A/HRC/32/21 C. Regional agreements and instruments regulating civilian access to firearms 37. A large number of binding and non-binding regional agreements and instruments have been developed to address the civilian acquisition, possession and use of firearms. The following texts have been developed in Africa: Bamako Declaration on an African Common Position on the Illicit Proliferation, Circulation and Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons (2000); Protocol on the Control of Firearms, Ammunition and Other Related Materials in the Southern African Development Community Region (2001); Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, their Ammunition and other Related Materials (2001); Nairobi Protocol for the Prevention, Control and Reduction of Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Great Lakes Region, the Horn of Africa and Bordering States (2004); and Central African Convention for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, their Ammunition and all Parts and Components that can be used for their Manufacture, Repair and Assembly (2010). 38. In the Americas, the Andean Plan to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in all its Aspects (2003) was developed. The European Union adopted Directive 91/477/EEC on control of the acquisition and possession of weapons (1991) and its amending Directive 2008/51/EC. In the South Pacific, the Legal Framework for a Common Approach to Weapons Control, also known as Nadi Framework (2000), was developed. In regions that have no common legal framework on firearms, model legislation has been developed to assist and inform national efforts to regulate, among other things, possession of firearms by civilians. Notable in this regard are the Arab Model Law on Weapons, Ammunitions, Explosives and Hazardous Material (2002) and the Commonwealth of Independent States Model Law on Weapons (1997).53 39. The statements of purpose provided in the preambles to these regional agreements and instruments constitute a helpful guide to the rationale behind the regulation of civilian access to firearms. For example, in the preamble to Directive 91/477/EEC, the Council of the European Communities asserts that the rules contained in the Directive will generate mutual confidence in the field of the protection of the safety of persons. In its convention ECOWAS refers to the excessive and destabilizing accumulation of small arms and light weapons as well as their proliferation as the context for regional regulation. In the Nairobi Protocol the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the participating States addressed the wellbeing of the population in the subregion and their right to live in peace. In the Nadi Framework the signatories established as the founding principle the possession and use of firearms as a privilege that is conditional on the overriding need to ensure public safety. In the preamble to the Central African Convention the signatory States recall, among other things, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and Security Council resolutions on children and armed conflict. These references confirm the link between firearms control and human rights and support the approach adopted by the treaty bodies. 40. A comparative analysis of these normative instruments reveals common elements with regard to the regulation of civilian access to firearms: the requirement of national regulations stipulating conditions under which civilians may acquire, possess and use firearms; the requirement to establish sanctions for offences involving the misuse or unlawful possession of firearms; and international cooperation between member States in areas regulated by the respective instrument. All except the Bamako Declaration and the Andean Plan prohibit unrestricted access to firearms by civilians, while only the SADC 53 See www.iacis.ru/upload/iblock/ceb/057.pdf. 12