Statement by H.E.Dr. Kuniko INOGUCHI

Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Japan

to the Conference on Disarmament

At the Conference on the Implementation, By the Arab States,

of the UN Programme of Action on the Illicit Trade in

Small Arms and Light Weapons

Cairo

16 December 2003

Conference on the Implementation, by the Arab States, of the UN Programme of Action on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons

Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

(Introduction)

It is my great honour, as Chair of the United Nations First Biennial Meeting of States to Consider the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, held from 7 to 11 July this year in New York, to address this “Conference on the Implementation, by the Arab States, of the UN Programme of Action on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons”.

This Conference is invaluable as a follow up to the First Biennial Meeting of States, and I believe it will greatly enhance regional efforts, contributing towards the realisation of our collective goal of implementing the Programme of Action, notably with regard to capacity building, partnership consolidation, and disarmament, reconstruction and reconciliation (DRR) efforts.

In particular, my sincere appreciation goes to the very capable organisers, the Department for Disarmament Affairs, headed by H.E. Mr. Nobuyasu Abe, as well as the Government of Egypt for hosting this event.

(SALW)

The illegal transfer of SALW and the excessive accumulation of these weapons is a particularly dangerous destabilising factor in post-conflict situations, as it disrupts humanitarian aid operations and hinders rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts. Furthermore, it facilitates the recurrence of war. Every year more than 500,000 (five hundred thousand) people are killed or injured by these weapons, thus they are often called de facto “Weapons of Mass Destruction.” The problems of SALW are multi-dimensional and interlinked, and, since the majority of victims are often women and children, a gender element is also involved. In order to combat the complex and difficult problems related to SALW, a comprehensive approach is essential.

Having said this, the awareness of the international community of the problems related to small arms has grown remarkably over the past decade. Many initiatives have been undertaken, and activities are being carried out at the international, regional and national levels to address the issue of the excessive and destabilising accumulation and transfer of small arms and light weapons. Japan welcomes such developments and is also pleased to see that the Arab States are actively engaged in confronting this issue. Our efforts during this Conference will play a crucial role in providing impetus to, and a solid basis for, the international community’s efforts against the destabilising accumulation and uncontrolled spread of SALW.

(First Biennial Meeting of States)

In my capacity as Chair of the United Nations First Biennial Meeting of States to Consider the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (BMS), I would like, today, to present an overview of the main objectives and achievements of the July Meeting.

As we all know, the primary objective of the Meeting was to offer an opportunity for States to share their experience of the first two years of implementation of the Programme of Action. The Meeting went beyond this objective, however, in that it became a forum for strengthening existing partnerships and building new ones among States, international and regional organizations and civil society, in the common struggle against the illicit trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in all its aspects.

Representatives from a total of ninety-nine Member States and one Observer State made statements on the status of their national implementation of the PoA, and several regional and international organisations, including United Nations agencies, made statements concerning the global and regional implementation of the PoA. Furthermore, the participation of the NGO community, both in the conference room and through the many side events, reinforced the partnership between states and civil society.

All States were requested to submit a report to the Department for Disarmament Affairs (DDA) on their implementation of the Programme of Action, and over 100 reports, a more than fivefold increase from the previous year, have been submitted. Reporting is a very important transparency and information sharing tool, and it is encouraging to see the momentus effort made by States in this regard, illustrating the growing importance being attached to the issue of SALW. I was pleased to see that over half of the 22 League of Arab States responded to the DDA’s request, and encourage States to continue to attach paramount importance to reporting in the lead up to the second Biennial Meeting.

The BMS provided an excellent opportunity to assess both progress that has been made, and obstacles that have confronted us, in implementing the PoA in the last two years since its adoption, helping to enhance our collective sense of ownership and responsibility for the process we initiated in July 2001. It also offered States the opportunity to build momentum toward mustering both the political will and the professional competence needed to combat the problem. In addition, the Meeting contributed to strengthening the partnerships for action established through a variety of international assistance and cooperation initiatives. It is my sincere hope that this process of partnership consolidation will be ongoing, and this Cairo Conference is a strong indication of the will of the Arab States to make a valuable contribution to this effort.

The BMS clearly demonstrated that multilateralism matters and that we can make it work. The success of the Meeting reaffirmed the importance of multilateral cooperation and demonstrated to the international community that multilateralism in the area of small arms disarmament is indeed functioning well. It is extremely encouraging to see that various regional initiatives, such as the convening of this Conference by the Arab States, have begun to take shape, providing a clear picture of the depth and extent of the commitment of the entire international community to work together in a multilateral framework to combat the problem of SALW. I believe the BMS marked an important milestone in strengthening the concerted efforts of the international community towards reducing the number of victims in the field.

It is my fervent wish that participants of this Conference renew their commitment to the Programme of Action and that the discussions held here this week will result in a deeper understanding of the SALW issue within the Arab States, leading to a marked increase in national and regional capacity building, as well as the strengthening of current, and the creation of new, partnerships and synergies.

(DRR)

Finally, and I will elaborate further on this important topic during Thursday’s session, I would like to stress the importance of addressing disarmament in conjunction with the process of reconciliation in societies emerging from deep-rooted conflicts. From this viewpoint, I would like to draw your attention to the significance of coordinating and reinforcing the efforts on disarmament, reconstruction and reconciliation (DRR). In post-conflict situations, it is important for the international community to cooperate for the structural prevention of the resurgence of conflicts, not only through disarmament and demobilization, but also by promoting reconstruction and reconciliation. It is particularly important to consider how the concept of reconciliation can be embedded in the process of reconstruction in the post-conflict period and how disarmament programmes can be designed with a view to enhancing reconciliation.

(Conclusion)

In conclusion, building on the positive results of the BMS, let us, during the course of this week and beyond, work together and take concrete steps to ensure the national, regional, and ultimately global eradication of the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects as we prepare for the second Biennial Meeting in 2005 and the second United Nations Conference on Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in 2006.