General Assembly Security Council

United Nations Security Council Arria Formula meeting on

“The threat to international peace and security posed by the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons”

(Thursday, September 16, 2021; 1000 hrs EDT/ 1930 hrs IST)

 

INDIA STATEMENT

By

Mr. A. Amarnath

Counsellor

 

16 September 2021

 

I thank Mexico for taking the lead to convene an Arria meeting on this important topic. I also thank the briefers for their presentations.

 

2. The threat posed by illicit trade in small arms and light weapons is a matter of concern for the entire international community. As a complex and multidimensional problem, it needs joint action by all States, intergovernmental organizations and civil society groups. We urge greater attention from all concerned to fight against illicit trade in small arms and light weapons.

 

3. India attaches high priority to the UN Programme of Action (PoA) as it is an important consensus-based multilateral instrument to address this issue. India supports the redoubling of efforts to strengthening the implementation of the UN PoA and the International Tracing Instrument (ITI), including through national legislative measures and enforcement, export controls, information sharing and capacity building. India has put in place strong legislative and administrative mechanisms at the national level to prevent and combat  illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. India maintains strict export controls over all munitions and related items, including small arms and light weapons. The regularity of the submission of our national reports on the implementation of the PoA and the ITI, as well as the UN Register of Conventional Arms, bears testimony to India’s strong commitment in this regard.

 

4. The discussions during the recently concluded seventh Biennial Meeting of States (BMS-7) provide a positive impulse to address the issue effectively at both the national and global level. I congratulate Ambassador Martin Kimani of Kenya for successfully chairing the Conference. India stands ready to contribute to further efforts that would help consolidate the gains made during BMS-7.

 

5. Let us not forget that illicit small arms and light weapons pose a threat also to UN peacekeepers, who are deployed in areas of conflict. The Council is aware of numerous incidents in the past, where killings and attacks on peacekeepers have been perpetrated through the use of these weapons. Hence, it is important for the Council to address the danger posed by such illicit transfers to the safety and security of peacekeepers by giving due consideration to this issue during the consideration or renewal of peacekeeping mandates.

 

6. It is a well-known fact that the flow of illicit arms and weapons to non-state actors and terrorists drives and fuels conflicts. In this regard, arms embargoes are important tools that the Council holds at its disposal to curb the flow of such weapons to situations of armed conflict. It is a matter of concern that embargoes continue to be blatantly violated, as repeatedly reported by the various Panel of Experts supporting the subsidiary bodies of the Council.  It is important that all Member States respect and fully enforce existing arms embargoes and strengthen measures against illicit transfer of arms.

 

7. India views illicit possession and misuse of small arms and light weapons by non-State groups and terrorists as a violation of State sovereignty. In post-conflict situations, we often witness that non-State actors continue to possess these weapons illegally, which hinders disarmament, demobilization and reintegration efforts. The Council must ensure effective and timely action against such actors to ensure that post-conflict peace building efforts are not jeopardized while advancing security sector reforms, capacity building of law enforcement agencies, promotion of rule of law and good governance.

 

8. Before I conclude, let me also strongly underline the need for the Council’s focus on transfer and trafficking of arms and weapons to terrorists and terrorist groups. These weapons become more sinister and lethal in the hands of terrorists, who deliberately and indiscriminately use them to target innocent civilians, including women and children. For several decades, my country has suffered immensely due to cross-border terrorism and violence carried out by terrorist groups using these illicit weapons smuggled across our borders. The increase in volume and the quality of the arsenal acquired by these terrorist organizations reminds us time and again that they cannot exist without the sponsorship or support of States. This aspect needs to be unequivocally condemned.

 

9. External Affairs Minister of India Dr. S. Jaishankar, in his address to the Security Council earlier this year, had presented an eight-point action plan on counter-terrorism, two of which are directly relevant to our discussion today – the need to address the linkages between terrorism and transnational organized crime and combating terrorist financing. The Council needs to have zero tolerance for terror groups, their possession and misuse of small arms and light weapons as well as their sponsors.

 

Thank you.

 

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