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Opportunity Squandered to Introduce
Tougher Arms Controls
IANSA Closing Press Release
New York, 21 July 2001
IANSA today welcomed the agreement of an action program by
the UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light
Weapons as a basis for future international action to reduce
the proliferation and misuse of small arms. However activists
noted that certain delegations had worked actively to water
down the document and narrow its scope, limiting its contribution
to promoting human security.
"The Conference has squandered a golden opportunity to commit
itself to pro-active measures needed to tackle gun violence
around the world," said IANSA coordinator, Sally Joss, speaking
at the end of the two-week conference in New York.
After lengthy and sometimes acrimonious negotiations, consensus
on the Program of Action was achieved six hours after the
deadline of July 20, and only when African delegations agreed
to drop a crucial clause of the document calling for small
arms not be traded to non-state actors, under intense pressure
from the United States. "It is tragic that the serious concerns
of countries that have witnessed the most vicious atrocities
at the hand of rebel groups and militias were so callously
dismissed by the United States, which opposed this clause."
said Loretta Bondi, Fund for Peace.
The United States and Middle Eastern countries, among others,
have shown themselves to be 'brothers in arms,' consistently
blocking agreement on concrete actions to reduce the human
suffering caused by the unrestricted flow of guns around the
world. "When this whole process began we were aiming for a
clear international plan of action. Instead this has been
eroded to the lowest common denominator, and the framework
that remains falls short of what is so urgently needed." observed
Sally Joss.
During the two weeks of the conference, fifteen thousand
people around the world died from gun violence by the estimated
550 million guns in circulation. Thousands more were injured,
traumatized and suffered as victims of human rights abuses.
The UN conference was the first global meeting to tackle at
an international level the humanitarian crisis caused by the
availability of guns.
IANSA is particularly concerned that a number of critical
commitments have been left out of the final program of action
- measures which would have a real impact in preventing guns
falling into the wrong hands. These include:
- No commitment to negotiate international treaties on arms
brokering or the marking and tracing of weapons;
- Absence of any reference to regulate civilian possession
of weapons;
- No reference to protecting human rights;
- A lack of commitment to greater transparency on the trade
in small arms and light weapons.
"It is particularly disheartening to know that there were
strong commitments for international agreements on brokering
and the marking and tracing of weapons in the earlier drafts
of the document. But an intransigent minority have blocked
the inclusion of these commitments in the final document,"
explained Joss.
However, significant progress has been achieved on a number
of key areas, including the impact of guns on development,
health and humanitarian issues - particularly the needs of
women, children and the elderly; a commitment to carry out
more effective post-conflict disarmament and de-mobilization
programs; the need for greater security of weapons held by
states; and the destruction of surplus and illicit weapons.
Despite these commitments, most action is to be taken forward
"within existing resources" and it is of paramount importance
that countries and the UN prioritise funds to implement these
measures.
Members of IANSA and other non-governmental organisations
will monitor governments' progress on the implementation of,
and adherence to the program of action. At the same time,
IANSA will continue to press for international initiatives
inside and outside the UN and will urge governments to support
regional and national programs to tackle small arms.
"The small arms campaign has gained incredible momentum at
this conference. We are not going to stop until there are
comprehensive measures to prevent guns ending up in the wrong
hands. No single country is going to de-rail this process,"
added Sally Joss.
For more information contact Sally Joss on 1-917-751-9429.
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