles. In order to enhance transparency with regard to transfers of man-portable air defence systems within the CIS member States, an agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine came into force on 18 November 2009 on the exchange of information on exports to and imports from third countries of Igla and Strela man-portable air defence systems. A similar agreement between the Russian Federation and Uzbekistan came into force on 18 February 2008. On 14 November 2008, the CIS member States signed a cooperation agreement on combating the illicit manufacture of and trade in firearms, ammunition, explosive substances and explosive devices. On 28 August 2008, the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization signed a cooperation agreement on combating illicit trade in weapons, ammunition and explosives and, on 11 June 2010, a cooperation agreement on combating crime.

C.

International level

1.

International cooperation and international assistance

The Russian Federation provides data each year on its exports and imports of man-portable air defence systems for the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms. Within the framework of the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies, the Russian Federation twice a year provides the secretariat of the Wassenaar Arrangement with data on deliveries of small arms and light weapons to States that are not parties to the Wassenaar Arrangement. The Russian Federation cooperates closely with the United Nations system to ensure the effective implementation of arms embargoes imposed by the United Nations Security Council. Deliveries of small arms and light weapons are made to foreign States in strict compliance with the Russian Federation’s international obligations and with the purposes and principles laid down in the Charter of the United Nations.

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The Russian Federation cooperates with the United Nations in the search for practical ways of resolving problems relating to the illicit proliferation of small arms and light weapons. The Russian Federation cooperates with the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) through its National Central Bureau to identify groups and persons involved in illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons. Effective information-sharing on crimes involving the use of foreign-made firearms and the transnational smuggling of such firearms has been set up with the member countries of INTERPOL. The INTERPOL National Central Bureau under the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs receives, processes and transmits requests, investigation instructions and communications from law enforcement agencies dealing with the arms trade to the INTERPOL General Secretariat and the relevant national bureaux of foreign Governments. In addition to the centralized registration systems, the INTERPOL National Central Bureau under the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs has a database for the registration of weapons that have been duly reported, as well as access to the INTERPOL Weapons Electronic Tracing System and to the databases of law enforcement agencies in relevant countries for the purpose of verification of foreign-made firearms.

II. Implementation in the Russian Federation of the International Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace, in a Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons The recommendations of the Department for Disarmament Affairs (note verbale of 28 January 2008) have been taken into account in the preparation of this section of the national report. 1.

Marking

1.1. National marking practices A unique system of marking small arms and light weapons is used in the Russian Federation, making it possible to identify any small arm or light weapon from the time it is manufactured until it is recycled. The need to mark every small arm and light weapon is laid down in Federal Act No. 150 of 13 December 1996 on weapons, as amended by Federal Act No. 185 of 2 July 2013 (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 1996, issue No. 51, entry No. 5681; 1998, issue No. 30, entry No. 3618; issue No. 31, entry No. 3834; issue No. 51, entry No. 6269) and in departmental regulations. The manufacture of unmarked weapons in the Russian Federation is prohibited and is prosecuted in accordance with the procedure established by national legislation. In this connection, trading in and storage of unmarked small arms and light weapons in the territory of the Russian Federation are also prohibited. Such weapons are considered illegal and are destroyed or properly marked. The marking of military small arms and light weapons differs from the marking of civilian and service firearms (under Russian legislation, civilian and service firearms are defined as smooth-bore weapons and short-barrelled rifled weapons with a muzzle energy not exceeding 300 joules that are not capable of firing multiple rounds, with a magazine or cylinder capacity of no more than 10 cartridges, differing from military weapons in respect of the type and calibre of cartridges used). Every military small arm and light weapon bears a marking which includes: A manufacturer’s identification mark;

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An individual number for the weapon assigned according to the manufacturer’s system; The year of manufacture or a symbol containing the last two digits of the year. The number is stamped on the weapon (to a depth of no less than 0.2 millimetres) and can therefore be easily restored through forensic examination if removed by mechanical means. In the same way, the hammer and trigger assembly, frame, breech block, stock, gas cylinder and safety catch are also marked with the last three digits of the product number. The manufacturer’s identification mark may be omitted from the marking if the type of weapon in question is made by only one company. In the Russian Federation, the Armed Forces and State paramilitary organizations use domestically manufactured small arms and light weapons. The number of imported small arms and light weapons used is negligible, so the problem of marking imported small arms and light weapons does not arise. The marking of civilian and service weapons meets the requirements of the Permanent International Commission for the Proof of Small Arms established pursuant to the Brussels Convention for the Reciprocal Recognition of Proof Marks on Small Arms of 1 July 1969, to which the Russian Federation has been a party since November 1994. The marking of both rifled and smooth-bore civilian and service weapons includes the following information: Country of manufacture (“Made in Russia” or “Russia”, or the name of the country of manufacture for imported weapons); Weapon model; Cartridge used (calibre and casing length for rifled weapons, calibre and barrel chamber length for smooth-bore weapons); Proof mark of the test facility where safety testing was carried out and indication of the year of such testing (last two digits of the year). The marking of smooth-bore weapons also includes: Bore diameter; Tapering (flaring) of the bore; Standard mark indicating the grade of steel used for the barrel. 1.2. Measures taken to ensure that all small arms and light weapons are duly marked In 2006, the Forensic Specifications of the Ministry of Internal Affairs set out the following: The distinction between a smooth-bore service firearm with a repeating magazine and a smooth-bore civilian firearm as regards the traces left on the cartridge cases; The distinction, as regards the traces left on the bullets, between a rifled civilian firearm and a combat firearm that both use the same type of cartridge;

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Specifications for barrelless self-defence weapons stipulating that such weapons should have the same marking and leave the same traces as firearms; Specifications for firearms and gas and flare weapons stipulating that these weapons should leave traces on the discharged cartridge cases that can be used to identify the weapon; Specifications for rifled weapons stipulating that traces that can be used to identify the weapons should be left on the discharged bullets; Specifications stipulating that the design of bullets and cartridge cases for civilian and service weapons and the materials used to make them should be such that, when the weapons are fired, traces that can be used for identification are formed and preserved. 1.3. Measures developed by manufacturers within their competence against the removal or alteration of markings The Russian Institute of Precise Mechanical Engineering in Moscow has developed a firearms marking system in which the surface of the cartridge chamber is microscopically embossed with a symbol containing coded information on the registration number of the weapon. When the weapon is fired, this information is transmitted to the casing in the form of a trace impression, which allows the weapon to be identified from the discharged casing; this can even be done immediately at the scene of a crime. An encrypted marking system for gas weapons was introduced at the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant in 2003 (as is well known, it is not difficult for experts to convert a gas weapon into a firearm). The methods and processes used to apply the encrypted marking make it practically impossible to destroy the marks on the weapon. A promising approach to introducing additional concealed marking, currently being developed by a number of Russian enterprises, is to tag firearms in such a way as to make it possible, using modern information technology, to check that they are secure and to track their movements in real time. This would also make it possible to identify a firearm in the event of its original marking being lost. The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Defence are currently engaged in work to prepare and conduct research into the possibility of using various methods to introduce concealed marking for combat weapons in order to maintain a constant audit of their security in storage sites and track their movements by non-contact means in real time. 2.

Record-keeping

Manufacturing enterprises in the Russian Federation maintain comprehensive centralized records and control of weapons produced. A monthly check is carried out by piece and number. In addition, a commission appointed by order of the enterprise director conducts an annual check of the stock and the conditions for the storage of small arms and light weapons. The registration and safe storage of finished products are governed by the instructions on the procedure for receiving, registering and storing finished products and admitting persons to warehouses. Information on small arms and light weapons is retained at manufacturing enterprises for 10 years and in the organizations that use them for an indefinite period. Provision is made for the Armed Forces, internal affairs agencies, units of the interior ministry forces and State paramilitary organizations to keep special documentation recording each issuance of weapons and ammunition. Small arms and light weapons are recorded in a special register which indicates their movement and presence in warehouses and in each unit. In addition, number-based records are kept of small arms and light weapons held by each unit or its commander. Small arms and light weapons assigned

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to commanders are registered on their service record sheets (identity cards) with an indication of the model, series, weapon number and issue date. Storing an unassigned weapon is strictly prohibited. In order to upgrade the record-keeping system for small arms and light weapons, the Ministry of Defence has organized the prompt filing of documents concerning trade in small arms and light weapons, man-portable air defence and anti-tank missile systems and their components, ammunition, explosive substances and explosive devices. The Ministry of Defence conducts permanent monitoring of the design and prompt upgrading of the database containing the numbered inventory of firearms held by the Armed Forces, including man-portable air defence and anti-tank systems and jet-powered infantry flamethrowers. Efforts are under way to finalize work on the database and improve its software, in order to ensure its timely integration into the unified federal data bank currently being established for a centralized register of firearms in the territory of the Russian Federation. A special unit of the Ministry of Defence is conducting the operational collection and analysis of information on stolen or missing firearms belonging to the Armed Forces, the establishment of a computerized registration system and a comparison of the data provided with the data contained in the centralized register of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. For the benefit of the law enforcement agencies and State paramilitary organizations of the Russian Federation and the law enforcement agencies of the CIS member States, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is organizing and conducting centralized registration of missing (stolen or lost) and recovered (confiscated, found or voluntarily surrendered) firearms in the Russian Federation. This registration will be carried out with the help of the Oruzhie automated information-retrieval system. A database for lost and recovered small arms and light weapons has been created and is updated daily. Enquiries concerning weapons verification are processed on a 24-hour basis. The Ministry of Defence and other State organizations that hold small arms and light weapons inform the Ministry of Internal Affairs of instances of theft, loss and deterioration of such weapons. Information on lost weapons is collated annually with all State paramilitary organizations. The Ministry of Internal Affairs keeps a register of test-fired bullets and casings of service and civilian weapons, with a view to tracing small arms and light weapons, establishing facts about their use in the commission of crimes, determining the type, model and calibre of weapon used from bullets and casings found at the scene of the crime, and determining the particular weapon used and its owner. The relevant research and development has been carried out to underpin the measures taken by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to create a centralized system to register rifled combat, service and civilian weapons, grenade launchers, jet-powered infantry flamethrowers and man-portable air defence and anti-tank systems in the territory of the Russian Federation and to monitor their circulation. The system will make it possible to keep a record of all weapons, including factory-produced weapons taken abroad, held by State paramilitary organizations or withdrawn from unlawful circulation. Research is currently being done into existing automated information-retrieval systems for the registration of weapons in 15 State paramilitary organizations and the experience of the automated registration of weapons in their possession is being analysed. Special software is being developed for the system, with a view to its integration into a single repository of information drawn from the Ministry of Internal Affairs Oruzhie information-retrieval system, which lists combat weapons held by internal affairs agencies and internal forces and civilian and

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service weapons, from the Oruzhie subsystem of the integrated federal database listing lost, stolen and recovered weapons and from the records kept by the Forensics Centre of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of test-fired bullets and cartridge casings from combat, service and civilian weapons. An interdepartmental working group has been set up to implement the necessary organizational and practical measures. The working group will be responsible for reaching technical agreements on constructing a centralized weapons registration system and drawing up the legislation required to set up the system. Operational testing of the system software, using the real data set already possessed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, began on 5 November 2013. Federal Act No. 25 of 4 March 2008 amending article 11 of the Federal Act on weapons introduced amendments aimed at the practical implementation of a special regime of technical registration and monitoring of rifled firearms involving test-firing, with the establishment of a federal repository of bullets and casings for the purposes of identifying weapons. This type of State control is dictated by the need for joint efforts by the law enforcement agencies with regard to the investigation of cases of illicit use of weapons, the tracing of missing and stolen weapons, and the identification of recovered weapons for the purposes of identifying the persons involved in their illicit use and establishing what factors and circumstances are conducive to the illicit trade in combat weapons. Such technical controls are applied to rifled weapons of up to 12.7 mm calibre, including military small arms and light weapons that are being newly produced and used by State paramilitary organizations in their day-to-day activities and rifled weapons that have been prepared for presentation as award weapons or that are to be issued for temporary use or handed over to other military establishments. A list of such weapons and regulations for test-firing and for the establishment of the federal bullet and shell casing repository has been drawn up by the Government of the Russian Federation. 3.

Cooperation in tracing

3.1. Information on the national point of contact Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department of Security and Disarmament Matters, Section for Military and Technical Cooperation (Smolenskaya-Sennaya Pl., 32/34, Moscow, 119200, telephone: (499) 244-2230, fax: (499) 795-14-83/12-32, e-mail: [email protected]).