31Jul2015

Human Rights and Arms Trade: A new Paradigm?

Centar’s latest policy brief titled “Human Rights and Arms Trade: A new Paradigm?”, problematizes tensions between the state economic gains and the international and European legal human rights criteria. 

SUMMARY

The new security paradigm – the human security – is a people-centered approach, which aims to shift focus from states and their military apparatuses to the individual citizens and their security concerns.The Arms Trade Treaty, which entered into force on 24 December 2014, has captured some of these concerns into the prohibitions and export assessments criteria for arms trade. Serbia’s new legislation successfully addresses these concerns, too. However, taking into account the sheer financial volume of the arms trade, tensions between the state economic gains and the human rights criteria will inevitable occur. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jelena Bjelica is the lead researcher on CENTAR’s project – Increased Democratic Control over Arms and Weapons Trade in Light of Serbia’s Accession to the European Union.
Her practical research focus to date includes human trafficking, global drug trafficking and arms trade and trafficking.