Attachments
DC/3328
Preparatory Committee for Review Conference
on Illicit Small Arms Trade
5th & 6th Meetings (AM & PM)
Meeting also Discusses International Tracing Instrument, Elects Vice-Chair
Ending human suffering was the primary purpose of the United Nations Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons, a Nigerian doctor reminded delegates today as they prepared for an upcoming review conference.
“I am here as a medical doctor,” said Hakeem Ayinde of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War — International Action Network on Small Arms. “Why are you here? I trust that is because we share a common goal,” he told the Preparatory Committee for the United Nations Conference to Review Progress Made in the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects.
He recounted the story of a 40-year-old Ecuadorean man whose two gunshot wounds had resulted in two surgeries, a 10‑day hospital stay and a bill of $10,000 — a sum equal to the health-care coverage for 200 Ecuadoreans. The costs of the man’s long-term rehabilitation, loss of employment and children dropping out of school for lack of funds illustrated the long-lasting damage that guns could cause, Dr. Ayinde said.
A number of other non-governmental organizations emphasized the importance of incorporating the human aspect into discussions leading up to the August Review Conference on the Implementation of the 2001 Programme of Action. Felix Kokou Aklavon, National Focal Point of the International Action Network on Small Arms in Togo, described the deadly toll that massive explosions at arms depots around Africa had taken on human life, citing the most recent example earlier in the month, which had killed hundreds of people and left thousands more homeless, following an explosion and fire at an arms dump in Brazzaville, the capital of Congo. “The entire world, and particularly the many survivors and victims, are waiting for a very strong signal of your engagement,” he said.
Other representatives of non-governmental organizations stressed the need to include ammunition in the Programme of Action, citing their role in causing thousands of deaths. Hector Guerra, also of the International Action Network on Small Arms, said that with the Review Conference just five months away, the international community increasingly had a need to know about the impact of the Programme of Action’s implementation on gun-violence levels on the ground. “One of the main lessons learned since 2001 is that although guns kill more people than any other weapons, most gun deaths occur in countries or contexts unrelated to war,” he said.
Progress in implementing the Programme of Action remained wanting, he said, noting that few of its 60 paragraphs had been put in place by more than “a handful of States”. About 158 Member States had reported at least once since 2001, with 34 others never having submitted a single report. The creation of national focal points had been “underwhelming at best”, and many questions remained, including how to measure implementation, he said. “This year’s Review Conference will shape global arms policy for years to come, and therefore must ensure that the United Nations small arms process is continued and strengthened beyond 2012.”
The Programme of Action contains substantial agreed norms and programmes on several issues, including preventing and combating the illicit production and trafficking of small arms and light weapons; ensuring effective controls over the legal production of those weapons, their holding and transfer; weapons collection and destruction; and control over those arms in post-conflict situations. Earlier biennial meetings were held in 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2010, and a Review Conference was held in 2006.
Earlier today, the Preparatory Committee concluded its thematic debate on the follow-up to the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, and opened discussion on the International Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace, in a Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons.
In another business, the Preparatory Committee elected Indonesia’s representative, by acclamation, as a Vice-Chair of its Bureau.
Speaking during today’s thematic debates were representatives of Jamaica (also on behalf of the Caribbean Community), Israel, Iran, Australia, Argentina, Cuba, Belgium, Chad, New Zealand, Kenya, Switzerland, Philippines, United States, Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, Algeria, Russian Federation, China, South Africa, Morocco, France, Colombia, Ghana, Niger and Côte d’Ivoire.
Representatives of the European Union delegation; African Union; International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL); Regional Centre on Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Great Lakes Region, the Horn of Africa and Bordering States; East African Community; and the Organization of American States also spoke.
Also delivering statements were representatives of the non-governmental organizations Defence Small Arms Advisory Council and the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute.
The Preparatory Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 22 March to continue its thematic debate.