HEADQUARTERS PRESS CONFERENCE BY FORMER FRENCH PRIME MINISTER

Press Briefing

HEADQUARTERS PRESS CONFERENCE BY FORMER FRENCH PRIME MINISTER

More than six million people had been killed by small arms -- as opposed to weapons of mass destruction -- in the last 10 years, confounding the expectations of a “peace dividend” that accompanied the end of the cold war, former French Prime Minister Michel Rocard said at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon.

Mr. Rocard, Co-Chair with President Alpha Oumar Konaré of Mali of the Eminent Persons Group on Small Arms and Light Weapons, said more people were at risk from violence today than ever before. A culture of violence was a major problem in the effort to stem the humanitarian toll of small-arms proliferation. With societal values in transition, the distinction between combatants and non-combatants had been completely eliminated.

Stressing the need for cooperation between supplier and recipient States, he said another problem confronting anti-proliferation efforts was worldwide excess production of small arms and light weapons. With the political, security and economic interests of key players at stake, it was a sad reality of power politics that some permanent Security Council members opposed meaningful small-arms control, a cause of division in the organ on that issue.

President Konaré said the 20-member Eminent Persons Group was a strong expression of civil society's will to exert moral pressure for an end to the proliferation of small arms and light weapons. The Malian capital of Bamako would host a meeting at the end of November to prepare for the 2001 United Nations Conference on Small Arms and Light Weapons Trafficking in all its Aspects. The preparatory meeting would seek to renew a three-year moratorium on small arms declared by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Another member of the Eminent Persons Group, Organization of African Unity (OAU) Secretary-General Salim Ahmed Salim, said the Group hoped to sensitize the international community and mobilize sufficient action at the regional and international levels so that the 2001 conference could achieve concrete results.

Also present were Sola Ogunbanwo of the Nigerian delegation to the Millennium Summit, and Albrecht Muth Count Albi, Executive Director of the Eminent Persons Group. Other members included the President of Georgia, a former Prime Minister of India, the Foreign and Defence Ministers of Brazil, Cameroon, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and United States.

Asked how the Eminent Persons Group hoped to control and enforce action against the manufacture and sales of small arms, Mr. Rocard replied that the Group could only propose solutions. Hopefully, a

Rocard Press Conference - 2 - 6 September 2000

world agreement could be reached and governments could harden national laws or even impose sanctions on non-registered arms producers.

President Konaré added that high stakes were involved. The problem must be approached in stages, because there could be no success without the support of small-arms manufacturers. They must agree to measures to help end the illicit small-arms trade.

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