20 March 2006 In order to cut off the supply of weapons that fuel conflicts, States need more http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?1178 support for complying with arms embargoes, a United Nations disarmament official told the http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?523 Security Council today as it reviewed progress in controlling the illicit trade in small arms http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?888 and light weapons ahead of a major June conference on the subject.
Such support could http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?1664 include technical assistance for improved monitoring of national air spaces and maritime http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?396 borders as well as the development of means to identify and prosecute those that violate arms http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?864 embargoes said Hannelore Hoppe, Officer-in-Charge of the Department for Disarmament Affairs, http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?763 as she introducing a review of progress in the area since a milestone 2002 report by UN http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?594 Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
In that report, Mr. Annan called for support to a small http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?1304 arms advisory service within the UN to assist States control efforts. Ms. Hoppe said http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?1208 initiative, called the Coordination Action on Small Arms (CASA), had made great strides but http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?368 required more backing from Member States.
The report had also called for an http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?491 international convention to identify and trace illicit arms, suggesting that countries fully http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?1625 utilize the Interpol tracking system for weapons and explosives. Ms. Hoppe noted that the http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?843 General Assembly had recently adopted a politically binding international pact for that http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?1636 purpose, as well as an arms-trade protocol to the convention against trans-national organized http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?536 crime.
She suggested the Council urge States that have not yet ratified or acceded to http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?848 that treaty to do so.
The 2002 report also urged the Council to include in the mandate http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?712 of peacekeeping operations clear provisions for the disarmament, demobilization and http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?317 reintegration (DDR) of former combatants, including measures for the collection and disposal http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?475 of weapons.
There had been some progress in that area, Ms. Hoppe, but efforts to http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?395 systematically integrate long-term weapons control measures in the DDR process had to be http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?1491 intensified.
An encouraging sign of progress, she said, was the increased focus on http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?1456 the link between the illicit arms trade and the illicit exploitation of natural resources, as http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?885 well as on measures to disrupt that linkage.
In her presentation, Ms. Hoppe called http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?1347 attention to the upcoming major UN conference to review progress made in the implementation http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?667 of the 2001 programme of action to eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?515 weapons.
She said the intensity of the debates during the preparatory process for the http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?1009 conference confirmed, on the one hand, that States remained as committed as they were in 2001 http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?1411 to tackle the challenges posed by the trade.
On the other hand, she said the wide http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?393 diversity of views expressed regarding the question was symptomatic of the complexity of the http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?1130 challenges posed by the problem of the illicit trade and its multifaceted nature. The http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?645 conference will be held from 26 June to 7 July.
In the day-long discussion that http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?1371 followed Ms Hoppes presentation, in which some 40 delegations took part, most speakers agreed http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?1616 that in order to halt conflicts, particularly those decimating Africa, it was crucial to http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?1652 complete the implementation of the 2001 action programme and the 2002 recommendations of the http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?1069 Secretary-General.
This years Review Conference presented a vital opportunity to focus http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?1249 on areas where obstacles to full implementation persisted, namely marking and tracing, http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?640 brokering regulations, transfer controls, ammunition, and the integration of small arms http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?1462 measures into development assistance, participants said.
While the majority of http://www.nefga.org/forum/entry.php?1639 speakers welcomed the recent adoption of the instrument for marking and tracing arms, they regretted that it did not have a legally binding character or contain provisions regarding ammunition.
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