PRESS CONFERENCE BY CO-CHAIRMAN OF 'EMINENT PERSONS'

PRESS CONFERENCE BY CO-CHAIRMAN OF 'EMINENT PERSONS'

Michel Rocard, former Prime Minister of France, Co-Chairman of the Eminent Persons' Group on Small Arms, this afternoon urged the appointment by the Secretary-General of a coordinator to ensure a follow-up to the United Nations Conference on Small Arms and the speedy implementation of its programme of action.

That would be "a useful measure", he said at a Headquarters press briefing to discuss the outcome of the Conference, formally known as the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons In All Its Aspects.  The Conference which opened on 9 July was scheduled to conclude late today, Friday, 20 July.  The other Co-Chairman of the Group is President Alpha Oumar Konare of Mali.

Mr. Rocard said that until such time as the United Nations was capable of doing so, non-governmental organizations with the cooperation of the small arms manufacturers should develop procedures for tracing and publicising the origins of weapons used in conflicts.  That would enable pressure to be brought to bear on the relevant illicit arms suppliers to stop their activities.

In protracted negotiations over the past week, delegations have not been able to agree on a number of key provisions of the draft Programme of Action to be adopted by the Conference. 

Mr. Rocard said the vacuum left by the absence of binding agreements could be filled by the voluntary action of States, their national legislatures, and civil society organizations as well as well as the small arms industry itself, which had already declared publicly its readiness to abide by a code of conduct.

He would not by "any means consider the Conference a failure”, Mr. Rocard said.  A process had been started, and the subject of small arms was open.  Every one knew, including commentators, that the negotiations on the outcome document would be extremely difficult.  National interests of many States were completely contradictory, he said.  The fact that the subject was now in the international community was a good beginning.  However, he was sorry the final outcome document did not go as far as it could have.

(A report by the Chairmen of the Eminent Persons' Group annexed to document A/CONF.192/13 of 18 July 2001 -- said the group had met with representatives of small arms manufacturers, who had committed themselves to institute standards for the marking and tracing of small arms.  Also present at the 26 June Paris meeting were arms trade associations and representatives of Canada, France, Nigeria, the Russian Federation and United States.  Ambassador Camilo Reyes of Colombia, then President-designate of the Small Arms Conference, was also present.  (According to the document, the manufacturers also made a commitment to support and assist further efforts against transfers of small arms that would be in violation of human rights, international treaty obligations, United Nations Security Council embargoes or international law, or that would be used in genocide, illegal acts of aggression, criminal acts or for interference in the internal affairs of States.)

Mr. Rocard said he welcomed some of the provisions of the draft programme of action of the Conference, such as an appeal to national legislative bodies to improve regulations on exports of small arms and light weapons, and also the introduction of domestic legislation with elements on international law on the subject.  He also commended proposed measures to regulate the activities of arms brokers.

He expressed regrets that the Conference had not been able to come up with “a compulsory, legally binding" document.  It had also failed to agree on "restricting transfer of small arms only to Governments and entities duly authorized by competent national authorities”.  That failure was an issue of great importance to many State members of the Conference, he said.

The Conference also failed on negotiating a legally binding instrument on the marking or tracing of small arms as well as on brokerage.  He noted also that no agreement had been reached on a system of tracing small arms and light weapons and on publicising their transfer.

Responding to questions, Mr. Rocard said the industry group they met were geographically representative.  The group was called the World Forum of (Firearms) Manufacturers.  The Forum had appointed a Firearms Manufacturers' Advisory Group with which the Eminent Persons' Group had been holding discussions.

He told a questioner that the manufacturers would like their freedom.  They wanted to escape unnecessary or unwelcome publicity or regulations.  They did want to ensure that they were not blamed for any re-exports to criminal groups.  They had therefore agreed to offer technical advice on markings of weapons, as well as on the nature of information to be made available for monitoring illicit trafficking in small arms.

He told another correspondent that the Eminent Persons' Group was not negotiating with any specific companies but the Forum Group which was a widely representative body of small arms manufacturers.

According to the report of the Chairmen of the Eminent Persons' Group, the representatives of the small arms manufacturers also saw the urgent necessity of examining issues beyond marking and tracing.  The report said the manufacturers would examine international normative criteria for authorizing international transfers of small arms so that such transfers did not violate the existing obligations of States under international law, such as those arising under decisions of the United Nations Security Council. 

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