US hinders global effort to cut small arms trade over right to own a gun

Thousands of weapons went up in smoke in ceremonies around the world yesterday when the United Nations opened a two-week conference aimed at reducing the flow of arms into conflict zones.

Authorities in Cambodia, Sierra Leone, Brazil and South Africa set fire to pyres of illicit guns and light weapons to highlight the illegal trade in small arms that is blamed for 500,000 deaths a year.

But the lofty goals of the UN conference in New York have been scaled back after pressure from gun-producing countries such as the United States, China and Russia, whose delegates have been working behind the scenes to block agreement on a tough action plan. The outcome of the conference will be a non-binding declaration by the 120 states in attendance that many participants fear will be too weak to have any real impact.

American officials, under pressure from the National Rifle Association (NRA), a powerful lobby group that is accredited to the conference as a non-governmental organisation, insist that the UN conference will not touch on "domestic gun-control issues".

Ramming home that point at the conference opening yesterday, the US under secretary of state for arms control, John Bolton, said the Bush administration rejected any move to restrict the right of citizens to bear arms. He also warned that America would oppose plans to restrict arms trading to rebel groups.

Kofi Annan, UN secretary general, who was attending the Organisation of African Unity summit in Lusaka yesterday, said: "Perhaps the document is not going to be as strong as we would have liked, but it is a step in the right direction. It is a recognition by the international community that we need to do something about these weapons."

More than 500 million small arms and light weapons are in circulation, and more than half are illicit. But unlike chemical, biological and nuclear weap-ons, no treaty regulates the manufacture, sale and use of small arms, which are blamed for the deaths of more people.

While the legal small arms trade is estimated at $4bn to $6bn (£3bn to £4bn) annually, the illegal trade stands at about $1bn. The UN conference is to focus on both. Issues to be debated include a system of marking and tracing small arms; tightening export controls; and enhancing countries' control over the manufacture, supply and ownership of weapons.

America made clear yesterday that Washington would oppose measures to constrain legal trade and manufacture. "The vast majority of arms transfers in the world are routine and not problematic," Mr Bolton stressed.