The Dutch Norwegian Initiative on further steps to enhance international co-operation in preventing, combating and eradicating illicit brokering in small arms and light weapons. Oslo 22-24 April 2003

Opening address by State Secretary Kim Traavik

Chairman, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to welcome you all to Oslo and this Dutch-Norwegian conference on further steps to enhance international co-operation in preventing, combating and eradicating illicit brokering in small arms and light weapons.

Together with our Dutch friends, we have taken this initiative to foster a broader common international understanding on how illicit small arms brokering can be adequately controlled.

We appreciate the excellent co-operation that the Netherlands and Norway have established in the area of small arms and light weapons. A case in point is point is the seminar that we co-sponsored in Sofia last November.

Today and tomorrow, we are following up on the Sofia discussions, with a special emphasis on international cooperation with a view to controlling arms brokering. We hope the present conference will provide fresh impetus to that end.

Clearly, this summer’s New York meeting to review the implementation of the Program of Action of the 2001 UN Conference on Small Arms and light Weapons will be an important event. Hence, we are privileged to have with us this morning the chair of the New York meeting, ambassador Koniko Inoguchi of Japan.

Curbing illicit trade in small arms is of course no less urgent now than two years ago. Reviewing the implementation of the 2001 Program of Action is important in and of itself. The purpose of the New York meeting is not and should not be to renegotiate the Program of Action.

But at the same time, the meeting needs to be forward-looking. It is the very essence of implementation review to pinpoint shortcomings and identify remedies.

We must not forgo this opportunity to make progress on broader issues related to international co-operation on stemming illicit trade in small arms, including the issue of arms brokering, which is at the heart of the agenda of this conference.

The Netherlands and Norway will make sure that the results of this conference are brought to the attention of the UN review meeting. To that end, there will be a side event in New York.

Illicit trade in SALW causes grave and growing humanitarian, social and economic problems. In terms of the number of lives taken, small arms and light weapons clearly are weapons of mass destruction.

Each year some five hundred thousand humans are killed with hand weapons. 57 persons are killed, every hour, every day of the year. And although it represents only a fraction of the total international trade in arms, illicit trafficking ignites or sustains a number of vicious and bloody conflicts.

Let us be blunt about it: Illicit trafficking kills. It deprives millions of children and adults of the most basic of human rights, the right to life.

There is no denying that the challenge is daunting. We certainly have our work cut out for us. Yet we can take heart from the fact that progress is clearly being made.

Over the last few years there has been a broadening and deepening of the international understanding that destabilising accumulation and uncontrolled spread of small arms and light weapons is a problem that simply has to be dealt with.

But there is no cause for complacency. Much more remains to be done.

A comprehensive strategy for the fight against the illicit trade in small arms is needed. Such a strategy should address issues related to supply and demand, as well as issues related to the problem of security and development - at regional and global level in addition to the level of the nation state.

In many cases states are among the main culprits. That is why national measures and controls are not enough.

Effective international co-operation is necessary to set norms and standards for acceptable behaviour. But of course the international community also needs to do more to fight international organized crime, which thrives on trafficking of small arms and light weapons.

The good news is that the willingness of governments as well as regional and international institutions to deal with these problems is increasing.

More and more governments adopt legislation and other measures aimed at better control. There are encouraging developments at the regional level, in particular in the OSCE area, in Africa and in Latin America.

More and more governments also adopt legislation and measures to control brokers and brokering activities. The number of governments that have done so remains modest. But it is growing. And many governments have initiated or are initiating necessary legislative processes.

The OSCE Document on small arms rightly states that regulation of brokers is a critical element in a comprehensive approach to combating arms trafficking.

The efforts being made in the EU to develop a Code of Conduct on small arms is a very significant development. Agreed EU procedures for monitoring arms brokering activities and guidelines for controlling brokering, will be the most aambitious attempt so far by an international institution to deal with this issue.

In the Wassenar co-operation, too, participating States have recognised the importance of controlling arms brokering. There is a strong will to push on with the elaboration and refinement of criteria for effective legislation on arms brokering. The Wassenaar parties will also continue discussion of enforcement measures.

As you are aware, the 2002 plenary meeting of the Wassenar Arrangement adopted a statement, originally proposed by Norway, which confirmed the need to bring arms brokering under control.

This statement represents a substantial political step forward. It commits the Wassenaar participating States to develop a policy on arms brokering. Building on this commitment, Norway will contribute actively to developing a list of guiding principles for arms brokering control in Wassenar, in close co-operation with our partners.

The problem of illicit trafficking and brokering has of course also been brought to the attention of the Security Council. Not surprisingly, the focus of the Council has largely been on the effective implementation of arms embargos.

The role of arms brokers is of crucial importance in this context. The statement of the President of the Security Council on October 31 2002 rightly emphasised the importance of co-operation and sharing of information on arms traffickers that have violated arms embargos.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

To sum up: In the broad international campaign to control illicit flows of small arms and light weapons, we are facing a multi-faceted situation. There is good news, but there is also bad news. Real accomplishements and progress coexist with significant remaining challenges and problems.

On the one hand, governments, regional institutions and the UN in recent years have devoted increasing attention to the need for controlling arms brokering activities and arms brokers.

Governments have committed themselves to establishing national controls, including a system of registration of brokers and requiring authorisation for brokering. They have committed themselves to international co-operation and exchange of information. And regional organisations such as the OSCE, the EU and the Wassenaar Arrangement have initiated important work on these issues.

On the other hand it it is equally clear that we are only just beginning to deal with this issue. We are still scratching the surface.

Very few governments have adopted relevant legislation. There exists no regional or global guidelines or model legislation that can ensure a uniform system of laws and regulations and avoid gaps that could be exploited by illegal brokers. This is a major challenge for the international community.

In short: We are not nearly there. The fact that small arms continue to flow into the world’s trouble spots, despite all the laudable work carried out in recent years, is a stark reminder of this.

In conclusion, let me wish you every success in your important deliberations over the next two days. I am confident that the results of this meeting will be an important contribution to the success of this summer’s review meeting and ultimately to the success of the next UN Conference on Small Arms and Light Weapons in 2006.

Thank you for your attention.