06 July 2001

U.S. Offers Strong Support To U.N. Small Arms Conference

A senior U.S. State Department official says the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons "has fueled many of the recent civil and regional conflicts in Africa and the Balkans" where an estimated four million civilians have been killed.

The official said during a July 6 briefing the United States strongly supports -- for both humanitarian and foreign policy reasons -- the upcoming U.N. Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All of its Aspects, which will open in New York July 9 for two weeks of deliberations.

The official, who declined to be identified, said the U.S. believes that remedying the illicit arms trade requires a basic export control and enforcement infrastructure, which is lacking in various parts of the world. "There is little to stop the illicit movement of these weapons from one region to another," he said.

The United States already has "a robust system of export control laws and enforcement procedures that effectively ensure that U.S.-origin small arms and light weapons do not fall into the wrong hands," he said. That system -- which includes export controls and enforcement measures, stockpile security and measures to destroy surplus arms, strengthened embargo enforcement, increased transparency, and restraint in the sale of arms to regions of conflict -- could be an effective model, the official said, for consideration at the conference and inclusion in its final Program of Action.

Following is the text of the senior official's prepared remarks:

Good afternoon.

As you are aware, the U.N. will host a Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects starting next Monday and continuing through Friday, July 20th. This conference marks the culmination of an effort initiated in January 1995 by U.N. Secretary General Boutrous Boutrous Ghali, calling on all U.N. members to undertake efforts to control the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons.

The United States is a strong supporter of this Conference for both humanitarian and foreign policy reasons. The illicit trade in small arms and light weapons has fueled many of the recent civil and regional conflicts in Africa and the Balkans. Since 1990, an estimated 4 million civilians have been killed in these conflicts -- three times as many have become refugees. This is a horrendous humanitarian toll that the U.S. wants to stop.

As a matter of foreign policy, the conflicts fueled by the illicit trade in these weapons contribute to regional instability, pose a clear threat to the safety of U.S. and allied soldiers deployed on peacekeeping missions, and undercut our efforts to rebuild the social structures ravaged by these conflicts. It is in our interest to bring an end to the illegal trade in these weapons.

What actions then does the U.S. advocate as a remedy? It is our view that the cause of this deplorable situation is the lack of basic export control and enforcement infrastructure in affected regions and the absence of effective mechanisms to control the small arms/light weapons trade globally. There is little to stop these weapons from clandestinely entering the regions where they are causing instability and there is little to stop the illicit movement of these weapons from one region to another. For these reasons, we want the U.N. Conference to adopt a Program of Action that will lay the groundwork for building the necessary infrastructure that will significantly mitigate the illicit international trade in these weapons.

What's the best way to do this? We believe that the U.S. has a robust system of export control laws and enforcement procedures that effectively ensure that origin small arms and light weapons do not fall into the wrong hands. We believe that U.S. best practices, which include rigorous export controls and enforcement measures, stockpile security and measures to destroy surplus arms, strengthened embargo enforcement, increased transparency, and restraint in the sale of arms to regions of conflict provide a useful model that we hope others will consider for inclusion in the Conference Program of Action.

I'll be happy to elaborate on these "best practices" in greater detail during the Q and A.

In closing, let me emphasize what this Conference is not about -- and that is the legal manufacture of, trade in, and possession of firearms. By definition, lawful manufacture, trade and possession are under some form of national control. Moreover, the Conference mandate specifically excludes consideration of domestic gun control issues. Lawful manufacture, trade and possession are not the problem and the U.S. strongly opposes efforts to further restrict these lawful activities.

However, we are deeply committed to stamping out the real problem -- the illegal trade in these weapons.