EU Presidency Statement - Small Arms and Light Weapons: Capacity-Building, Resource Mobilisation and Institution Building

Capacity-building, Resource mobilization, Institution building

Mr Chairman,

1. I have the honour to take the floor on behalf of the European Union. The acceding countries Bulgaria and Romania, the candidate countries Croatia* and Turkey, the countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Moldova and Ukraine, align themselves with this statement.

2. The UN Programme of Action commits to member States to national, regional and international measures to control small arms and light weapons. The 2003 Biennial Meeting showed that much remains to be done to implement these commitments. The European Union calls on States to help those countries that are seriously affected by armed violence to build their capacity to control small arms. Recent research conducted by the Biting the Bullet project has also shown that countries with effective national commissions and comprehensive national action plans on small arms have been better able to implement their Programme of Action obligations. We also believe that such assistance is most effective when it is conducted within development partnerships and aligned with broader development goals.

3. Since 2003, the EU has provided more than 88 million euros including all funds relevant to SALW actions under the Common Foreign and Security Policy , European Development Fund, and the European Community. EU member states also support a wide range of additional small arms control programmes including Albania and Ukraine. While these efforts are starting to show real results, we believe that our common aim for the 2005 Biennial Meeting must be significant progress at the national level to tackle this problem that is at the heart of so many conflicts today.


*Croatia continues to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process

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• EU Presidency Statement - Small Arms and Light Weapons: Human Development (15/7/2005)
• EU Presidency Statement - Small Arms and Light Weapons: Import/Export Control and Illicit Brokering (14/7/2005)
• EU Presidency Statement - Small Arms and Light Weapons: Linkages (14/7/2005)
• EU Presidency Statement - Small Arms and Light Weapons: Marking and Tracing (13/7/2005)
• EU Presidency Statement - Small Arms and Light Weapons: Weapons Collection and Stockpile Management (13/7/2005)
• EU Presidency Statement - UN Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons (11/7/2005)
• Déclaration de la Présidence de l'Union européenne - Armes légères (17/2/2005)