|
|
Mr. Chairman,
I would like to join other delegations in felicitating you and other bureau members on your assumption of important responsibilities. I compliment you, Mr. Chairman, for adroitly guiding the deliberations of this meeting.
Pakistan aligns itself with the Non-Aligned Movement’s position enunciated by Indonesia.
Mr. Chairman,
Pakistan shares the concerns of the international community over illicit trafficking in Small Arms and Light Weapons. Our concern is strengthened by our first hand experience of the adverse effects of illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons.
However, it needs to be borne in mind that Pakistan’s SALW problem is a product of the situation obtaining in our region. Our close proximity to violent conflicts and resistance movements has contributed to the problem.
The biggest factor, however, is the continuing instability in our neighbourhood which has spawned proliferation of SALW in the geographically contiguous border areas of Pakistan. In the rest of the country, there is no such phenomenon which proves that the problem is geo-political and does not lie within the regulatory mechanism of Pakistan.
Nevertheless, the Government of Pakistan remains determined in its resolve to implement the PoA to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in SALW in all its aspects.
Mr. Chairman,
Brokering of Small Arms and Light Weapons is a menace that confronts the world at large. We need to devise a comprehensive action plan against brokering. We all need to share information with each other on brokering networks and cartels involved in this deadly trade. The States need to enact national legislation to effectively deal with brokering in illicit trade of weapons. Pakistan has effective legislation in place to deal with brokering.
While a detailed account can be seen in Pakistan’s national report on implementation of the UN PoA on SALW, I would confine myself to enumerating some of the measures taken in this regard:
Mr. Chairman,
In the context of UN PoA, I would like to underline that Pakistan has a very water-tight system to regulate production, import, and export of weapons and ammunition which is under the exclusive control of the Government. The legal framework also caters for strict protection of stockpiles and prevention of pilferage.
As for marking and tracing, the Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) Wah which is the only manufacturer of SALW in the country is following a reliable system of marking and record keeping which is in conformity with the International Tracing Instrument.
We are convinced that the need to strengthen the UN PoA cannot be over-emphasized. In this regard I would like to echo the emphasis of several other delegations on the importance of international cooperation and assistance. It is important to honour pledges of assistance as well as to increase monetary allocation for capacity building programmes.
As part of its efforts to combat the illicit trade in SALW, the international community, in line with the principles of the UN Charter, must address the root causes of conflicts. Focus on conflict prevention and dispute resolution is thus a sine qua non for attainment of the common goals of strengthening peace and security in conditions of economic and social progress. This would also help achieve the objective of eliminating a major source of demand for SALW.
Thank you,
.