News

I shall now make a statement in my national capacity.  Let me start by thanking the Secretary-General for his briefing and for his report on small arms and light weapons, which underpins today’s discussion. I also thank the UN Commissioner for Human Rights for highlighting the very important human dimension of the issue at hand as well as Mr. Karamoko Diakité for providing an eye-opening perspective on the real life impact of small arms and light weapons. Ladies and Gentlemen,  The subject of small arms and light weapons does not find itself often on UN Security Council agenda and yet it is a matter of life and death every single day for hundreds of thousands of people in conflict affected zones, with civilians and in particular women, children, refugees and the displaced facing increased risks caused by the much too easy availability of these arms. Deplorably, more than half a million people, —including nearly 60,000 women and girls—die every year due to the violence caused by small arms.  

Even the basic daily needs, such as picking water from a remote well, gathering woods for cooking, or foraging for food in war ravaged zones are fraught with increased risk of being attacked, terrorized, robbed of the meager belongings or raped at gunpoint. Children are forcefully recruited to become soldiers, even as young as pre-teens, made to kill and maim in order not to be killed themselves. 

The World Bank estimates that more than 900 million of small arms and light weapons are in circulation globally while the estimates of weapon quantities amassed by terrorists, armed groups and criminal networks are almost impossible to assess. It is undeniable that terrorists, other armed groups and criminal networks have accumulated vast arsenals of both light and heavy weapons by seizing them from government forces, diversion from legal trade, smuggling or tapping into civilian-owned stocks. Illegal arms trade and arms smuggling supports criminal networks and finances terrorist activities, spreading death, chaos, and forced displacement as terrorist groups expand their sway.   

The international community has to fundamentally and urgently address this threat, since every day we spend on arguing over concepts takes a very real toll in human lives. 

Since the last Council debate on small arms, we saw some major advances in systematically addressing the illicit trade in small arms.  In December 2014 the Arms Trade Treaty entered into force. To date this landmark treaty has been signed by 130 and ratified by 67 Member States. It includes small arms and light weapons in its scope, and will become an important tool for countering the illicit trade and increasing the transparency of small arms transfers. Most importantly, it will help to prevent arms falling into the hands of human rights abusers and those who violate the laws of war. It is vital for the international community, including this Council, to contribute to its effective implementation.

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

In 2013, this Council adopted a landmark resolution 2117 that established a framework for UN action on small arms-related issues. But as new challenges emerge and conflicts proliferate, we believe it is urgent to put this framework into practice by taking concrete measures that would translate the Council’s efforts to tackle the devastating effects of illicit arms trade into more concrete action. Let me focus on what needs to be done.

First and foremost, the United Nations should never lose sight of the fact that the fundamental aim of its action is the protection of human beings, human lives. Behind every DDR programme there is a former combatant with a gun, but out of work and with a family to feed. Behind every SSR programme there are civilians that have lost faith and trust in the police and the army since often they are the same men who just recently killed, raped and tortured. Behind every victim of small arms there are more of those who suffer the indirect consequences, be it a widow raising her family alone or an orphaned children roaming the streets as an easy prey for child recruiters and human traffickers. 

Secondly, all the UN’s numerous tools – peacekeeping operations, special political missions, country teams, and sanctions committees – should be further encouraged to work as one in fighting the illicit arms trade. Peacekeeping operations should share information with sanctions panels and contribute to the implementation of arms embargoes. All traditional arms control measures, such as DDR and SSR, should be part of integrated strategies encompassing interventions aimed at strengthening community security, managing conflict and mitigating armed violence. No DDR effort, no peace and reconciliation process can be expected to succeed when porous borders provide endless supply of new weapons.

Thirdly, the Council should become more open in particular with regard to arms embargoes implementation by involving neighboring states and regional actors, and informing regularly the wider UN membership about the work of sanctions committees through open briefings.

Finally, the Council should contribute to the effective implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty. The UN assistance for Member States in developing transfer control systems, physical security and stockpile management and preventing diversion will all be reinforced by universalization and robust implementation of the Treaty. Furthermore, the ATT reporting mechanism will result in increased transparency of small arms transfers and will become a valuable source of information for UN activities.

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

In the context of this debate, Lithuania proposed the adoption of a new Security Council resolution that would focus on the practical steps with regard to preventing the illicit transfer of small arms. The draft text contains significant additions to the resolution 2117, making it more action oriented, operational, and systematic in tackling the issue of SALW and the risks and threats they pose to those in conflict affected zones. We have held a series of intense consultations and bilateral discussions in the course of last week, with the fundamental goal in mind: to alleviate the damage, the harm, the suffering and loss that small arms cause to civilian populations affected by armed conflicts and the devastation and barbarity of armed, criminal and terrorist groups. We believe that quite a number of important new consensual elements have emerged as a result of the consultations we’ve held. We urge all delegations to build on those elements of convergence, to continue engaging in good faith and flexibility in order to quickly conclude negotiations on this important text. We can make a difference in the lives of those women, those widows, those girls and boys, those elderly and those displaced that often have no other recourse, no other defences than the resolve and determination of the international community to act on their behalf. We should. And we must.