Nairobi Small Arms 2004.4.20.Kenya

The Second Ministerial Review Conference of the
Nairobi Declaration on Small Arms and Light Weapons
April 20-21, 2004
Nairobi, Kenya

Progress and Expectations of Regional and International Processes

Kuniko INOGUCHI, Ph.D.

Professor of Political Science
Sophia University, Tokyo
&
Former Permanent Representative/Ambassador of Japan to the Conference on Disarmament
Chair of the United Nations First Biennial Meeting of States to the UN Programme of Action

It is my great honour, as Chair of the United Nations First Biennial Meeting of States to Consider the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, held from 7 to 11 July last year in New York, to address this “Second Ministerial Review Conference of the Nairobi Declaration on Small Arms and Light Weapons.”

This Review Conference is an important step towards addressing the problems of small arms and light weapons in affected regions. It is also an invaluable follow up to the UN First Biennial Meeting of States, and will greatly contribute to enhancing regional efforts to implement the Programme of Action. Signatories to the Nairobi Declaration have been especially commended for their efforts to establish appropriate national control mechanisms including National Focal Points, but they will provide a new exemplar standard today by adopting the Nairobi Protocol for the Prevention, Control and Reduction of Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa. The Protocol is a product of strong political leadership as shown by the Ministerial negotiations yesterday. It is also a product of commitment of competent experts and active civil society. The UN Biennial Meeting highlighted the importance of political momentum, competency of authorities and civil society involvement, and it is encouraging to see how these elements can be put together at the regional level to make a real difference.

Allow me to express my happiness in participating in this important and robust regional Review Conference. It is extremely encouraging to know that the Nairobi Declaration, which was the pioneering initiative that stimulated the UN process to address the small arms issue at the global level, is being vigorously followed up in the region as seen in the convening of this Second Ministerial Review Conference. It is also encouraging to see that proactive regional efforts are being made in response to and as an integral part of the UN process at the global level. We all remember that the Programme of Action calls for initiatives at the national, regional and global level, and the UN First Biennial Meeting of States confirmed that implementation efforts at various levels should be interactive in order to maximize the effectiveness of our endeavors. In this spirit, I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Nairobi Secretariat for inviting me, as the Chairperson of the UN First Biennial Meeting of States. One would never forget the forceful speech made by the Nairobi Secretariat at the Regional Session of the UN First Biennial Meeting of States, as well as the notable strong participation of African States that successfully brought the voice of the affected states to the UN process at the global level. My deepest appreciation goes to all of you here today for your substantial contribution to the success of the UN First Biennial Meeting of States.

The UN First Biennial Meeting of States

In order to look ahead and move forward, let us reconfirm what the UN First Biennial Meeting offered us. It was held amid an increased awareness of the disastrous human consequences of the use of illicit small arms. The Biennial Meeting offered States the opportunity to recount their experiences in coping with the problem, to gather momentum with a view to strengthening both political will and professional competence to combat the problem, and to chart a course to provide a better, safer, more peaceful and less tragic world for generations to come. It was agreed that the achievement of progress in tackling this problem requires a comprehensive and inclusive approach covering all its thematic aspects, incorporating national, regional and global dimensions and ensuring that cross-cutting elements such as ownership, partnership, assistance and cooperation underlie these endeavors. No state alone can prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. But no state is alone in this struggle, for the Programme of Action provides a framework for both national and collective action.

I would like to recall that in the lead up to the UN Biennial Meeting, the Chair was requested to suggest follow-up measures to complement those parts of the Programme of Action that need to be strengthened. Calling upon Member States to take collective action to meet a challenge which no State could or should face alone, the Chair proposed a thematic discussion around several thematic clusters, such as weapons collection and destruction, stockpile management, DDR (Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration of former combatants), capacity-building, resource mobilization, institution-building, marking and tracing, import/export control, illicit brokering, linkages with terrorism/organized crimes/trafficking in drugs and precious minerals, and human development with special attention to the vulnerable groups such as children, women and elderly. The Chairperson’s summary, which was annexed to the Report of the UN First Biennial Meeting that enjoyed consensus adoption, synthesizes best practices, lessons learned, priorities and knowledge in dealing with such thematic issues.

Today, I would like to share with you the areas in which progress has been made in implementing the Programme of Action, as well as those areas that need further strengthening, and offer a number of specific recommendations in the designing of effective disarmament programmes. In particular, I would like to focus upon the central role that reconciliation plays in the disarmament process.

Proliferation of Small Arms

During the post-Cold War period, the characteristics of violent conflicts have changed from a traditional inter-state conflict to a deep-rooted intra-state conflict involving all social strata and communities at grass-roots levels. Although the likelihood of large-scale international armed conflict seems to be receding, regional ethnic confrontations and civil war have a horrendous and increasing impact on people's security. Amongst the multi-dimensional sources of human insecurity, the most direct threat is the presence of illicit and excessive accumulation of small arms and light weapons (SALWs) and their continued proliferation in post-conflict zones, which sustains conflict, exacerbates violence, prolongs human tragedy and hatred among people, and fuels crime and terrorism.

Existing Instrument/Initiative ? PoA

It is imperative that the entire international community demonstrate a strong commitment and spirit of cooperation to work together in a multilateral framework to combat the problems of SALW. Through consensus adoption of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (PoA) in 2001, Member States expressed their collective determination to establish and follow-up on a set of universal norms to eradicate the global scourge of the uncontrolled proliferation and misuse of illicit small arms.

At the subsequent United Nations First Biennial Meeting of States to Consider the Implementation of the Programme of Action, more than 100 Member States participating in the meeting voluntarily submitted national reports on national, regional and international measures to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects, and over 90 countries have established National Focal Points or coordinating mechanisms to date.

Within barely two years of the adoption of the Programme of Action, worldwide progress has been made in the following areas:

*Enhanced recognition of a people-centered aspect of the SALW issue
*Improvement of institutions and capacity building to tackle the issue of SALW
*Enhanced measures for import/export control, enhanced public awareness and resource mobilization
*Tightened measures against terrorism and organized crime

It is extremely encouraging to see that various regional initiatives have begun to take shape, such as preparations to develop training curricula for law enforcement officials and the convening of this Seminar by countries of the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa, with regional organizations taking a comprehensive approach in dealing with issues of mutual concern, including ways and means to combat terrorism, transnational crime and trafficking in drugs.

The critical role of international cooperation and assistance was also highlighted at the UN First Biennial Meeting as a cross-cutting theme. Member States looked ahead to strengthen partnerships to:

*Enact and apply regulations and legislation in order to close identified loopholes
*Actively contribute to initiatives to foster international cooperation and develop common standards
*Provide training, financial and technical assistance to affected countries

Areas to be addressed/strengthened

The problems of SALW are multi-dimensional and interlinked. In order to combat such complex and difficult problems, a comprehensive approach is essential.

Several key areas need to be addressed:

*The issues of tracing, brokering, import and export controls and law enforcement are at the core of the illicit arms problem. The creation of an international instrument on tracing illicit small arms is therefore an important element in addressing arms supply on a regional and global level by identifying and penalizing illicit arms transfer.

*Supply of illicit arms can also be curbed through agreement on common norms and standards, including guidelines authorizing exports, imports and transit of SALW, with the issue of end-user certificates deserving special attention. In this connection, the implementation and adherence to arms embargoes, and stricter scrutiny of arms trafficking in violation of such sanctions, should be emphasized.

*Enhanced capacity for law enforcement and conformity to global norms is a prerequisite to capacity building. Affected countries must be provided with ascertainable product delivery, such as weapons collection, disposal and stockpile management. A detailed assessment of needs and required funds as an immediate goal may provide a useful basis for further action if available resources are insufficient.

*To tackle cross boundary trafficking in weapons diverted from legitimate stocks, transparency to develop confidence-building is needed to complement effective stockpile management. Although not immediately possible for regions locked in tense and hostile relationships, information sharing and the exchange of national experiences, including the dissemination of information on arms transfers, could offer a long-term means to apprehend and deal with transnational activities in illicit arms trafficking.

Specific Recommendations - “Reconciliation”

The shift in the characteristics of violent conflicts from a traditional inter-state conflict to a deep rooted intra-state conflict requires not only political arrangements for peace, but also social reconciliation at a community level. Reconciliation at all politico-social levels, including at the grass-roots level within different communities, is the key to ending a violent conflict and reconstructing war-torn societies. Reconciliation is both a goal and a process to find a way to coexist with former adversaries by sharing a future.

The designing of a comprehensive reconciliation based process requires the multiple and mutually-complementary commitment of resources of political, economic and diplomatic dynamics, in order to move from a divided past to a shared future.

In societies emerging from deep-rooted conflicts, it is important to design disarmament programmes with a view to facilitating reconciliation. Since disarmament is an indispensable element in the early stage of post-conflict reconstruction, the careful designing of an appropriate small arms disarmament programme, with the concept of “reconciliation” at its core, is of crucial importance.

The following are some elements for consideration when designing effective disarmament programmes:

*To provide economic and social incentives to war-affected communities and populations on a collective basis
Disarmament forms the basis for the reconstruction of war-affected communities and economic development. Small arms disarmament programmes need to be designed in such a way that collective socio-economic benefits, such as the provision of hospitals and schools, are provided in a community-based approach in order to curtail demands to hold weapons and to facilitate reconstruction in the society.

*To embed the importance of a community-based, participatory approach in post-conflict disarmament
The views and needs of the “real” people who are directly and indirectly affected by SALW proliferation should be put at the centre of project implementation throughout the whole process, including those of all ethnic factions, as well as of women and children and young adults as the future of a peaceful society. Generating a sense of ownership by inviting wider participation among local community members creates a "critical mass" of positive stakeholders for reconciliation and increases the likelihood of the programme’s success. Ex-combatants tend to seek post-conflict reconciliation and engaging them to work together can generate confidence and reconciliation among former fighting parties. Broad participation also serves to build confidence among community members in the sustainability of peace.

*To expand the concept of DDR to DDRRR (Reconstruction and Reconciliation)
In post-conflict situations, it is important for the international community to cooperate for the structural prevention of the resurgence of conflicts, not only through disarmament and demobilization, but also by promoting reconstruction and reconciliation. It is particularly important to consider how disarmament programmes can be designed with a view to enhancing reconciliation. I would like to suggest an advanced form of DDR by annexing the concept of Reconstruction and Reconciliation.

In conclusion, let us reconfirm our commitment to do our utmost at all levels, national, regional, and global, to eradicate the problems of illicit trade in small arms, and let us also reconfirm our commitment to multilateralism, ownership, and cooperation. Together, we shall prove that our commitment to multilateralism and partnership can make a profound difference for the generations to come.