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EU Presidency Statement - Small arms

Madam President,

I have the honour of taking the floor on behalf of the European Union. The acceding countries Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, the associated countries Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey and the EFTA countries of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this statement.

Allow me to congratulate you, Madam President, for your election to chair this meeting. I am confident that under your leadership our work will achieve meaningful progress.

Madam President,

Two years after the adoption of the UN Programme of Action, we remain convinced that the excessive and destabilising accumulation and transfer of small arms and light weapons threaten the international security as well as the socio-economic stability, and have serious humanitarian implications.

While statistics on this issue widely vary, reliable estimates show that global stockpiles of those weapons amount today at over 600 million units, a significant increase from the figures of 2001. In conflict and post conflict situations alike, the toll imposed on innocent civilians by the wide availability and use of small arms and light weapons remains dramatically high.

Since September 2001 the alarming rise of terrorist activities compels us to effectively strengthen international cooperation in order to prevent terrorist and other criminal organisations from acquiring the weapons needed to carry out their plans.

Madam President,

The European Union is committed to work against the spread of small arms and light weapons around the world.

The mandate of the current session calls for a first assessment of the implementation of the UN Programme of Action. The European Union will therefore present an overview of its achievements to date and will listen with the utmost attention to experiences and lessons learnt by other partners, international organisations as well as NGOs.

We believe that this meeting ought to adopt an ambitious approach. In particular, the European Union hopes that our discussions on the most important aspects of the issue will help all states give consideration to starting work on unresolved and newly relevant issues and to maximise the chances of success further to be taken through the 2005 biennial meeting and the 2006 review conference.

While fully relying on your guidance, Madam President, the European Union suggests that delegations focus - under agenda item "thematic discussions" - on what we believe are crucial elements such as export controls, marking and tracing, brokering activities and the relationships between small arms and development.

In assessing initiatives undertaken since 2001, I wish to underline that the European Union has sought to comply with the provisions of the UN programme of action at three different levels:

• by strengthening the specific domestic legislation already adopted in order to eliminate identified loopholes;
  
  
• by actively contributing to initiatives launched in relevant regional fora (the OSCE, the Wassenaar Arrangement) in order to foster international cooperation and develop common standards;
  
  
• by providing financial and technical assistance to countries affected by widespread accumulation of those arms.

As far as EU legislation is concerned, two main developments should be mentioned:

• in June 2002, the Joint Action on the EU contribution to combating the destabilizing accumulation and spread of small arms and light weapons was amended to include relevant ammunitions;
  
  
• in June 2003, the European Union adopted a common position on arms brokering, requiring member states to introduce ad hoc legislation in order to effectively control the activities of brokers.

In the framework of OSCE, EU member states have participated since 2002 - either by directly drafting or by providing their comments - in the exercise aimed at preparing "best practices guidelines" which will provide useful common standards, inter alia, for the elaboration of effective national legislations in the specific field.

In the framework of the Wassenaar arrangement, the EU member states have contributed to the adoption, in December 2002, of "best practices guidelines" for exports of small arms and light weapons and of a "statement of understanding" on arms brokering activities.

In 2001 - 2003, the European Union allocated in total approximately 7.7 million euros to finance actions undertaken by affected countries to deal with the excessive and destabilising accumulation of small arms and light weapons. The EU has given financial support to projects in Cambodia (contribution of approximately 3.3 million euros), in Latin America and the Caribbean (contribution of 345,000 euros) and in Albania (contribution of 550,000 euros). A contribution of 200,000 euros was also granted to the running costs of the "Stability Pact/UNDP Regional Clearinghouse on small arms and light weapons" in Belgrade. The European Union recognises the need for a systematic exchange of information among donor and recipient countries on small arms and light weapons assistance, including lessons learned and options for future cooperation.

The European Union is currently considering the extension of its financial support for the continuation of the three above projects.

In 2003, the European Union decided also to support the consolidation and demilitarization of surplus small arms ammunitions in Albania, a project managed under the terms of the NATO partnership for peace trust fund, granting a financial contribution of 820,000 euros.

Madam President,

In addition to projects supported by the European Union it is also possible to fund small arms and light weapons projects through the European Commission budget. In this respect a financial agreement was concluded in May 2003 between the Republic of Tanzania and the European Commission which grants 2 million euros over a three year period to a large scale project implemented by Safer Africa.

Through its political support and its financial contribution to SALW initiatives, the EU has proven the seriousness and consistency of its engagement. We can claim that the EU has become one of the major international actors in the fight against the illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons. We therefore believe that the momentum of this initiative should be maintained and enhanced.

As I have already indicated, the European Union considers it important that this first biennial meeting - and therefore the conclusions of your Chair summary - recommend follow-up measures to complement those parts of the UN Programme of Action which need to be strengthened.

Among these areas, further substantive work is required on export controls, which is an essential tool to curtail the illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons. The European Union proposes to consider the elaboration of common national and international standards, with the aim of preventing legal trade from being diverted into illegal channels and limiting the excessive accumulation of arms in regions already affected by existing tensions or armed conflicts. The 1998 EU code of conduct on arms exports represents a model towards which other legislations could converge. A ban on transfers to non-state actors is an element of great relevance to be duly considered. Man Portable Air Defence Systems as a prominent class of light weapons endangering civil aviation make this need for a ban on transfers to non state actors abundantly clear.

Ensuring effective control on brokering is considered a high priority by the European Union. Illicit brokering and trafficking are recognised as among the main factors fuelling the illegal trade worldwide. Strict domestic legislations on brokering - as foreseen by the EU common position - should be complemented by transparent exchange of relevant information. The European Union strongly favours the adoption of a legally binding multilateral instrument on this issue as soon as possible.

Marking and tracing bear primary importance in the action to eradicate illegal trade's channels. It is therefore essential to develop common marking standards as well as to agree on common procedures - both at the level of national legislation and international cooperation - to track small arms and light weapons or ammunition from their origin to the last identified user. The European Union welcomes the conclusions of the UN group of experts and is convinced that a multilateral, legally binding instrument in this field would yield considerable progress, first and foremost in enhancing the means and quality of establishing evidence against the illegal traders and those engaged in terrorist activities.


The European Union believes that greater transparency and openness in reporting on small arms and light weapons is a high priority, and wishes to encourage initiatives to allow the development of national and sub-regional reporting of SALW transfers. In this respect, the European Union has noted the initiative of the Republic of Slovenia to establish the regional contact point for SALW, launched at the UN - OSCE conference at Brdo, Slovenia, in March 2003.

The European Union believes that assistance should be provided to conflict-prone countries with the aim of fostering security, disarmament and demobilisation - as well as reintegration of ex-combatants into civil society - as an integrated part of development strategies. The European Union has included a specific "weapons for development" component in the assistance programme to Cambodia. The latter represents an example of comprehensive approach to the problem, foreseeing also activities related to weapons registration and safe storage, weapons destruction and public awareness. We hope that our meeting will draw lessons from existing or already concluded programmes and will agree on common measures to be taken at the national, regional and global level.

Madam President,

The implementation of the UN Programme of Action will have to be monitored and further enhanced after this first biennial meeting. The European Union attaches great importance to the biennial meeting foreseen in 2005, which will represent a crucial step towards the preparation of the 2006 review conference. The European Union will present its candidature for the chairmanship of the 2005 conference in due time.

In developing this process, the European Union will also take into account the contribution from and participation - to the widest possible extent - of relevant NGOs and civil society, which have always provided valuable contributions to our works and deliberations.

Madam President,

In carrying out your task, you can rely on the full and consistent support of the European Union, which stands ready to engage in open and constructive discussions with all interested delegations. With the common endeavour of all partners, success should not evade us.

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Recherche Avancée

• EU Presidency Statement - Report of the Secretary General on Small Arms (19/1/2004)
• EU Presidency Statement - Thematic session on import - export control (11/7/2003)
• EU Presidency Statement - Thematic session on marking and tracing (10/7/2003)