Open Informal consultations on the 2018 Review Conference of the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) - Key EU messages

Excellency, President-designate,

I would like to congratulate you on your nomination as the President-designate of the Third Review Conference and welcome your initiative to hold informal consultations in Geneva. Let me also thank your predecessor Ambassador Ramis for her preparatory work.

The European Union considers that the UN Programme of Action continues to provide a valid and effective strategy to cope with the threat posed by illicit SALW. It is the only truly global framework to guide efforts on this important topic. 

We welcome the draft outline of elements for the Review Conference provided by your predecessor in June and we appreciate that the consensus outcome documents of the Fifth and Sixth Biennial Meetings of States (BMS5 and BMS6) have been taken into account.

The Council of the EU will adopt conclusions outlining a common EU position on the envisaged outcome of the Review Conference and present this to you in due time.

We are also currently reviewing the EU Strategy against illicit accumulation and trafficking of SALW and their ammunition, which was adopted by EU Heads of State and Government in the European Council in 2005. The revised EU Strategy is expected to impact the EU's position with regard to the Review Conference.

Mr. President-designate,

Since the unanimous adoption of the UN Programme of Action in 2001, the EU has supported its implementation through a whole range of assistance projects. These include 1) support for collection and destruction of surplus SALW; 2) physical security and stockpile management (PSSM); and 3) capacity building for arms export control, marking, record keeping, tracing and law enforcement, including the provision of equipment. Furthermore, PoA related clauses on small arms and light weapons have been systematically negotiated in the EU’s cooperation and partnership agreements with third countries. Information on these and other relevant EU actions can be found in the publicly available progress reports, as set out in the 2005 EU SALW Strategy.

We expect the 2018 Review Conference to achieve a meaningful outcome that will have a positive impact on national, regional and international efforts to curb the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. In this context, EU Ministers on 3 April 2017 adopted a new EU Council Decision in support of the UN PoA, which, inter alia, includes actions towards a successful and relevant outcome of the Review Conference. Four thematic symposia and five regional conferences are foreseen to feed into discussions on important issues raised during previous UN PoA meetings and produce action-oriented findings on SALW-control related issues.

The four thematic symposia will benefit interested stakeholders on:

• SALW tracing and stockpile management in conflict and post-conflict situations.
• SALW and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including Sustainable Development Goal 16 and the gender aspects of SALW control.
• Recent developments in SALW manufacturing, technology and design and resulting challenges and opportunities for the implementation of the UN PoA and the International Tracing Instrument (ITI).
• Synergies between the UN PoA, the Arms Trade Treaty and other relevant instruments.

I would like to stress that these topics reflect important common priorities identified in the outcome documents of BMS5 and BMS6, which the EU shares.  In addition to the thematic symposia, the five regional conferences will allow further engagement with government representatives and regional organisations from selected regions.

The project will be implemented by the UN Office on Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), with the help of Small Arms Survey, in close coordination with you, Mr. President-designate. The planned activities will be presented at a side-event that will take place this Thursday, 14 September, in the margins of the Third Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).

Mr. President-designate,

Before concluding, let me take this opportunity to welcome UN Security Council Resolution 2370 of 2 August 2017 on "Preventing terrorists from acquiring weapons". The EU believes this important Resolution contains many elements on SALW that can be of use for next year's Review Conference.

Thank you, Mr. President-designate.