Naujienos

JT Generalinės Asamblėjos Pirmajame komitete (Nusiginklavimas ir tarptautinis saugumas) Lietuvos nuolatinė atstovė prie JT ambasadorė Raimonda Murmokaitė pabrėžė Lietuvos paramą viešam valstybių teikiamų ataskaitų pagal Sutartį dėl prekybos ginklais skelbimui, JT šaulių ginklų veiksmų programos progresyviam taikymui ir pažangai kituose įprastinio nusiginklavimo režimuose.

Visas pasisakymas, plenariniame posėdyje buvo perskaitytas sutrumpintas variantas.

United Nations General Assembly

68^th session

First Committee

Statement by the Republic of Lithuania

Thematic debate on Conventional Weapons

28 October 2013, New York

Mr. Chairman,

Lithuania aligns itself with the statement delivered by the European Union. Let me now elaborate on some matters of particular importance to my delegation.

The adoption of the Arms Trade Treaty by the General Assembly last April was a truly remarkable achievement, which proved that the UN is capable to deliver in an area where regulation on the international level was desperately needed. Lithuania signed the treaty on 3 June this year and is committed to a quick ratification.

Throughout the negotiation process and beyond, Lithuania continues to advocate for the need to increase transparency in arms trade, in particular through ensuring that national reports on arms transfers were made available to the public, in particular the academia and civil society that often have the best capacity to analyse and utilize them. UNODA’s excellent website on the Global Reported Arms Trade and an indispensable SIPRI’s Arms Transfers Database are just a few examples. Furthermore, we welcome the initiatives by NGOs, in particular the Control Arms, to establish a civil society-led monitoring mechanism. Lithuania also strongly supported inclusion of gender-based violence criterion into the ATT and welcomes discussions on putting it into action.

During this First Committee, Lithuania supports the adoption of a strong resolution on Transparency in armaments, traditionally sponsored by the Netherlands, as well as the resolution on the Arms Trade Treaty.

The illicit trade of small arms and their ammunition has the destabilizing effect on all spheres of human life impacting security, devastating livelihoods, disrupting development, closing schools and hospitals. More than 700 thousand people are killed by armed violence each year.

While the inclusion of small arms and light weapons into the scope of the ATT was an important accomplishment, it is crucial to continue our efforts to implement the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms and adapt it to the realities of today and tomorrow. We welcome the consensus outcome of the Review Conference in 2012, congratulate ambassador Tanin of Afghanistan on his appointment as the chair-designate of the forthcoming Fifth Biennial Meeting of States and stand ready to constructively support his efforts.

Lithuania also salutes the adoption of the first ever UN Security Council resolution 2117 on small arms, which we were glad to co-sponsor. It contains important provisions recognising the impact of small arms on the protection of civilians, in particular women and children, and focuses on the need to better monitor and strengthen the implementation of arms embargoes.

Lithuania continues to support universality and full implementation of the Antipersonnel Landmine Ban Convention, with a focus on the assistance to States Parties in complying with their obligations, particularly in the area of stockpile destruction. Lithuania supports the First Committee resolution on Antipersonnel Mine Ban Convention tabled by Slovenia, as well as the resolution on Assistance in Mine Action, negotiated in the Fourth Committee, with this year’s strong references to rapid response and new language on victim assistance and gender issues.

Lithuania remains firmly committed to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Protocols as an essential means to strengthening international humanitarian law. We regard CCW as a unique forum to gather diplomatic, legal and military expertise and to address emerging issues.

The universalization of CCW is of utmost importance. Despite substantive progress, we note that 76 UN Member States are not yet Parties to the CCW and its Protocols. Half of them are affected by mines or Explosive Remnants of War, thus making the universalization a priority.

We look forward to the annual meetings of High Contracting Parties in November to find more effective ways to advance our common objectives and to further discuss on-going and future topics.

Being the first country in the region to ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Lithuania believes in a comprehensive ban of these weapons and is deeply concerned about their use, including recent reported attacks against civilians in Syria. We welcome the decisions adopted at the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in Lusaka, Zambia, and look forward to the next meeting in Costa Rica in September 2014.

Finally, with full recognition of the sovereign right of States to be bound only by the Treaties to which they have acceded to, Lithuania strongly advocates the development of synergies in the implementation of international humanitarian disarmament instruments.

Thank you.