EU Presidency Statement - Cluster: Conventional Weapons

Mr. Chairman,

I have the honour to take the floor on behalf of the European Union. The Candidate Countries Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Croatia, the countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, and the EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this statement.

Mr. Chairman,

[SALW]

1. The uncontrolled proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons remains a world-wide scourge. Small arms cause some 10,000 casualties per week. It is an issue all of our countries are confronted with. The easy access to these weapons exacerbates conflicts, facilitates violent crime and terrorism, impedes post-conflict reconstruction and undermines long-term sustainable development. Demand factors are especially relevant to addressing the illicit trade and acquisition of small arms and light weapons. Small arms control must be aided by reduction in small arms demand, and such reduction is closely linked to good governance and confidence in public institutions.

2. The Member States of the European Union would like to stress the importance of early and full implementation of the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects. That is why the EU is looking forward to a substantial and forward-looking Biennial Meeting of States, to be held in 2005, which will be the last biennial meeting before the next UN Conference on Small Arms and Light Weapons in 2006.

3. The EU is very active in the fields covered by the Programme of Action. Apart from substantial national programmes of member countries, the EU provides approximately 52 million Euro to SALW programmes in Cambodia, South Eastern Europe and Latin America as well as to small arms destruction and disarmament, demobilisation and rehabilitation (DDR) operations in Tanzania, Ivory Coast, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

4. The EU welcomes and strongly supports the work of the Open-Ended Working Group to negotiate an international instrument to enable States to identify and trace, in a timely and reliable manner, illicit small arms and light weapons and its chairman Ambassador Thalmann. The EU is looking forward to the informal consultations on this matter and will contribute actively to their success. The EU is of the opinion that the Working Group should work towards a legally binding instrument. The EU would favour the inclusion of ammunition for SALW and of related explosives within the mandate of the OEWG and in the aforementioned international instrument. It is important that the right to initiate tracing requests is not unnecessary limited. The EU is also of the opinion that there is no need to create a new international body for co-operation in tracing. Existing networks should be used. It is however important to establish national focal points to facilitate a fast and efficient flow of information and tracing requests. The EU reiterates its support to the successful conclusion of these negotiations, aimed at the adoption of a legally binding international instrument to enable states to trace small arms and light weapons in a timely and reliable manner.

5. To a considerable extent, the Small Arms issue is a problem of transfers. The EU supports the current broad-based regional processes aimed at building support on the need to develop transfer controls and promote the inclusion in the UN POA of minimum common international controls on SALW transfers. Progress on these issues would be a significant step in reducing illicit trafficking of SALW. The EU also welcomes the broad-based consultations on further steps to enhance international co-operation in preventing, combating and eradicating illicit brokering in small arms and light weapons held by the Secretary-General and the report on the outcome of his consultations.

6. In 2003, the Council of the European Union adopted a common position, requiring from Member States that each introduce national legislation in order to effectively control the activities of brokering. The EU is convinced that the establishment of national legislation and regionally accepted rules and practices on brokering activities is essential and urgent. At the same time the EU stresses that, in addition, a global, multilateral approach to the problem of illicit brokering is necessary, as is supported by the outcome of the broad-based consultations organised by DDA. An open-ended working group on illicit brokering would not interfere with the progress of the Open-Ended Working Group on Identifying and Tracing.

7. Evaluation and verification of end-user certificates is part of the complex licensing process. Verification of the recipient is of crucial importance. Therefore, the EU encourages Member States to support consultations on effective end-user certificate systems at regional and sub-regional levels, conscious that evaluation and verification of both end-user and end-use is important in minimising the risk of diversion of the exported goods and that any investigation, prior to approval, should involve all the available information.

8. In the context of arms transparency, the EU welcomes the decision to lower the reporting threshold of the UN Register of Conventional Arms for large-calibre artillery systems. This will enhance the Register's relevance to a number of sub-regions around the world, particularly in Africa. Interested Member States, if they wish to do so, can now also include transfers of small arms and light weapons in their annual report to the Register, using definitions and reporting methods they deem appropriate, and as part of additional background information.

[MANPADS]

Mr. Chairman,

1. World-wide there are an estimated 100,000 man-portable air defence systems in circulation today, of which thousands are thought to be on offer on the black market and many are presumed to be in the possession of terrorists and other non-state actors. MANPADS are extremely lethal, easily concealable and inexpensive. Not only are MANPADS being used by insurgents for guerrilla purposes, in recent years MANPADS have increasingly become a terrorist tool for threatening civil aviation. This development warrants world-wide attention and immediate action.

In this respect, the EU also welcomes the decision to include MANPADS within the scope of the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms. As the Secretary General said, "This would contribute to broad based international efforts to stem illicit transfers, particularly in preventing these short-range ground-to-air systems from falling into the hands of terrorists."

These broader efforts, in various multilateral fora, focus in particular on export controls. They were initially prescribed by the Wassenaar Arrangement, but the political commitment by the OSCE to extend these export controls to the entire OSCE area, the G8 initiative to internationalise these controls as the 'Gold standard' for controls on MANPADS, are all supported firmly by the EU.

[Mine Ban Convention]

Mr. Chairman,

1. The First Review Conference of the Antipersonnel Mine Ban Convention will take place later this year in Nairobi, Kenya. The Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World - as this important event has become known - provides us with an opportunity to assess the enormous progress that has been achieved so far: 143 states have adhered to the Convention, the number of states officially trading in anti-personnel landmines has fallen from 34 to zero; and the number of states where such mines are used, has dropped from 19 in 1997 to no more than five today. More than 37 Mio stockpiled mines have been destroyed. Large areas of mined land have been cleared and, most importantly, the number of new victims of landmines - killed or injured - has dropped significantly.

2. But at the same time, the Nairobi Summit provides us with an opportunity to chart a course for the solution of the landmine problem in the coming years. Important challenges remain. Promoting and achieving universal adherence to the Mine Ban Convention remains a priority, as vast stocks of anti-personnel mines are still kept by states outside of the Convention. The EU has carried out numerous démarches to promote the widest adherence to the principles of the Convention and urges states not party to accede to the Convention. Landmines still kill or injure thousands of innocent people each year and remain a formidable obstacle for development. It will be a significant challenge in the next five years to ensure the financial resources that are necessary to fulfil the mine clearance obligations within the timelines of the Convention.

3. In order to reduce the number of mine accident victims, to help victims and to foster socio-economic development, the European Union is providing assistance to affected states and communities. The combined effort of the European Union and its member states make the Union the biggest contributor to mine action world-wide. Mine action is characterised by a close co-operation between governments, international organisations, non-governmental organisations and local communities. The EU urges all states in a position to do so to continue or to join this co-operation.

4. The EU will participate actively and at the highest possible level in the Nairobi Summit and encourages all states to do the same in order to send a clear signal that the landmine problem is finite and can, indeed, be solved.

[CCW]

Mr. Chairman,

1. Last year the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) saw the adoption of a fifth Protocol, on Explosive Remnants of War. It was a success of process and of substance. Of process, since it was the first time in a number of years that we concluded a legally binding instrument in the field of arms control. And of substance, since it is our belief that this protocol will reduce significantly the humanitarian risk to civilian populations. The EU attaches great importance to the entry into force of this Protocol, which several EU member states have already ratified. The Union calls upon all CCW states to make efforts for an early ratification. On the application of existing principles of international humanitarian law in the context of ERW and on possible preventive measures, the EU stands ready to further contribute constructively to considerations and developments.

Mr Chairman,

2. The EU also considers it crucial that the serious humanitarian, developmental and economic concerns posed by the irresponsible use of Mines Other Than Anti-Personnel Mines, or MOTAPM, be addressed. Reliable reports from humanitarian organisations and ngos working in conflict zones, as well as from states, highlight these concerns. We have seen a growing awareness of the urgency to address these humanitarian problems. At the same time, we acknowledge that MOTAPM can still be used as legitimate weapons which serve important military purposes with regard to self-defence and other military operations. It is important to strike a balance between humanitarian concerns and military considerations. The EU would like to draw attention to the proposal on MOTAPM sponsored by more than 30 states parties to the CCW, including a number of EU partners. And EU countries have made important contributions to the process on subjects such as Sensitive fuses, Detectability, and the problem of Mines laid outside fenced and marked areas.

The EU very much welcomes the efforts undertaken by the co-ordinator with a view to facilitate the discussion and allow progress on this issue.

Finally, Mr. Chairman,

3. The EU is actively promoting the establishment of a compliance mechanism applicable to the entire CCW. Simplicity, clarity and cost-effectiveness should be guiding principles of any such consultation and compliance mechanism. It should not unduly burden States Party and it should be consistent with existing meeting and reporting procedures. The EU is actively reflecting on modalities for an effective mechanism. We encourage other States Party to reflect likewise and to take a flexible position as well.

Thank you.

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• EU Presidency Statement - Other Weapons of Mass Destruction (18/10/2004)
• EU Presidency Statement - Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons (14/6/2004)
• EU Presidency Statement - Conventional Weapons (6/11/2003)