Preparatory Committee for the

United Nations Conference on

 The Illicit Trade in Small Arms

 And Light Weapons in All Its Aspects

1^st Meeting (PM)

PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR JULY SMALL ARMS CONFERENCE

BEGINS SECOND SESSION

The opening this afternoon of the second session of the Preparatory Committee for the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects was dominated by a debate on its organization of work, namely whether to begin formulation of a draft plan of action first in open formal meetings, or in smaller working groups.

The current preparatory session meets in New York through 19 January.  The third Preparatory Committee session will be held in New York from 19 to

30 March.  The disarmament Conference –- the first since 1987 –- will be held from 9 to 20 July, also in New York. 

At issue during the wide-ranging discussion today was how to proceed on the formulation of a draft action plan for the Conference.  Several delegations objected to the Chairman’s proposal that members immediately form working groups for their deliberations, preferring first a general discussion of the document in formal open meetings followed by a more focused consideration of the specific sections.  Establishing clusters at present was premature, they said.  Several smaller delegations expressed concern about the inability of their staffs to attend several concurrent meetings.

The Chairman concluded that the Committee would hold a general discussion on the draft programme of action tomorrow, followed by a more in depth discussion of the draft’s four sections through the end of the week.  He cautioned against entering into a “drafting exercise” at present, and remained convinced that the appointment of facilitators to guide the Committee’s consideration of the plan’s substantive sections would be helpful.  He assured members that there would be no concurrent working group meetings. 

Turning to substantive matters, the representative of Canada said that the single goal of the session was to address the human suffering and insecurity caused by the excessive and destabilizing accumulation and uncontrolled proliferation of small arms and light weapons and illicit transfers.  The preparatory process should generate a “holistic” solution; several factors had driven the proliferation of small arms in different regions and the variable impact upon societies had led to the development of a wide range of initiatives.  The July Conference should encourage those regional processes by developing appropriate international norms, standards, programmes and mechanisms. 

Speaking on behalf of the European Union, the representative of Sweden said that small arms and light weapons were so widespread that measures must be taken not only to control the supply of new weapons but also to help prevent the recirculation, or “cascading” of existing stocks.  An effective response required a comprehensive approach that addressed the differing aspects of the problem, including the combined supply and demand strategies together with programmes for disarmament and reintegration, demobilization, confidence-building, conflict resolution, capacity-building and development.

Also today, elections were held for the remaining posts of Vice-Chairmen, as follows:  from the Group of African States, Jean du Preez (South Africa); from the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States, Ana-Maria Sampaio (Brazil) and Salazar Cossio (Peru); from the Group of Western European and Other States, Robert McDougall (Canada), Mari-France Andre (Belgium) and Henrik Salander (Sweden).

Concerning the election of Rapporteur, the Chairman informed the Committee of his understanding that the Preparatory Committee wished to conduct its work as it did at its first session -– namely, that the report of the Committee will be prepared and presented by the Chairman, with the assistance of the Secretariat. 

The Chairman reported to the Committee on the work that had taken place since the first Preparatory Commission session ended last March, including the two inter-sessional meetings held in New York in July and October.  It was during the July meeting that the Chairman presented informal working papers relating to the draft agenda, draft objectives, draft structure and elements for a programme of action, as well as the draft rules of procedure of the Conference. 

Statements in the Preparatory Committee’s discussion on its organization of work were made by the representatives of Mexico, Jordan, Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, Singapore, Bahrain, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, Libya, Brazil, Cuba, Yemen, Belarus, Angola, Pakistan, Oman, Finland, Indonesia, and Japan.  The representatives of Syria and Australia also made statements.

The Preparatory Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. Tuesday, 9 January, to begin an exchange of views.

Committee Work Programme

The Preparatory Committee for the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects this afternoon opened its second session, to be held in New York through 19 January.  Members are expected to continue the work begun at their first session (28 February to

3 March 2000), namely to recommend to the Conference a draft agenda, draft objective, and draft rules of procedure, including modalities of the attendance of civil society groups.  The Committee will also recommend to the Conference final documents, which will include a programme of action that might contain a political declaration.

In order to help define the draft Conference objective, Committee members will have before them a working paper by the Chairman, Carlos Dos Santos (Mozambique) (document A/CONF.192/PC.L.3), in which he suggests the following objective:  to strengthen or develop norms at the global, regional and national levels that would reinforce and further coordinate efforts to prevent and combat the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons; to develop agreed international measures to prevent and combat illicit trafficking in and manufacturing of those weapons and to reduce excessive and destabilizing accumulations and transfers worldwide. 

The Chairman calls for particular emphasis on conflict regions where serious problems of proliferation have to be addressed urgently.  The Conference, he writes, should seek to mobilize the political will of the international community and promote States’ responsibility with a view to preventing the illicit export, import, transit and retransfer of small arms and light weapons. 

Also before the Committee are the following four additional proposals of the Chairman:  draft provisional agenda (document A/CONF.192/PC.L.2); draft Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects (document A/CONF. 192/ PC/L.4); and draft provisional rules of procedure (document A/CONF.192/PC/L.5).

The Committee Chairman is scheduled to report today on consultations since the last session.  The Committee is expected to elect the remaining members of its Bureau and adopt its programme of work.  (For details regarding the Preparatory Committee session, see Press Release DC/2734 of 5 January.)

Statements

CARLOS DOS SANTOS (Mozambique), Preparatory Committee Chairman, said that significant work had been undertaken in the 10 months since the first Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) session, at the United Nations and in other international forums, as well as at regional and subregional levels.

He recalled that at the end of the first PrepCom session, members had recommended that the Chairman undertake inter-sessional consultations to advance the work of the PrepCom.  Two inter-sessional meetings had been convened, in July and October 2000.  During the July meeting, the Chairman presented informal working papers relating to the draft agenda, draft objective, draft structure and elements for a programme of action, as well as the draft rules of procedure of the Conference. 

In October, a second inter-sessional meeting had been held in which delegations overwhelmingly supported the Chairman’s draft structure and elements for a programme of action and requested further elaboration, which he had accomplished.  Discussion had also led to an understanding of the draft agenda and draft objective, which, hopefully, the Committee would formally recommend to the Conference, he added. 

Also, in July, preliminary discussions had been held on the rules of procedure, he said.  Indeed, the valuable work of delegations had enabled the First Committee to reach a decision on the dates and venue of the first PrepCom and the Conference itself.  During the inter-sessional meetings, the Chairman had been requested to continue consultations on the Conference President and the modalities of attendance of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). 

On the inclusion of civil society groups, he said that intensive consultations would lead to the presentation of a text at the present session.  Concerning the Conference President, he hoped to report to the present session following continuing consultations.  Overall, the work of the PrepCom had been advanced a great deal; the Committee could now build on that progress.

He said that important developments had occurred, which had given new momentum to the preparatory process.  Of particular importance was the Millennium Declaration in which heads of State and government had agreed to take concerted action to end the illicit arms trade by making arms transfers more transparent, supporting regional arms measures and taking into account the outcome of the 2001 Conference.  He had met with the General Assembly President, who had emphasized the importance of the success of the 2001 Conference as part of the Millennium Declaration.  He had also had briefings and coordination meetings with Chairpersons of other PrepComs, with a view to ensuring collective success.

He had also participated in a number of other relevant regional and international meetings, he continued.  Bearing in mind that Africa was the most affected region in the world, it had been inspiring to see the degree of commitment displayed at the relevant meetings, which should, in turn, inspire the work of the PrepCom.  In all of the events, he had found an earnest desire to contribute to the success of the PrepCom and Conference, with the ultimate goal to alleviate the suffering of people worldwide resulting from the illicit trade, misuse and excessive accumulation of small arms and light weapons.

Keeping that goal in mind, he said that members could not fail to make the PrepCom a success, crown the Conference with success and develop an action plan to be implemented by all.  Participants should work together to bridge differences and strengthen common understanding.

Proceeding to the elections of remaining officers of the Bureau and a brief discussion on the draft rules of procedure, the Chairman said it was important to be able to view the proposals as a basis for substantive work.  The goal was to develop a text that would satisfy all delegations without reducing it to the lowest common denominator.  New proposals for change were welcome; discussions were open to States’ recommendations.

Turning to the Committee’s organization of work, several delegations debated the Chairman’s proposed structure.  There was a general concern that the proposal to establish clusters to consider the four sections of the draft programme of action would complicate the Committee’s consideration.

Many representatives expressed a preference for a general discussion of the document as a whole in plenary, which would be followed by a more focused consideration of the specific sections.  The idea of establishing clusters and facilitators to guide their work was seen as premature.  That position was put forward by Jordan of behalf of the League of Arab States.  Those delegations also reaffirmed a desire to simplify and expedite the Committee’s work by taking up the sections of the draft programme of action in the order in which they had been presented by the Chairman.

There was further concern that discussing the programme of action in separate working groups would be difficult for many of the Committee’s smaller delegations.  It was generally felt that consultations of four separate working groups, as proposed by the Chairman, would diffuse the Committee’s attention or lead to a further fragmentation of the Committee’s work. 

At the close of the lengthy exchange of views, the Chairman said the Committee would hold a general discussion of the draft programme of action tomorrow.  That would be followed by a more in depth discussion of the draft’s four sections, which he hoped could be concluded by the end of the week.  He noted, however that he did not want the Committee to enter into a drafting exercise.  He remained convinced that the appointment of facilitators to guide the Committee’s consideration of the draft’s substantive sections would be helpful.  He assured the members that during the session there would be no concurrent working group meetings. 

SUNE DANIELSSON (Sweden), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said small arms and light weapons were already so widespread that measures must be taken not only to control the supply of new weapons, but also to help prevent the recirculation, or “cascading” of existing stocks.  An effective response to the suffering caused by small arms, as well as such related issues as child soldiers, could only be found in a comprehensive approach.  Such an approach would address all the differing aspects of the problem, including the combined supply and demand strategies together with programmes for disarmament and reintegration, demobilization, confidence-building, conflict resolution, capacity-building and development.

He said that the Union had taken a number of steps, including a programme for preventing and combating illicit trafficking in conventional arms, a code of conduct on arms export, and a resolution on combating the destabilizing accumulation and spread of small arms and light weapons as part of its emergency aid, reconstruction and development programmes.  It was also providing assistance to a number of projects that collected and destroyed those weapons, including in Cambodia.

He said that despite some welcome efforts -- including the OSCE Document on Small Arms and Light Weapons approved at the Ministerial Council on 27 to

28 November 2000 and the Bamako Declaration with a Common African Position on the Illicit Proliferation, Circulation and Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons adopted at the Ministerial Conference of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in Mali on 30 November to 1 December -– work on the small arms agenda had suffered some setbacks.  Negotiations on the United Nations Firearms Protocol could not be concluded in October as had been hoped.  Nevertheless, he looked forward to renewed efforts early this year towards an agreement.

Action was needed at the national, regional and international levels and should be sustained over time to reach results, he said.  Thus, the Union firmly supported the elaboration of an action plan at the 2001 Conference, for which the Chairman had submitted a constructive proposal last July.  Indeed, that structure had been the basis for the Union’s own preparations for the present session.  Its consideration had results in its own proposal (document A/CONF.192/PC/21), which would hopefully lead to the adoption of a plan of action at the Conference. 

He drew attention to some procedural questions, including the nomination by the United Kingdom of Sir Michael Weston as Chairman of the Conference, and the attendance of NGOs.  He hoped, a solution to those outstanding issues would be reached during the present session.  Concerning the Committee’s organization of work, it might be productive to try to organize into working groups, at the appropriate time, in order to discuss specific subject areas to be included in the draft plan of action.  That would save time and make good progress.  The Union was flexible in terms of the selection of subjects and would follow the Chairman’s wise guidance, in that respect.

FAYSSAL MEKDAD (Syria) said he hoped that the Committee would take into account the need to address all aspects of the illicit trade in arms and light weapons.  Failure to consider the issue as it related to the right of State sovereignty would run counter to the objectives of the Conference.  The Preparatory Committee was duty bound to take into account the right to protect sovereignty or to liberate occupied lands in its deliberations.  In that regard, it would also be critical that the proposed outcome document clearly have language that reflected respect for the principles of the Charter.

He went on to say that the Conference should not signal a renunciation of the international community’s other priority commitment in the field of disarmament.  The question of nuclear disarmament had been given supreme importance and that should remain at the forefront of the international agenda. He also stressed the importance of the documents adopted in the regional meetings, particularly the ministerial conference in Bamako.

PAUL MEYER (Canada) said the session’s single goal was to address the human suffering and insecurity caused by the excessive and destabilizing accumulation and uncontrolled proliferation of small arms and light weapons, as well as their illicit transfers.  Hopefully, the international community agreed with the strong need to produce a meaningful global plan of action, for which the Chairman’s proposals represented an excellent base on which to build.

He said his country’s approach to the small arms and light weapons issue was based on addressing the three interlocking tracks dealing with arms control, crime control and the peace-building dimensions of the problem on global, regional and national levels.  That integrated approach targeted supply-side and transit issues, as well as post-conflict surplus stocks and the demand for weapons.  It also considered the problem to be an integral part of conflict prevention and management, peacekeeping, and post-conflict reconstruction.

With respect to the criminal dimension of the issue, he said he viewed the Firearms Protocol as an effective response to the crime control aspect of firearms issues, and remained fully committed to completing the Firearms Protocol as soon as possible.  Firearms were the principal instruments used by criminal organizations to maintain their power base.  In the age of globalization, it was imperative to provide law enforcement officials with the tools in the Firearms Protocol to facilitate transnational cooperation. 

He said the concluding document should set out a comprehensive global action plan, which would include:  relevant norms in the form of principles and commitments; a series of concrete measures that would actually reduce the numbers of small arms and light weapons in circulation around the world; prevention of problematic transfers; promotion of transparency; and reduction of the role of those weapons in undermining human security.  Such actions would be targeted at the global, regional, national and local levels, providing the global community with a forward-looking road map.

Combating the illicit trafficking was a major prerequisite for tackling the destabilizing accumulation and uncontrolled spread of small arms, he continued.  National control of manufacture was crucial.  Thus, he had actively supported the work of the Group of Governmental Experts on the Feasibility of Restricting the Manufacture and Trade of Small Arms and Light Weapons to the Manufacturers and Dealers Authorized by States.  That study, which would cover the brokering activities, including transportation agents and financial transactions, was an important input for the development of an action plan.  Hopefully, the Group’s report would be issued prior to the commencement of the third Preparatory Committee.

He said that the action plan must include measures which would increase controls governing legal transfers of small arms and light weapons.  Those would prevent diversion to illicit or unauthorized destinations and prevent and reduce the proliferation and misuse of those weapons in addition to strengthening and coordinating existing controls on legal transfers.  Global efforts to prevent and combat the diversion of arms to illicit markets would be strengthened by an improved collective capacity to trace illicit arms sales back to their source and clarify the chain of transactions in order to identify the point where legal arms were diverted to the illicit trade.

An effective international system to promote “traceability”, he went on, required three key elements:  systems to ensure adequate and reliable marking of all arms; adequate record-keeping on arms production, possession and transfers; and international arrangements to enable timely and reliable tracing of lines of supply by relevant authorities.  The Royal Canadian Mounted Police would present in a workshop next week a Canadian-developed computer-based identification aid which could be useful in responding to the tracing problem.

He said he strongly believed that the mandates of United Nations Peacekeeping Operations should contain clear provisions for disarmament, including weapons collection and destruction.  (A Canadian paper on that topic was available.)  Loss, theft or corrupt sale of small arms and light weapons from authorized stocks was a major source of illicit arms and destabilizing and excessive accumulations and flows.  Improving the management and security of stocks of such weapons should, therefore, be one of the important objectives of the action plan. 

He said that an effective action plan to reduce the global surplus of small arms, coupled with proper management and security of national stockpiles, was central to the reduction of small arms and the prevention of illicit trafficking.  All States should exercise restraint with respect to the transfer of surpluses, for which it was essential to set out norms, principles and measures.  Confiscated illicit or unauthorized arms should also be destroyed to avoid the risk that those might re-enter the illicit market.  A series of norms and standards should be developed to identify surpluses.

International arrangements to enhance information exchange and transparency could help combat illicit trafficking and prevent and reduce the proliferation and misuse of small arms and light weapons, he went on.  It could also improve the capacity to monitor accumulations and flows of small arms and light weapons, facilitate timely warning of problems and early responses, and contribute to confidence-building.  Recommendations should be considered relating to the design of regional and international registers of information relating to the manufacture, transfer and accumulation of small arms and light weapons to supplement the information on major conventional arms contained in the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms. 

The Preparatory Committee should generate a “holistic” solution, as there was no simple answer, he said.  A number of factors had driven the proliferation of small arms in different regions and the variable impact upon societies had led to the development of a wide range of initiatives embodying the various objectives and methodologies.  That was why the 2001 Conference came at an important time for providing the framework, via the action plan, to encourage those national and regional processes by developing appropriate international norms, standards, programmes and mechanisms. 

Enhancing international and regional cooperation among law enforcement agencies and customs and border control authorities was necessary, he said.  Sustained and practical follow-up to the action plan was crucial to its credibility.  The Conference should establish procedures for regular international review of progress in implementing the agreed norms and measures.

The process should be “user friendly” and promote a free exchange of information and experience that facilitated the development of “best practices” and stimulated effective action.  He endorsed the participation of NGOs in the Preparatory Committee and the Conference, itself. 

PENNY WENSLEY (Australia) said she continued to see national and regional efforts as the building blocks for coordinated international action to address the problems of small arms and light weapons.  The draft before the Committee should give regional efforts due priority in terms of measures and follow-up activities.  In that regard, the Pacific island countries were in the process of preparing a conference room paper on activities in that region.

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