GROUP OF GOVERNMENTAL EXPERTS ON UN REGISTER OF CONVENTIONAL ARMS CONCLUDES HEADQUARTERS SESSION, ADOPTS CONSENSUS REPORT

Group of Governmental Experts on UN Register of Conventional Arms

CONCLUDES HEADQUARTERS SESSION, ADOPTS CONSENSUS REPORT

NEW YORK, 1 August (Department for Disarmament Affairs) -- The 2003 Group of Governmental Experts on the continuing operation and further development of the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms, appointed by the Secretary-General pursuant to General Assembly resolution 57/75, successfully concluded its work at United Nations Headquarters on 1 August by adopting a consensus report.

The report contains a number of significant recommendations, which are designed to further improve the operation of the Register and enhance its global relevance.  Notably, the Group recommended that technical adjustments be made to two of the seven categories of conventional arms covered by the Register.  Specifically, it proposed that the reporting threshold for large-calibre artillery systems should be lowered from 100 to 75 millimetres, and that Man-Portable Air-Defence Systems (MANPADS) should be included in Category VII entitled “Missiles and Missile Launchers”.

The recommendations also contained provisions for further strengthening the role of the Secretariat in promoting the continued progress of the Register.  In addition, the Group identified a number of issues on which consensus could not be reached and concluded that further consideration should be given to those issues by the next review process.  In this regard, it recommended that the practice of holding periodic reviews of the Register should be continued.

Apart from the issue of technical adjustments to the seven categories of the Register, the Group discussed in detail a range of other issues, including the status of reporting on procurement through national production and military holdings, as well as the relationship of small arms and light weapons to the Register.

During its work, the Group considered the statement of the Secretary-General, issued on 31 August 2002 to mark the tenth anniversary of the Register, which called for the further strengthening of the Register and its role as a global confidence-building measure.

This was the fourth review of the Register and the first time since the establishment of this instrument in 1992 that agreement was reached on significant technical adjustments to the Register’s categories.

So far, 164 Member States have participated at least once in this voluntary reporting instrument, while a record number of 126 States submitted reports on arms transfers last year.  The seven categories of arms covered by the Register are:  battle tanks; large-calibre artillery systems; armoured combat vehicles; combat aircraft; attack helicopters; warships (including submarines); and missiles and missile-launchers.

The Group’s report will be submitted to the forthcoming session of the General Assembly.

For further information, contact:  Nazir Kamal, Conventional Arms Branch, Department for Disarmament Affairs; tel.:  212-963-6195, e-mail:  kamaln@un.org.

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