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United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons, 9-20 July 2001

12-07-2001 Statement

Statement by Peter Herby, Mines-Arms Unit, ICRC

   

 

Mr. President,

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, consisting of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and their International Federation, welcomes this Conference, which provides an important opportunity to address the urgent humanitarian concerns relating to the uncontrolled availability of small arms and light weapons.

In 1995, the XXVI International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, which brought together States party to the Geneva Conventions, called upon the ICRC " to examine, on the basis of first-hand information available to it, the extent to which the availability of weapons is contributing to the proliferation and aggravation of violations of international humanitarian law in armed conflicts and the deterioration of the situation of civilians " . Accordingly, in 1999 the ICRC published a study entitled Arms availability and the situation of civilians in armed conflict.  

    

The results of this publication are based on case studies analysing empirical evidence from our hospitals in the field, and on a survey conducted among senior ICRC delegates. They highlight the high price that civilians pay owing to the unrestricted availability of arms. In many internal conflicts, civilian casualties outnumber those of combatants. The study also indicates that the easy availability of arms can lead to arms related casualty levels in post-conflict or non-conflict settings approaching or even exceeding those reached in periods of armed conflict.

Altho ugh the ready availability of weapons is not necessarily a cause of conflicts, it can exacerbate tensions, prolong the duration of violence and significantly increase its lethality. In some communities, it is easier to obtain guns and ammunition than essential supplies such as medicine, thus fostering a " culture of violence " and undermining traditional means of conflict resolution.

As highly lethal military weapons become easily available to broad segments of the population, including undisciplined combatants, bandits or even children, it becomes more difficult to ensure respect for international humanitarian law and to provide the protection to which the civilian population is entitled.

Furthermore, in a large number of recent conflicts civilians have suffered extreme hardship when entire regions or countries have become " no-go " areas for humanitarian aid agencies because of attacks or threats of armed violence. The ICRC's field staff and those of other humanitarian agencies have in recent years experienced unacceptable loss of life, due in part to the easy availability of small arms and light weapons. When relief operations are halted because of security incidents, civilians are denied basic necessities, such as food, medical care and shelter material, which they have the right to expect under the Geneva Conventions.

The unregulated transfer of small arms is undeniably a matter of urgent humanitarian concern and we urge all Delegations to keep this in mind throughout the Conference.

Mr. President,

As it did already in sessions of the Preparatory Committee, the ICRC once again calls on States, in view of their responsibility under Article 1 common to the Geneva Conventions " to respect and to ensure respect " for international humanitarian law, to take urgent action to strengthen controls on the transfer of small arms an d light weapons. Such a measure would be in line with the Plan of Action adopted by the XXVII International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, in which States party to the Geneva Conventions committed themselves to " examine the   establishment of means to integrate consideration of respect for international humanitarian law into national decision-making on transfers of arms and ammunition " .  

We therefore call upon States to review their laws and policies governing the transfer and availability of arms and ammunition, with a view to limiting the availability of arms to those who are likely to violate international humanitarian law. We also encourage States that have not already done so to develop norms for arms transfers that contain clear reference to and indicators of the likelihood of respect for this body of law.

Accordingly, the ICRC expresses the hope that this Conference will include strong wording in both the Preamble and body of the Programme of Action on the human costs of unregulated arms availability and on respect for international humanitarian law.

Mr. President,

Recent initiatives at the regional, national and international levels aimed at restraining the proliferation of small arms and light weapons are encouraging. The commitments made by the Organization of African Unity, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the European Union, all of which recognize the human dimension and the relevance of international humanitarian law to the small-arms problem, are particularly worthy of mention. We also welcome the variety of concrete measures being considered by this Conference for action at the international level to address the illicit transfer of small arms and light weapons.

Ultimately, this proce ss will be a success when armed attacks upon civilians become less frequent, when those contemplating serious violations of international humanitarian law find it harder to obtain the means to achieve these ends, and when communities awash with weapons no longer live in fear. We wish the Conference every success and call upon Delegations to spare no effort to come to an agreement on the concrete measures and solid commitments needed to stem the uncontrolled proliferation of small arms and light weapons, and to encourage further action in this field at the regional and national levels.

Thank you, Mr. President.