ATF Launches Probe of UN Machineguns
by Dave Workman
Senior Editor
Did the United Nations illegally import German-made Heckler & Koch MP5 submachineguns and issue them to United Nations (UN) Secretary General Kofi Annan’s security detail, even after being denied permission to do so by the US Department of State?
That is the question that federal investigators are exploring, and there is no small irony involved in the investigation. Last year, the UN hosted a global summit on the proliferation of small arms that was loudly protested by American gunowners, and more diplomatically rebuffed by the Bush Administration.
During a special meeting of the UN Security Council last July, Annan complained about the problems in regulating firearms: “There is no single tool of conflict so widespread, so easily available and so difficult to restrict as small arms.”
Several UN member states have banned the possession of private arms by their own citizens, and it appeared to American gun rights activists that the UN was planning to directly attack the US Constitution’s Second Amendment. For years, a fear expressed among some gun rights organizations has been that the UN would push a treaty on the US that would eviscerate individual gun rights in this country and overrule the Bill of Rights.
Outside the UN building in New York stands a sculpture of a Colt Python with its barrel bent and twisted, a statement to the international organization’s anti-gun philosophy.
But wanting to regulate, or ban, the private possession of firearms by citizens apparently poses no moral conflict with arming one’s own security personnel.
According to a Feb. 21 report in The Washington Times, the submachineguns have been brought into the country since 1998 without proper US government clearance. While UN officials claim they had an okay and that the guns were legally acquired, that’s not the story from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF).
While diplomatic issues may complicate the investigation, some issues are clear, among them being the fact that the US government does not consider the UN security service a “law enforcement organization.” Because of that, possession of automatic firearms by this security group is not permitted.
Apparently, the MP5 submachineguns are not the only interesting firearms in the possession of UN security staffers. Several other types of military assault weapons are reportedly used by this security team.
The UN reportedly first applied for permission to buy MP5s back in 1998, but the State Department turned down the request. Evidently, that did not stop the UN from bringing in the guns anyway, further adding to the irony of Annan’s stand against proliferation of small arms in 2001.
UN officials have claimed that their security service obtained all the proper licenses. Whether they are licensed or not—or by what state or federal agency—the guns may not be taken legally outside the UN building compound.
But The Washington Times reported that those guns frequently do travel away from UN headquarters, usually when security officers accompany Annan on trips around the city.
As reported in the Dec. 20, 2001 edition of Gun Week, machineguns are not the only security enjoyed by the anti-gun UN Secretary General. Late last year, Annan took delivery of a specially-equipped BMW 750iL, featuring bullet-proof armor and glass. The car was delivered in November, months after the UN’s anti-gun conference.
There is no diplomatic immunity for security officers assigned to protect UN delegates, so if the security officers are collared away from UN headquarters with the MP5s, they could face serious gun charges under state and federal law.
The report of the UN chief’s “hypocrisy” in this case is drawing unusual allied fire from both gun rights and anti-gun organizations.