Citizens' representatives join the UN in action against small arms
Press Release 222/2005
19 July 2005
The UN conference on small arms in New York adopted its final document on Friday, 15 July. The member states verified their engagement to the implementation of the international programme of action on the spread and illicit trade of small arms which the UN adopted in 2001. A new aspect in the conference was the visible presence of civic organisations and members of national parliaments. In the end of the five days' discussions, the conference evaluated that there had been considerable progress in the implementation of the programme, especially in the past two years. At the same time, however, it was concluded that the implementation was yet insufficient.
Approximately 100,000 people die annually in conflicts on different parts of the world, most of them killed with small arms. Most typically small arms are those intended for military use, such as assault rifles and mortars.
In his concluding statement, the Finnish representative Pasi Patokallio, the chairperson of the conference, stated that the conference differed from the previous, similar conferences in the number of participants: international and civic organisations took increasingly part in the conference work. The visible presence of civic organizations and members of national parliament in the delegations of many countries was also new. Apart from the officials, the Finnish delegation included member of parliament Ulla Anttila and two representatives of civic organisations, Pekka Helminen representing arms importers and Sanna Rummakko representing peace movement.
Ambassador Patokallio highlighted the importance of international cooperation and assistance. Countries suffering from small arms problems have to be helped to create abilities for themselves to overcome these problems. International help can nevertheless only be valuable if the recipient has political will to solve the problem. Measures against illicit trade, spread and abuse of small arms should be made part of the receiving country's development programmes, all the way down to the local level. Post-conflict disarmament together with other necessary adaptation measures should be planned in a way that women are able to participate equally.
New international measures to control the legal export of small arms more rigorously are also needed to inhibit the delivery of the arms to recipients who violate human rights, as well as better regulation of the arms suppliers' actions. Last month, after lengthy negotiations, a document in which the countries committed to marking and tracing illicit small arms was accepted within the UN. This is a significant step forward, Ambassador Patokallio emphasised.
The UN small arms programme and its implementation will next be evaluated in the conference to be held in the summer 2006.
Further information: First Secretary Janne Taalas, Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations, New York, tel. +1 212 355 2100