Towards a Safe and Secure Nation: The First Consultative Conference on Firearm Control, Ownership and Administration in Botswana, 13-15 May, 2003
The UNPOA presented by the Deputy Permanent Representative of the Japanese MissionMr Toshio Sano
On behalf of Ambassador Kuniko Inoguchi, chair-designate for the First Biennial Meeting of States on the Implementation of the Programme of Action (PoA) of the 2001 United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, and the Permanent Representative of the Japanese Mission to the Conference on Disarmament, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the government of Botswana, especially the Botswana Police Service, for organizing this First National Consultative Conference on Firearms Control, Ownership and Administration in Botswana. I greatly appreciate such an initiative and feel honoured to be invited to address this distinguished audience.
Chairperson,
The illegal transfer of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW, and the excessive accumulation of these weapons, is a particularly dangerous destabilising factor in postconflict situations, as it disrupts humanitarian aid operations and hinders rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts. Furthermore, it facilitates the recurrence of war. It is often pointed out that each year more than 500 000 (five hundred thousand) people are killed or injured by these weapons, both in post-conflict and in crime situations, thus they are often referred to as de facto "Weapons of Mass Destruction."
The issue of SALW is truly a multi-dimensional and trans-national problem, involving security, manufacturing and trade industries, socioeconomic development, humanitarian and human rights aspects and cultures of violence and international crime such as drug trafficking on the black market. A typical example is the issue of tracing. Most illicit weapons originate from producing and exporting countries, often located in the North, and are then transferred to affected countries. Accordingly, in order to disrupt illegal supply lines from these countries, efforts made within national boundaries are not enough. Trans-national cooperation on information exchange with respect to marking and recordkeeping will be imperative. In order to combat these complex and trans-national problems, therefore, a comprehensive and global approach is essential. The PoA agreed on in the 2001 conference was an epoch-making internationally binding document which set out a variety of diagnoses and prescriptions to be implemented on a national, regional and international level. However, a strong awareness of the problem at hand must first be created in each country. Botswana's case is no exception. In this context, I greatly appreciate the government of Botswana's ardent efforts in tackling its SALW problems from a national, regional and global perspective.
In order to implement the PoA effectively on a global level, I believe that the following points should be stressed:
- Each country and region must be aware of the problems they face and recognize them as their own, thus acting with a sense of "ownership".
- "Partnership" between affected countries and resource and technology-rich developed countries and civil society must be encouraged in a strong spirit of cooperation.
- The international community must maximize its available resources. A new device may be needed to encourage resource mobilization.
- Donor country and regional and international financial institution aid programmes should, as an integral component, deal with the issue of SAW
- The issue of tracing and illicit brokering should be addressed as promptly as possible. The feasibility of an international instrument on brokering should be studied as a next step.
- Public awareness should be created and dramatically enhanced world-wide, as in the case of the campaign against antipersonnel land mines. For this purpose, utmost priority should be attached to the issue of SAW in each country's national and external policy.
I would now like to touch upon the following points as urgent measures for strengthening the implementation of the Programme of Action at a global level.
Ownership and point of contact
First, primary responsibility for solving SAW problems should fall upon affected countries themselves. This appears to be a matter of course, but is very difficult when it comes to taking action. In this context, I would like to raise the issue of points of contact as an important expression of national political will in tackling the problem. According to data gathered by DDA, a total of 98 out of 191 Member States have established national points of contact to date. Only seventeen (17) out of fifty-three (53) points of contact in the African countries, however, have been established or designated by the national coordinating agency as requested by the PoA (chapter II, paragraph 4), while thirteen (13) out of fifteen (15) member states of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) have already established a national committee to carry out the urgent task of an ECOWAS moratorium on the production and export of weapons.
Discussions during our regional seminar held in Tokyo in January indicated that information exchange, resource sharing, collaboration and coordination among relevant domestic agencies, inter alia development agencies, are of key importance to consolidate national efforts. National points of contact are expected to act as a liaison between States in the region as well as with both national and international NGOs and civil society.
Accordingly, I would like to urge countries who have not yet set up a national point of contact to do so immediately and to establish a network of personnel engaged in this field. This is the first step to be taken in order to address this issue from a regional and global perspective.
Collaboration between governments and civil society
Second, the establishment of good partnerships between affected countries and OECD countries and civil society would be of key importance. In this regard, I would like to point out core guidelines for partnership arrangements between Africa and OECD countries. In these guidelines, it is stressed that assistance and cooperation should be demand-driven and meet the different needs and priorities of respective African countries and regions. This is a very important point to bear in mind, especially for donors who tend to lose a recipient perspective.
Partnership with civil society is also imperative. Because of its world-wide network and human resources, civil society has played a very important role in a broad range of activities such as weapons collection, destruction, stockpile management, monitoring, capacity building for law enforcement including border control, and even the promotion of peace. Civil society has also greatly contributed to intellectual research activities which have presented alternative policy options on SAW to governments. Taking advantage of this occasion, I would like to commend the untiring efforts being made by NGOs and civil society. As I have witnessed, this conference, organized by the Botswana Police Service, in partnership with SaferAfrica and Saferworld, is a good model for collaboration.
Resource mobilisation
Third, resource mobilization, comprising international and regional funding organs, is fundamental, and more competition among donor countries would be advantageous. We may need to create a device which encourages DAC members and other donors to become involved in more assistance programmes. We could learn valuable lessons from the example of official development assistance, i.e., the agreement of aid donors to a numerical target of 0.7% of their GDP to be provided as official development assistance.
In this context, I would like to report that Japan has recently introduced an assistance package with the budget for "grant aid for conflict prevention and peace building" amounting to a total of 1.2 million US dollars of the 2003 budget. A further two million US dollars is appropriated for the weapons destruction projects. The formation of comprehensive and robust programs for the destruction of SAW, based on official requests submitted by recipient countries, is encouraged.
Small arms and aid programs
Fourth, quite often we may need to tackle this issue in the context of comprehensive aid programs. In particular, capacity building for law enforcement in affected countries can be overlapped with that of nation building. The training of officers for law enforcement and border and customs control is also within the scope of national development. In this regard, I would like to refer to another core guideline, i.e., that SALW projects should not be looked at in isolation, but in a comprehensive manner, focusing, among other issues, on security aspects of development as well as humanitarian relief needs. Aid agencies and regional and international development organizations are required to integrate the issue of SALW in their aid programs. UNDP has already been active in this area, and other organizations are suggested to follow suit.
Tracing and brokering
Fifth, as for illegal transactions, one example of an international exercise is the establishment of the Group of Governmental Experts on Tracing Illicit SALW, based on UNGA resolution 56/24 V, submitted by Japan, South Africa and Colombia. This group is currently studying the feasibility of developing an international instrument to enable States to identify and trace illicit SALW in a timely and reliable manner so as to disrupt illegal supply lines from producing and exporting countries. The Group is expected to submit its report to the UN Secretary General this summer, which would contain the necessities of reliable marking, record-keeping and information exchange, so as to enable countries to trace illicit weapons. Coping with illicit brokering, and possible measures which could be taken to address this problem, also need to be further considered, and the creation of global standards would be invaluable. This will most likely be discussed in more detail during the Second UN Conference on SALW in 2006.
Public awareness
Finally, in order to mobilize resources and prioritize the issue of SALW, public awareness raising is crucially important. We could learn invaluable lessons from the anti-personnel landmine issue, where humanitarian aspects were highlighted and prominent figures were mobilized for media campaigning. Although SALW is a much more complex issue than APMs, we could make better use of the media than at present, and leaders in respective countries are suggested to act to this end.
Chairperson,
I would like to take this opportunity to update you on the current status of preparation of the Biennial Meeting. Ambassador Inoguchi, chair-designate, has recently completed the second round of open-ended informal consultations with delegations, international and regional organizations and NGOs, both in Geneva and in New York. She also met with the Vice President of the World Bank in Washington DC, as a follow up to the letter she sent to various international and regional financial institutions requesting their support. He agreed to send a representative from the World Bank to participate in, and make a presentation at the Biennial Meeting.
I am pleased to note that through these consultations, a convergence of views is emerging with regard to the modality of the Biennial Meeting. The following are some key elements:
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Dates
The Meeting will be held from 7 to 11 July in New York, given that 9 July is Small Arms Destruction Day. I would like to encourage States to suggest possible events for the day.
Nature of the Meeting and Final Reports
As the PoA clearly stipulates, the nature of the Meeting is to "consider national, regional and global implementation of the PoA." Therefore, our task will be threefold: to exchange information and to share experiences on the first two years of the implementation of the PoA; to identify problems encountered in the process, as well as successes achieved, by states, regional and international organizations, and civil society bodies; and to elicit lessons learned and future challenges. In view of the nature of the Meeting, the final product will be the responsibility of the Chair, in the form of a factual summary.
Timetable and Agenda Items
There will be ten sessions altogether. Most time will be devoted to reporting on national implementation measures, with some time being assigned to regional and global organizations, as well as to NGOs. In addition, if possible, a few sessions could be used for discussions on themes referred to mainly in Chapter III, entitled "Implementation, international cooperation and assistance", and other parts of the PoA. I expect these thematic discussions to further expand upon each subject and provide a good opportunity for all participants to enhance their implementation of the PoA.
Side Events
Two rooms, as well as an open space, will be available during the lunchtime throughout the five-day Meeting for side events for states, regional and international organizations and NGOs. These rooms and the open space can be reserved through the UN Department for Disarmament Affairs.
Rules of Procedure
The chair-designate has proposed that the rules of procedure of the 2001 UN Conference on SAW be applied mutatis mutandis to the Biennial Meeting and this appears to be acceptable to all delegations. NGO participation will be in accordance with these rules.
Structure of the Bureau
The UN Secretariat requested Regional Group coordinators in New York to appoint respective representatives to the Bureau, three from each Regional Group. Since each regional group has already selected bureau members, the chair-designate will hold the first Bureau Meeting in New York in early June.
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Firstly, please submit your national reports on the
implementation of the PoA as soon as possible,
although the due date has already passed. The UN
Secretariat, through note verbale (DDA/3-2003/TSA)
of 13 January, requested that such reports be submitted,
on a voluntary basis, by 30 April and, to the extent
possible, that they follow the structure of the
PoA. According to the Secretariat, two dozen national
reports have been submitted to date. If States
have any difficulty in drawing up their national
reports, UNDP, together with UN DDA, UNIDIR and
Small Arms Survey, are ready to provide assistance
through their respective regional offices. For
more information, please see the UNDP website, http://www.undp.ora/bcpr/smallarms/PoA.htm.
Secondly, I would like to encourage you and your government leaders to speak of the significance of small arms in relevant speeches and statements so as to make this issue a priority in the field of disarmament. I would also like to request the attendance of senior officials from your government and from your regional and international organizations at the Meeting;
Thirdly, I would like to point out that mass media can play a significant role to campaign against illicit trade in SAW and to increase publicity on the importance of the forthcoming Biennial Meeting. In this connection, I would like to mention that Ambassador Inoguchi met with representatives of UN Media as well as some foreign and Japanese journalists based in New York, and informed them of the forthcoming Biennial Meeting, requesting appropriate press coverage.
Before I close, I would like to reiterate the significance of the follow up mechanisms of the PoA. These mechanisms were the result of hard negotiations in the 2001 conference, thanks to painful compromises from the African group. Since we have only one opportunity for a global meeting this year, let us make best use of it to reduce the number of victims caused by illicit SAW I am confident that this conference will be advantageous, not only for Botswana's government to strengthen its policy, but also for all of us as a useful lead-up to the biennial meeting.
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