PRESS BRIEFING ON DPI/NGO CONFERENCE

PRESS BRIEFING ON DPI/NGO CONFERENCE

At a press briefing this afternoon, Under Secretary General for Disarmament Affairs Jayantha Dhanapala stated that there would be a spiraling upward of arms expenditures around the world this year.

Speaking in the presence of the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of East Timor, Jose Luis Guterres; the Law and Research Director for Médecines sans Frontières, Francoise Bouchet-Saulnier; and the Director of the Public Affairs Division, Therese Gastaut, he stated that, as a consequence of the 11 September terrorist attack on the United States, military expenditures would go up “much, much higher”.

Mr. Dahanapala pointed out that for 11 years after the cold war there had been a progressive decline in military spending, but now the world faced the prospect of a roll-back that had been initiated in 1998.  In 2001, $850 billion had been spent on arms, which amounted to $150 per person per year.  At today's afternoon plenary session of the DPI/NGO Conference, under the heading, “Demobilizing the War Machines -- Making Peace Last”, he said he would emphasize the link between disarmament and development, a point that had been largely ignored at the World Summit on Sustainable Disarmament held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

He commended non-governmental organizations for their contribution to the disarmament process.  Because of their efforts, the Register on Conventional Arms had come into existence and had shed light on the “dark side of disarmament”.  Secrecy had allowed corruption to attach itself to the arms trade, a fact made known by the non-governmental organizationTransparency International.

In her remarks, Ms. Bouchet-Saulnier emphasized the importance of securing the peace after hostilities had ended in any conflict situation by exposing war crimes committed by both sides during the conflict.  If such crimes were committed with impunity, future peace would be put in jeopardy.

Those who counselled restraint in exposing such crimes when they were committed made it possible for guilty parties who assumed power to later deny any wrongdoing on their part, she said.  Consequently, such crimes had to be exposed during the conflict, not afterwards.  Because of its impartiality, Médecines sans Frontières was in a position to safeguard the interests of all, especially the weak, during conflict situations.

In the context of accountability, she also urged caution in the way the war on terrorism was being executed.

In his remarks, Mr. Guterres acknowledged the important role of non-governmental organizations in building peace and democracy.  The media also had its part to play, he said.  He agreed with Ms. Bouchet-Saulnier about the need for war crimes to be exposed and the rights of victims to be protected.

For its part, East Timor was conscious of the need to accommodate human rights in its Constitution, he said.  It was a country that was seeking justice but not “justice as vengeance”.  However, for human rights to be respected in his country, it was necessary for Indonesians and East Timorese to look at the past together.  The Government of East Timor was determined to allow civil society to make its contribution to the development of the country.  Without democracy, there could be no development.

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