Preparatory Committee for the

United Nations Conference on

 The Illicit Trade in Small Arms

 And Light Weapons in All Its Aspects

20^th Meeting (PM)

PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR SMALL ARMS CONFERENCE DEFERS DECISION

ON PARTICIPATION OF CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS

Agrees to Hear Civil Society Groups in Informal Session on 18 January

The Preparatory Committee for the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects this afternoon agreed to recommend to the July Conference that there should be no voting on substantive matters until all efforts to achieve consensus had been exhausted. 

The Committee also deferred a decision on the rules of attendance for civil society groups, but decided to allow them to address an informal meeting of the Committee later in the week.  The Committee Chairman, Carlos Dos Santos (Mozambique), said the Committee was “halfway, maybe more than halfway” towards taking a decision on the participation of civil society groups. 

The Committee first considered the attendance of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) at the preparatory meetings and the Conference itself, at the first of three preparatory sessions, held last February to March.  It had been unable to reach a consensus on whether to allow the participation of all NGOs with consultative status with the Economic and Social Council or limit participation to those directly involved in tackling the illicit small arms trade –- the scope and purpose of the Conference.

The Chairman said that the Committee was close to reaching a decision on the modalities of attendance of NGOs, but the exact wording of one part of the text needed further consideration.  Instead of continuing the debate in plenary, he would pursue consultations to ensure that all concerns were reflected in the text.  Without prejudice to an eventual decision and without precedent, NGOs would be invited to address an informal plenary meeting of the Committee on Thursday.

The Chinese delegation, which prompted this morning’s debate by seeking to limit the participation of NGOs to those specifically involved in the disarmament aspect of the illicit arms trade, supported the Chairman’s proposal that the NGOs address members in an informal, rather than a formal, plenary meeting later in the week.  He reiterated that the civil society groups should

be involved as early as possible, as their experience and expertise with regard to combating the illicit small arms trade were very important.

Concerning the package of rules of procedure for the upcoming Conference, delegations called for a strong overall document that commanded consensus on all substantive issues.  Others emphasized the importance that the rules conform to those of the General Assembly.  There was some discussion about the format of meetings of the Conference, namely which should be open and which should be closed.

The Committee Chairman suggested that consideration of the draft rules of procedure would be premature until the Committee underwent a comprehensive examination of the structure of the Conference.

The South African delegation said it would not be appropriate to bind the Conference to certain rules before its format had been determined.  Meanwhile, he understood that all United Nations Conferences followed the Organization’s general rules of procedure.

Statements were also made by the representatives of the United States, Canada, Syria, Sweden, on behalf of the European Union, Iran, Cuba and Japan.

The Preparatory Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. Tuesday, 16 January, to begin consideration of elements for a political declaration.

      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 met this afternoon to continue consideration of the Chairman’s proposed programme of work, particularly the procedures for participation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The Committee had before it a revised draft decision on the rules for attendance of NGOs at the current session, as well as at the 2001 Conference (document A/CONF.192/PC/L.7/Rev.1).  By the draft, the Committee would decide that attendance should be open to NGOs relevant and competent as regards the scope and purpose of the Conference, including those enjoying consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), provided that their requests were accompanied by information on the organization’s purpose, programmes and activities in areas relevant to the scope of the Conference.

A footnote to the text states that NGOs with consultative status with ECOSOC are not requested to submit information on their organization's purpose, programmes and activities in areas relevant to the scope of the Conference.

Also by the draft, the Committee would decide that NGOs may attend all preparatory meetings and meeting of the 2001 Conferences not designated as closed.  The Preparatory Committee would further decide that representatives or registered NGOs would be allowed to address the Conference and its preparatory meetings during one meeting specifically allocated for that purpose.

In addition, the Committee was expected to consider draft rule 33 of the draft rules of procedure for the Conference (document A/CONF.192/PC/L.8). According to that draft rule, every effort should be made to reach consensus agreement on substantive matters before a vote can be taken.  If a matter of substance came up for a vote after all measures to reach consensus had been exhausted, the President should defer the vote for 48 hours, during which time, with the assistance of the General Committee, he should make every effort to facilitate general agreement.

The Committee is also expected to consider a working paper submitted by Japan (document A/CONF.192/PC/27), which proposes elements to be considered for inclusion in part III, on “international cooperation and assistance” (document A/CONF.192/PC/L.4) of the Chairman’s proposed plan of action for the

2001 Conference.  The draft urges enhanced coordination of other international and regional organizations with respect to disarmament, demobilization and reintegration.  It further called on States in a position to do so, to assist other States, upon request, in formulating post-conflict programmes such as weapons collection and destruction.

      Continuation of Discussion of NGO Participation

CARLOS DOS SANTOS (Mozambique), Chairman of the Preparatory Committee, said that following the morning’s discussion and consultations, he understood that the Committee was close to reaching a decision on the modalities of attendance of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), but the exact wording for one part of the text needed further consideration.  Instead of continuing the debate in plenary, the Chairman would continue consultations to ensure that all concerns were reflected in the text.  Hopefully, a decision would be reached as soon as possible.

Without prejudice to the decision and without precedent, he said the Committee could allow NGOs to address the plenary of the Committee in an informal session on Thursday.  Hopefully, an early decision would allow for their participation in a more formal session.  Such a decision should be made before the end of the week, but meanwhile arrangements could be made for the Thursday session. 

The representative of China said he agreed that a solution to the issue of the rules of participation of NGOs was very important.  The experience and expertise of NGOs regarding the discussion of combating the illicit small arms trade were very important.

He said he supported the Chairman’s proposal calling for presentations by NGOs in an informal meeting on Thursday.  At the same time, that should not set a precedent.  Hopefully, the informal paper concerning the Committee’s programme of work would be revised to read that the twenty-fifth meeting would be an informal one.  On the basis of that understanding, his delegation supported the Chairman’s proposal. 

The Chairman said that a revised paper on the programme of work would reflect that understanding; NGOs would be invited to address an informal plenary meeting of the Preparatory Committee on Thursday.

Consideration of Draft Rules of Procedure

Opening the floor for a discussion of draft rule 33 of the draft rules of procedure for the Conference, the Chairman told members that it might be necessary to defer consideration of certain other rules until the full structure of the Conference has begun to take shape.

The Committee approved draft rule 33 by which every effort to reach consensus agreement would be exhausted before matters of substance were put to a vote.

The representative of the United States joined in consensus on draft rule 33 of the rules of procedure for the Conference.  Her delegation looked forward to a strong overall document on rules of procedure, the strength of which would be that it commanded consensus on all issues of substance.

Turning to discussion of the overall rules of procedure for the

2001 Conference, the representative of China said it was important to ensure that the Conference rules of procedure conformed to the General Assembly’s rules, particularly articles pertaining to the establishment of subcommittees or working groups.  Articles regarding the format of plenary meetings of the Conference appeared to contradict each other.  He proposed that plenary meetings of the Conference and of the Preparatory Committee be “open”, unless otherwise decided.  Meetings of subsidiary bodies should be “private”.

The representative of Canada said the Committee should make the presumption that meetings would be open rather than closed.

The representative of Syria said the rules of procedure as currently drafted did indeed reflect agreements that had been reached in the previous meeting of the Preparatory Committee and should be maintained.

The representative Sweden, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said it would be wise to defer consideration of some paragraphs of the rules of procedure until the structure of the Conference had been further crystalized.  What was important was to ensure that the rules of procedure corresponded to those generally practiced at United Nations conferences.

Another representative of the United States said it was his understanding that the rules conformed to general United Nations practice, and his delegation would be happy to accept the document as written.

The representative of South Africa supported the Chairman’s view that consideration of draft rules of procedure would be premature without having comprehensively examined the structure of the Conference.  It would not to “bind” the Committee to certain rules before the Conference had been fully thought out.  It was his delegation’s understanding, however, that all United Nations conferences followed the Organization’s general rules of procedure for such meetings. To that end, perhaps the draft rules for the 2001 Conference, specifically on the format of meetings, should conform to general United Nations practice. 

The representative of Iran said the Committee should look carefully at the structure of the Conference before taking certain rules of procedure into consideration.  Perhaps this was an issue that could be better addressed at the upcoming Preparatory Committee meeting in March.

The representative of Cuba said his delegation shared the concerns of Iran and South Africa.  As to overall rules of procedure, he noted the disparity between the Conference draft rules and those of the Assembly’s as regarded time allowed for statements exercise in right of reply.

The representative of Japan said his delegation supported the view that rules of procedure should be examined after the structure of the Conference had been agreed upon.  He suggested that there was perhaps a need for informal consultations on the structure of the Conference.

The CHAIRMAN said he would defer consideration of the overall rules of procedure, particularly those that referred to the structure of the Conference. He reiterated that when drafting the rules, the Secretariat had taken into account the experiences of past United Nations conferences with the hope of rectifying any discrepancies.  He said he would continue to work with the Secretariat to find answers to all member’s concerns as to disparities between

the draft Conference rules and the Assembly rules of procedure.  He also said he was glad that the Committee was now more than “half way” to taking a decision on the participation of NGOs and requested that members continue to cooperate so that a decision on that issue could be reached.

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