Rwanda is only the latest example of what can happen when small arms and light weapons are sold to a country plagued by ethnic, religious, or nationalist strife. In today's wars such weapons are responsible for most ofthe killings of civilians and combatants. They are used more often than major weapons systems in human rights abuses and other violations of international law. Light conventional arms sustain and expand conflict in a world increasingly characterized by nationalist tensions and border wars. Yet the international com munity continues to ignore trade in those weapons, concentrating instead on the dangers of nuclear arms proliferation. In the post-Cold War era, in which the profit motive has replaced East-West concerns as the main stimulus behind weapons sales, ex Warsaw Pact and nato nations are dumping their arsenals on the open market. Prices for some weapons, such as Soviet-designed Kalashnikov akm automatic rifles (commonly known as AK-47S), have fallen below cost. Many Third World countries, such as China, Egypt, and South Africa, have also stepped up sales of light weapons and small arms. More than a dozen nations that were importers of