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SUMMARY STATEMENTS IN TODAY’S MEETING OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL ON SMALL ARMS AND LIGHT WEAPONS
NOTE: FOLLOWING ARE SUMMARY STATEMENTS IN TODAY’S MEETING OF THE SECURITY COUNCILON SMALL ARMS AND LIGHT WEAPONS. A COMPLETE SUMMARY OF THE MEETING WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE MEETING, AS PRESS RELEASE SC/8316.
(I-Newswire) - Before the Council was the Secretary-General’s report on Small arms ( document S/2005/69 ) dated 7 February 2005, which reflects initiatives undertaken to implement his 12 core recommendations on ways in which the Council could contribute in dealing with the question of small arms and light weapons in situations under its consideration.
The Secretary-General notes the progress achieved in the implementation of recommendation 1, on tracing illicit small arms and light weapons, particularly the work of the Open-ended Working Group, which, on 24 January 2005, began negotiations on a draft international instrument for the timely and reliable identification and tracing of illicit small arms and light weapons. Regarding recommendation 2, on the Interpol Weapons and Explosives Tracking System, Canada has joined the United States in providing funding for that project’s continuation. Regrettably, however, there is no noticeable change regarding recommendation 3, on the Small Arms Advisory Service.
With respect to recommendation 4, on the interaction between the Council and the General Assembly, no structured interaction has been established between the two organs, though the implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects has emerged as a key issue on the agendas of both organs. The Secretary-General is particularly pleased with the progress being made on the issue of illicit brokering in small arms and light weapons, which has been an area of concern, particularly in connection with the activities of terrorist groups.
The report states that while Security Council action has led to significant progress in the implementation of recommendation 5, on the enforcement of the Council’s sanctions resolutions, the results will depend on the political will and relevant technical capacity of Member States. In addition, more remains to be done with regard to recommendation 6, on the links between illicit small arms and light weapons and the illicit exploitation of natural and other resources.
Regarding recommendation 7, on disarmament, demobilization and reintegration in post-conflict situations, the report says it is crucial that the Security Council adopt a comprehensive and regional approach in addressing cross-border activities. Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes are more likely to succeed if rigorous measures are in place to curb links between illicit trade in natural and other resources, illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons, cross-border abduction and recruitment and armed conflicts. Moreover, provisions relating to such programmes should continue to address not only the political and security aspects, but also the social and economic aspects, especially the needs of former combatants, including women and children, and of receiving communities. Furthermore, much remains to be done in respect of recommendation 8, on financing for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration. The Council could consider including in the assessed budget of peacekeeping missions provisions for technical, financial and logistical support for the reintegration phase.
The report lists conflicts in -– and cites the relevant Security Council resolutions pertaining to -- the following countries with respect to recommendation 7: Afghanistan, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Sudan.
With respect to recommendation 9, on control over the export and transit of small arms and light weapons, the report states that the Security Council continued to encourage States that have not yet done so to establish the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure effective control, including the use of authenticated end-user certificates. Concerning recommendations 10, on a more vigorous and expeditious use of arms embargoes, and 11, on coercive measures against those who deliberately violate arms embargoes, the recent practice of establishing mechanisms to support, monitor and assess implementation of sanctions, as well as to provide technical advice to the related sanctions committees, is satisfactory. There is also a more vigorous effort on the Council’s part to adopt measures to identify and punish violators or those who support violations.
Regarding recommendation 12, the Secretary-General reports remarkable progress in efforts to increase participation in the two reporting instruments on arms transparency –- the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms and the United Nations standardized instrument for reporting military expenditures. Also encouraging is the inclusion of man-portable air-defence systems ( MANPADS ) in the Register, as well as growing support for bringing the international transfer of small arms and light weapons within the Register’s reporting system.
Statements
NOBUYASU ABE, Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, presented the Secretary-General’s report, which he said describes initiatives taken to implement the recommendations in the Secretary-General’s report on dealing with the illicit trafficking in small arms. The recommendations covered four main areas: implementation of the Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons; sanctions and arms embargoes as decided by Security Council; conflict prevention, peace strengthening and disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former combatants; and confidence-building measures. Much progress had been achieved in some key areas such as enhancing cooperation in the tracing of small arms and light weapons, the adoption of more rigorous measures against violations of arms embargoes, and transparency in armaments. The increasingly vigorous actions taken by the Council regarding the implementation of sanctions and arms embargoes were particularly encouraging.
The systematic monitoring of sanctions was another important development, he continued. Equally noteworthy was the adoption by the Council of measure to punish violators of arms embargoes and those that supported such violations. Greater attention by the Council to women and children and receiving communities in the context of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration was also commendable. The report also underscored that more needed to be done in a number of areas, including the links between the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons and the exploitation of natural resources, greater interaction between the Council and the General Assembly on the issue and support for the establishment of the small arms advisory service.
He noted that today’s debate took place in the wake of the second substantive session of the open-ended working group on an international instrument for the tracing of small arms and light weapons held recently in New York. Although the group seemed to be moving closer to agreement on some issues, it was still far from reaching consensus on others, such as the nature of the international instrument. He hoped the group would be able to build consensus on key issues by the end of the third session to be held later this year.
YORIKO KAWAGUCHI, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Japan, said the question of small arms and light weapons was a multi-disciplinary one in the sense that widespread use of small arms not only resulted in a large number of casualties, but also had a socio-economic dimension. It gave rise to such other issues as child soldiers and the disruption of recovery and development in post-conflict situations. It was an important area where the nexus of peace and development demonstrated itself. That was why Japan attached great importance to that issue. One of her country’s contributions to efforts in that area was Japan’s chairmanship of the United Nations Panel and Group of Governmental Experts on Small Arms. Also, as one of the co-sponsors of annual Assembly resolutions on small arms and light weapons, he believed it was significant that the texts were adopted by consensus.
Among the issues his Government considered to be important in addressing the issue of small arms and light weapons, she mentioned the implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects. In support of the Programme, Japan had sponsored several seminars and workshops, and another one was being planned by Japan, China, Switzerland and the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific, as a regional initiative. One of the most important tasks set out in the Programme of Action related to marking and tracing illicit small arms and light weapons. As the report before the Council pointed out, the open-ended working group established by the Assembly had made some progress, and Japan had made a number of constructive contributions to discussions there. As a non-exporter of weapons, in principle, Japan would continue to work towards a successful outcome at the working group.
Turning to disarmament, demobilization and reintegration in post-conflict situations, she said that while progress was made in a number of areas, there were many more challenges to overcome. Japan had been taking concrete actions in that regard. In Afghanistan, for instance, Japan had been assisting in the process of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration through the dispatch of experts, provision of training for ex-soldiers and implementation of a reintegration project at the grass-roots level. Her country was also involved in similar projects in Africa.
She added that she had promoted the idea of consolidation of peace as one of the pillars of Japan’s foreign policy during her tenure as Foreign Minister. The idea was to provide assistance for countries in post-conflict situations to make a smooth transition towards nation-building. That policy was in line with the High-Level Panel’s key notion that international peace and security were closely linked with development problems in today’s globalized world. Collection and destruction of illicit small arms and small weapons, capacity-building in the development of appropriate legislation and regulations, as well as import and export control, were the areas where international cooperation was especially needed. With that in mind, Japan had been conducting a weapons-for-development project in Cambodia for the past two years.
STUART HOLLIDAY ( United States ) said that small steps by individual countries and collective steps by regional and subregional organizations would go a long way towards establishing norms and practices that would diminish the proliferation of small arms and light weapons. The international instrument for the timely and reliable identification and tracing of such weapons should be practical and effective, and should not interfere with already existing commitments in other forums. Welcoming the Secretary-General’s report, he said that large dividends in threat reduction could be achieved with a relatively modest investment. He welcomed the Secretary-General’s attention to the destruction of small arms and light weapons and urged consideration of improvements in physical storage facilities and stockpile security. He also urged States to focus on those activities for their own surplus and obsolete weapons. Such preventive activities were relatively inexpensive and could generally be accomplished using locally available infrastructure and personnel.
Since the inception of its small arms and light weapons destruction programme in 2001, the United States had provided assistance for the destruction of over 700,000 small arms and light weapons and destroyed over 75 million rounds of ammunition in 20 countries, he said. With a more focused approach to mitigate the threat posed by the proliferation of MANPADS to undesirable end-users, the United States had expanded its destruction programmes to safeguard and eliminate those dangerous weapons. Since 2003, it had destroyed over 10,500 MANPADS. Effective export and import controls, and their enforcement, were the keystone to any successful effort to mitigate the problems of illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. Unfortunately, in many countries, few, if any, laws existed to regulate the import and export of small arms and light weapons. In places where such laws did exist, enforcement was often weak. Any export-control system should contain reliable and meaningful mechanisms for the licensing of production and transfer of small arms and light weapons.
ADAM THOMSON ( United Kingdom ) welcomed full support that he hoped would be expressed in the presidential statement to be adopted today to the implementation at the national, regional and international levels of the United Nations Programme to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons. More responsibility was needed in the management of such transfers. Availability was so widespread that restraint by traditional suppliers, although necessary, was not sufficient. A broader international approach was needed. The Programme of Action contained important guidance on controlling transfers, and it was necessary to build on that. For example, it was necessary to identify key common factors for consideration before issuing a licence for an international transfer of small arms and support regions and countries concerned with capacity-building.
The objective was to introduce minimum common international controls on transfers with the Programme of Action at the review meeting on small arms in 2006, he continued. There were signs that an increasing number of countries supported the need for improved transfer controls. An agreement on reducing illicit transfers of small arms would be a major achievement. In the longer term, his country was also working with partner governments in support of an international arms trade treaty, which would be a vital tool extending the international rule of law on conventional arms. The United Kingdom supported efforts in the open-ended working group to negotiate an international instrument to enable States to identify and trace, in a timely and reliable manner, illicit small arms. The European Union as a whole supported the idea of a legally binding instrument that would also include ammunition. He hoped the group’s work would conclude positively at its third and final session in June. His country also supported the establishment of a group of governmental experts to consider further steps to enhance international cooperation in preventing, combating and eradicating illicit brokering in small arms.
The United Kingdom supported the expanded scope of the Register of Conventional Arms as a global transparency measure, he said. Welcoming the inclusion of MANPADS and light artillery within the scope of the Register, as well as voluntary reporting of small arms transfers, he added that the significant threat posed by MANPADS had been acknowledged globally, and measures to prevent their diversion must be strengthened. He regretted that the 2003 Group of Government Experts had been unable to reach consensus on the inclusion of small arms within the scope of the Register, and he hoped that would be possible in the next review. Only through full transparency of the global trade could the international community fully address the problem of their diversion in the illicit market. The Register was a unique confidence-building measure in the field of conventional arms, and he encouraged participation by all Member States.
In conclusion, he said that the 2003 biennial meeting had shown that much remained to be done to implement national, regional and international commitments under the Programme. The United Kingdom called on States to help the countries affected by armed violence to build their capacity to control small arms transfers. Such assistance was most effective when conducted within development partnerships aligned with broader development goals. The common aim for the 2005 biennial meeting must be significant progress in international efforts to tackle that problem, which was at the heart of many conflicts today.
CESAR MAYORAL ( Argentina ) said that small arms was a complex issue because it had several dimensions, including public security, human security and armed conflicts, depending on the region or subregion affected. It demanded a coherent approach by the various organs in the United Nations system. When the presidential statement was being prepared, Argentina had urged focus on two areas under the primary competence of the Council -- arms embargoes; and the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former combatants. He fully supported recommendations 5 and 9 in the Secretary-General’s report. All Member States should be encouraged to implement all Council resolutions on sanctions, including those that imposed arms embargoes, pursuant to the Charter. Member States should also be urged to adopt laws to that effect, including those on end-user certificates.
He stated that disarmament, demobilization and reintegration were an essential component of peacekeeping operations, to avoid the recurrence of armed conflicts. From its own experience in peacekeeping, Argentina believed it was necessary to take up the social and economic aspects of that issue. On matters under the Council’s competence on small arms, he needed to mention the dangers of the divergence of such weapons, including MANPADS, to terrorist groups. He welcomed the decision to broaden the scope of the Conventional Arms Register and encouraged arms exporting countries to be as responsible as they could and avoid the flow of weapons to areas of instability. Today’s debate was a good opportunity for the Council to reiterate its support for the General Assembly and the implementation of the Programme of Action. Argentina was committed to the full implementation of that Programme. With its partners in the Southern Common Market ( MERCOSUR ), it was working within the working group on preparing an instrument for the identification and tracing of small arms and light weapons. He hoped that instrument would be a legally binding one, also covering illicit ammunition.
MIHNEA MOTOC ( Romania ) said that the question of small arms was not just one of disarmament, but also of development, democracy, human rights and security. The proliferation of such weapons exacerbated conflict, sparked refugee flows and spawned a culture of violence and impunity. They often paid for civil wars, which had severe economic and social consequences. The humanitarian implications of small arms had alerted the international community to the urgency of curbing their illicit trafficking, which would reduce violence and the risk of civil wars. Small arms were also used by terrorists and criminal groups. The illicit trade in small arms became a threat not only to countries torn by internal conflict, but also to States that were free from instability, but were routes of transit or trans-shipment.
On the other hand, countries retained the legitimate right to self-defence in accordance with the United Nations Charter, he continued. Arms production and transfers for that purpose were legal -– which, in turn, meant that transfers should be conducted in a very responsible manner. The arms industry must be carefully controlled, and clear and strict criteria on arms exports should be implemented. While there were no simple solutions, political commitments could make a critical difference in conflict-affected countries and regions. In recent years, an increasing number of States had committed themselves to regional and international standards to strengthen export controls in order to prevent illicit trafficking of small arms. The United Nations Plan of Action, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe ( OSCE ) document of 2000 and the European Union Code of Conduct were the most relevant instruments, in that respect.
On Romania’s policy on small arms, he said that it would continue to be focused on combating illicit trafficking, pursuing a responsible and transparent policy on legal transfers and on promoting the removal and further destruction of surpluses. Implementing its commitments under the Programme of Action, Romania had started in early 2002 a programme of destruction of its small arms.
Governments needed to tighten legislation and regulations governing production and trade, in particular on marking and tracing, and then invest significant resources in implementation, he continued. Also needed was greater recognition of the fact that domestic laws and international policies were interdependent and that each country’s laws impacted on others. While significant progress had been achieved at the global, regional and national levels, concrete measures should be further undertaken in several directions: better coordination of various programmes; establishment of national points of contact for information-sharing and cooperation; and improvement of public awareness and transparency through enhanced cooperation between governments and the industry and publication of annual reports on arms transfers. Another important issue was weapons management and, in particular, control of civilian possession of small arms and light weapons in post-conflict countries.
HENRIQUE VALLE ( Brazil ) said that the step taken by the Assembly towards constituting an open-ended working group to negotiate an international instrument to enable States to identify and trace, in a timely and reliable manner, illicit small arms and light weapons was crucial. He expected that the document to be produced by its third session would be legally binding and responsive to the urgent necessity of interrupting the illegal flow of such weapons. The next step should be to consider how to improve international cooperation in preventing, combating and eradicating illicit brokering in small arms and light weapons.
Unfortunately, despite national efforts, there were still loopholes in the regime for the legal transfer of arms that allowed for the diversion of arms to the illegal market, he noted. Brazil stood as an example of such efforts, having adapted its legislation to current necessities. Last year, President Lula da Silva sanctioned the innovative Disarmament Statute, which restricted the bearing, possession and commerce in arms, in addition to criminalizing international arms trafficking. Aside from strengthening legislative measures, it also regularly exchanged information with its neighbours and had established border procedures.
He highlighted the need for a comprehensive approach to disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former combatants, and fully agreed with the Secretary-General’s concern with the social and economic aspects in post-conflict situations. It was crucial for peacekeeping operations to include provisions for technical, financial and logistical support for the reintegration phase.
AUGUSTINE P. MAHIGA ( United Republic of Tanzania ) said that the national security, law and order in many African countries, including Tanzania, had been adversely affected by the easy availability of small arms due to many factors, including porous borders, recurrent subregional conflict and the presence of armed elements among refugees. Small arms were the weapons of choice in most conventional conflicts and insurgencies. Small arms and dual-use instruments, such as machetes in the hands of undemocratic regimes and insurgent non-State actors, had been responsible for some of the most gross human rights violations, genocides, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Today, car bombs and dynamite sticks were among the deadliest weapons in the arsenals of terrorists. Control over the spread of small arms should, therefore, be one of the major preoccupations of the Security Council in discharging its primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security.
The ease with which small arms were obtained was an obstacle to peace efforts and must be addressed systematically and comprehensively as part of the disarmament responsibilities of the United Nations as a whole. While the steps already taken were commendable, there was still a need for greater support from a number of actors, including non-governmental organizations, human rights activists, religious bodies and other relevant institutions. Unfortunately, the progress towards reaching an agreement on monitoring and controlling the proliferation of small arms had been slow. He strongly recommended implementation of the Programme of Action adopted by the 2001 Conference on Small Arms. He also welcomed the efforts of the open-ended working group to negotiate an international instrument that would enable States to identify and trace illicit small arms and light weapons. That initiative required more political impetus from exporting and importing countries alike to move it forward. The Secretary-General’s initiative to establish a group of experts to consider that issue should be encouraged.
He also highlighted the link between illicit trade in small arms and illicit exploitation of resources and said that scant attention given to disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes in post-conflict situations was a major cause of arms circulation and political instability in post-conflict situations. Most of conflict-ridden areas, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, had been major recipients of small arms. States in those areas should be encouraged to come up with legislation on marking and end-user certificates. They should also exercise restraint in military expenditure and go for transparency in weapon registration, including having credible national arms registers. Efforts aimed at collecting and destroying small arms associated with criminal activities, such as drug trafficking and serious breaches of law and order, should be encouraged and financed.
KONSTANTIN DOLGOV ( Russian Federation ) said that the conclusions and recommendations of the Secretary-General’s report confirmed that the United Nations must play a lead role in implementing a comprehensive approach in the area of small arms and light weapons. Preventing the illegal spread of such weapons was becoming urgent in the context of combating terrorism and preventing armed conflicts. The international community had a great capacity in the area of combating the illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons. In keeping with General Assembly resolutions, two meetings of the working group on the elaboration of an instrument on identifying and tracing small arms and light weapons had taken place. The draft instrument stressed such key areas as weapons marking, record keeping and increasing cooperation in those areas. The creation of a comprehensive monitoring mechanism should be helpful, in that regard. He attached great importance to the second meeting of States on the implementation of the Programme of Action on small arms, which would make it possible to take stock of implementation.
The Council had discussed the illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons on several occasions, as it related to matters on its agenda, he noted. His country was in favour of adopting decisive action in cases where arms were delivered to armed groups. A top priority was monitoring compliance with the Council’s bans and embargoes. Recently, in the context of peacekeeping operations, greater attention had been given to disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former combatants and including the collection and destruction of small arms and light weapons in peacekeeping mandates. Donor support for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration was an important condition for its success. It was crucial to continue to give attention to feasible measures to prevent the illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons. He expressed gratitude to Japan for preparing the presidential statement to be adopted later today.
ADAMANTIOS TH. VASSILAKIS ( Greece ) called for a new binding instrument on the marking and tracing of small arms and light weapons saying that would greatly impede their illegal supply. Another way to combat their illicit trade was the adoption of an end-user certificate for which both the European Union and the OSCE had the relevant provisions in place, which emphasized its implementation.
He said end-user certificates would help ascertain whether arms destined for legal use were diverted to illegal recipients, thus, limiting the flow of small arms and light weapons to unauthorized or undesired users. He said universalization of that measure would significantly contribute to the legal panoply in the fight against the illicit flow of such weapons. While acknowledging the inherent right of countries to self-defence, which made small arms necessary for their armies, as well as police forces, he nonetheless observed that, in some instances, those weapons, though they started legally, arrived in the end at an illegal destination. That loophole had to be efficiently sealed through severe measures in the national legislations of all countries.
He said the flow of ammunition also had to come under control, as small arms were inoperative without their ammunition; and to that end, his country had actively participated in the destruction of excessive ammunition in Albania. Further, Greece was supportive of the view that the Security Council, in its consideration of peacekeeping operations, had always the duty to introduce a component in it dealing with disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of combatants to their local societies. If well implemented, that important measure would enhance stability in conflict-torn countries.
Additionally, he stressed the importance of measures to enforce strict compliance with United Nations embargoes and sanctions in conflict areas, saying the Council should spare no effort to stop the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, as well as identifying potential links between illicit trade in those weapons and illicit exploitation of natural and other resources. Countries had also to exercise restraint when they exported in conflict areas, even though an arms embargo had not been imposed yet.
ZHANG YISHAN ( China ) said that the illicit trafficking and excessive accumulation of small arms and light weapons had worsened the armed conflicts in certain countries and regions, and disrupted peace processes and the smooth operation of post-conflict reconstruction. In combating such illicit trafficking, national governments shouldered the primary responsibility. The root cause of the problem could only be removed by reinforcing national legal systems and control mechanisms and imposing strict control on domestic small arms and light weapons production and trade. At the same time, as small arms and light weapons had increasingly become a global issue, its appropriate solution required joint efforts by the international community. The United Nations Programme of Action against the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons and the Firearms Protocol of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime had laid a policy and legal foundation for the settlement of the issue.
As a complement to international efforts, the Security Council should, within the scope of its mandate, continue to keep its attention on the issue of illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons, carry out earnest supervision on the implementation of the relevant arms embargos, and include the contents of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration in the authorization of peacekeeping operations. In addition, the Council should strengthen coordination with the General Assembly and other United Nations bodies in that regard, to achieve complementarity. China had already signed the Firearms Protocol, and was now preparing for its ratification and implementation, as well as for establishing a national data base for small arms and light weapons production, possession and trade, and optimizing its marking system.
LAURO BAJA ( Philippines ) said, in many parts of the world, small arms and light weapons were weapons of mass destruction and their availability fuelled conflicts, caused a high number of casualties and complicated peacekeeping efforts. The problem thus required a comprehensive and coordinated response at national, subregional and international levels. That was because the problem went beyond the military and disarmament domains: it had humanitarian, as well as socio-economic, consequences.
He said there was need for domestic law, international cooperation, capacity-building and financial assistance to developing countries in addressing the problem. Weapons-exporting nations needed to assume a greater level of responsibility in their operations relative to such arms. For that reason, he endorsed the negotiations on two international instruments dealing with marking and tracing and the illicit trade of such weapons. The two instruments’ successful and early conclusion was needed for cohesion in preventing, combating and eradicating the illicit trade, and would ensure that national legislations, as well as bilateral, subregional and regional arrangements, were aligned or realigned accordingly.
In his view, unless those instruments were in force, disparate approaches at all those levels he had referred to would give the highly organized, illegal traffickers and brokers ample room to conduct their trade with impunity. All efforts in the negotiations on the draft international instrument on marking and tracing should be exerted to conclude by next June. Key to the early conclusion of negotiations was the issue of whether or not the instrument should be legally binding, he stated. In that context, he endorsed the recommendation of the High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change that called on Member States to expedite and conclude negotiations on legally binding agreements on small arms. He was further concerned that negotiations on the draft international instrument on brokering had been pushed back to the second half of next year.
Concluding, he urged Members States to continue to engage the assistance and cooperation of civil society, who looked at the issue of illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons from the a humanitarian point of view and could also provide the impetus for governments to move forward and thus avoid unnecessary delay.
MOURAD BENMEHIDI ( Algeria ) welcomed the attention given by the Security Council to the small arms issue -- a matter of great importance for the maintenance of international peace and security. The scope and complexity of the matter of illicit movement of small arms needed to be effectively addressed by the international community. There could be no hesitation. States had a primary responsibility in that respect, and they needed to take steps commensurate with the challenge. At the same time, States had a right to legitimate self-defence, as reflected in the Charter.
Continuing, he stressed the importance of dismantling networks of illegal small arms and light weapons peddlers. States also needed to demonstrate the highest level of responsibility in identifying end-users in arms sales. The General Assembly had made a real contribution to the efforts to combat illicit trade in small arms. The adoption in 2001 of the Programme of Action was an important step forward in combating the scourge, which fed conflict in many areas of the world. Establishment of an open-ended working group had been a timely response to the concerns of the international community over illegal movements of small arms. Following several open debates on small arms, the Council, for its part, had adopted three presidential statements in support of measures in that area.
He agreed with the Secretary-General’s recommendation on the need of interaction between the General Assembly and the Security Council to develop a long-term common strategy commensurate with the challenge, he said. Also, the international community would not be able to curb illicit trafficking in small arms, unless there was effective regional and international cooperation in collecting and destroying small arms in the context of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes. Africa deserved international support in that respect. Among commendable African efforts, he mentioned the Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS ) small arms moratorium, which demonstrated the region’s unwavering support to overcome illicit spread of small arms.
LARS FAABORG-ANDERSEN ( Denmark ) said the complex challenge of small arms and light weapons must be tackled through a comprehensive approach that addressed the supply and demand side of the equation. Denmark fully supported the expeditious implementation of the United Nations Programme of Action. The ongoing negotiations on marking and tracing small arms, light weapons and ammunition could be a major achievement, and the international community should move towards the adoption of an international legally binding instrument. Developing a tool to confront illicit brokering was the next step forward.
Second, he stressed the need for the Council to continue to explore ways and means of using and enforcing its arms embargoes, which were a pertinent instrument to curb the flow of arms to conflicts and countries that constituted a threat to international peace and security. He agreed with the Secretary-General’s recommendation that the Council should move to use arms embargoes sooner, rather than later, to try to prevent heightened political tension from turning into outright violent conflict. That would also be an effective way of breaking the link between illegal exploitation of natural resources and illicit arms trafficking.
Third, he was particularly concerned for the situation in Africa, where illicit arms transfers and recirculation of weapons from one conflict to another constituted a mounting problem. The challenge could only be tackled by acknowledging the inter-linkage between security and development. In order to break the vicious cycle, it was necessary to address the root causes of why people procured arms. That was why it was crucial to ensure funds for post-conflict rehabilitation and reintegration phases.
JEAN-MARC DE LA SABLIERE ( France ) outlined his country’s participation in the Programme of Action on small arms. France had also been discussing new initiatives to more effectively combat that scourge. France promoted regional activities, in that respect, and participated in the activities of several entities, including the European Union and OSCE. In Africa, it financially supported the implementation of the ECOWAS moratorium. In multilateral forums, he hoped the negotiations would lead to a legally binding instrument that would eventually harmonize international and regional standards on marking and tracing of small arms and light weapons.
In addition to the initiatives already undertaken, it was important to consider new proposals that could command consensus, he continued. Such initiatives needed to be highlighted in the regional dimension. In the European Union, France’s approach was to respond to requests from Eastern and Central Asian countries, which sought to reduce their excess stocks remaining from the times of the cold war. Unless destroyed, such stockpiles could be diverted to non-State actors. Special attention should also be given to transport problems and the need to combat illicit trafficking by air -- a preferred way to violate embargoes. It was also important to consider how to supplement disarmament, demobilization and reintegration activities to make them more effective and how to make peacekeeping operations contribute to tracing small arms. France also attributed great attention to the impact of spread of small arms on development.
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