H.E. Neven Jurica, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Croatia to the United Nations, gave a statement on Security Council Debate on small arms.
Mr. President,
Let me at the outset to express our appreciation to the Secretary General for the Report and the analysis, observations and recommendations contained therein. We would also like to thank the Director and Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Ms. Hannelore Hoppe for her briefing to the Security Council.
The uncontrolled spread of small arms continues to pose serious problems to human security, development, and the protection of human rights around the world. There is an urgent need for the international community to show courage and unity in addressing this critical issue. In that context we welcome the continuing efforts of the Security Council aimed at addressing the issue of small arms and thank the delegation of South Africa for having convened this debate.
One of the major problems all post-conflict countries face is the problem of accumulated small arms and light weapons, which can pose a threat to internal and regional security. I would like to stress the importance of this topic and to express our willingness to significantly contribute to addressing it, since Croatia has extensive experience of tackling problems associated with small arms in a post-conflict society.
We regard the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects as a key foundation for strengthened global, regional and national actions on the control of small arms and light weapons.
The upcoming biennial meeting to consider the national, regional and global implementation of the UN Programme of Action, to be held in July this year is of particular importance and Croatia supports the approach to have in-depth discussion on a limited number of issues.
One of the items on the Agenda of the Meeting will be the consideration of the implementation of the International Tracing Instrument, which was adopted in 2005. Croatia sees this Instrument as an important tool at the disposal of the international community for countering the illicit trade in small arms.
The Republic of Croatia supported the resolution calling for establishment of a task force for the preparation of an Arms Trade Treaty, and thereby supporting international efforts for more effective arms control. Aware of the threat posed by uncontrolled arms trade, particularly in light of the effects of war on a society in general, Croatia would support a universal legally binding instrument to regulate conventional arms trade in all aspects. In this regard we welcome the beginning of the work of the Group of the Governmental Experts, which held its first session in February this year.
Other efforts aimed at increased international cooperation in the field of small arms are also of great value. In this context we would like to mention the work that has been done in the framework of the Group of Governmental Experts to Consider Further Steps to Enhance International Cooperation in Preventing, Combating and Eradicating Illicit Brokering in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects. We attach great importance to the work being done in this Group to consider further steps to enhance cooperation with regard to the issue of surplus conventional ammunition stockpiles.
In the field of the international cooperation at the global level, we would like to note the increasing relevance for small arms of the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms.
At the regional level, we would like to register our support for the many efforts aimed at curbing the proliferation of small arms in South-East Europe. For its part, Croatia is host to one of the most successful Stability Pact projects that is playing an important role in this effort, RACVIAC - Centre for Security Cooperation, located near Zagreb. RACVIAC is helping to define new strategic goals in South-East Europe, which include, amongst other things, on issues like conventional arms control, enhanced confidence building measures and strengthening stability and cooperation in South-East Europe, combating terrorism and the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction as well as the fight against organized crime. One concrete example on small arms was the “Conference on Firearms Control Initiatives in Southeast Europe”, held in RACVIAC on 23 and 24 April 2008.
With regard to Security Council arms embargoes, we are of the opinion that they are powerful tools that can help us address the illicit trade and brokering in small arms. We call upon Member States to respect and fully enforce existing arms embargoes.
In that respect, Croatia shares the view of the Secretary General on the increased potential of arms embargoes as a part of post-conflict peacebuilding.
In conclusion, my delegation would like to reiterate its call for continued and increased international cooperation with a view to efficiently addressing the illicit trafficking of small arms. Croatia is ready to support these efforts.
Thank you, Mr. President
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