PRESS CONFERENCE ON SMALL ARMS BY FOREIGN MINISTER OF COLOMBIA

At a Headquarters press conference this afternoon, Colombia’s Foreign Minister told correspondents that many speakers during the first half of the Security Council’s open debate on small arms had acknowledged the comprehensive Programme of Action adopted by the United Nations Small Arms Conference as a step in the right direction.  Guillermo Fernandez de Soto, whose delegation holds the Council presidency for the month of August, was presiding over the Council’s day-long public meeting.  He added that most speakers agreed that what was important now was to ensure the implementation of the Conference goals at prescribed national, regional and subregional levels.

As for the Council’s role in the follow-up to the Conference, Mr. Fernandez de Soto said he believed today’s meeting was the first time Council members had presented concrete recommendations to the wider international community on the myriad challenges posed by the unchecked proliferation of small arms and light weapons.  He added that his delegation had presented several recommendations, including the need for the Council to incorporate positive national and regional experiences in the area of small arms when it developed conflict-resolution schemes.  Also, Colombia stressed the need for collective action to deal with the matter, particularly the promotion of partnerships with regional or international organizations that might be outside the United Nations system.

                He went on to say that Colombia also believed that the breadth of the small arms problem demanded a level of attention and action that was equivalent to international initiatives aimed at combating other transnational criminal activity such as drug trafficking.  Those efforts should address the responsibilities of all countries, both producers and consumers of small arms and light weapons.  The Security Council should actively promote the principle of shared responsibility in the matter, particularly since it was a sad but well known fact that it was the developing world that disproportionately suffered the ill-effects of weapons – which, for the most part, were manufactured in developed countries.

He said that the Council should also advance the notion of collection and destruction of illegal arms, as well as the necessity of destroying excess arms controlled by governments.  Colombia’s recommendations and those of other delegations had been representative of the positive discussions thus far.  He expected the remainder of the more than 40 speakers to present equally constructive suggestions when the meeting resumed later this afternoon.  He hoped that the outcome of the open debate would shortly result in a presidential statement reflective of the willingness of the Council and Member States to advance not just the implementation of the Programme of Action, but also any subsequent measures adopted by the Council itself.

Several correspondents wondered if in holding a debate on this issue, the Security Council was going beyond its mandate.  Was the Council now taking on duties that were reserved for other organs within the United Nations, particularly the General Assembly?  Should the Council, as had been suggested by the United States, be concerned only with the issue of exchange of information on the small arms issue?

Mr. Fernandez de Soto said that yesterday he had met with the President of the General Assembly to discuss some of those very issues.  While the Council recognized the distinction between the outcome of the Conference and the issues it could address, it was felt that the most important overall objective was for all the Organization’s bodies to identify the crucial issues addressed during the Millennium Assembly, and then seek to advance the recommendations laid down by world leaders in the Millennium Declaration.  The issue being debated in the Council today tremendously impacted the work of the Council in the area of conflict prevention and resolution.

He also said he believed that the United States recognized the importance of the need for the Council to address the issue of small arms, particularly when it considered specific conflict situations on its agenda.  He found that delegation’s statement overall to be a positive one and representative of its willingness to work towards expanding the significant first step the Organization had made in addressing that important issue, by adopting the Conference’s Programme of Action.

Mr. Fernandez de Soto gave the floor to Council President Alfonso Valdivieso, who told correspondents that, while the Council’s programme of work for the month had not yet been approved, it was certain, however, to begin with consultations on various matters.  The Council would consider its work programme tomorrow morning.  On cooperation of neighbouring States to ensure the enforcement of sanctions against the Taliban, Mr. Valdivieso said the resolution on the creation of a monitoring mechanism had been approved by the Council last Monday.  That very definitive resolution had taken into account the recommendations of the Panel of Experts which had toured the countries bordering Afghanistan.  It was hoped that creating central monitoring groups in New York that would work in conjunction with support teams in the field would advance friendly relations with those countries.

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