REGULATING THE ARMS TRADE AND "DISARMING" THE ILLICIT MARKET

Vatican City, 17 February 2012 (VIS) - On 13 February Archbishop Francis Assisi Chullikatt, Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations in New York, participated in the Fourth Session of the Preparatory Committee for the United Nations Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).

"With other States and the various actors of the international community, the Holy See shares the view that the principal objective of the Treaty should not be merely the regulation of the conventional arms trade but should be, above all, the disarming of the international illicit market", said the archbishop speaking English.

"An unregulated and non-transparent arms trade due to the absence on the international level of effective monitoring systems causes a series of humanitarian consequences: integral human development is retarded, the risk of instability and conflict is heightened, the process of peace is placed at risk and the spread of a culture of violence and criminality is facilitated. Responsible action, shared by all the members of the international community, is necessary to resolve such problematic realities. This includes States and international organisations, NGOs and the private sector".

"The international community requires a strong, effective and credible legal instrument that is capable of regulating and improving transparency in the trade of conventional arms and munitions, including the trading and licensing of technologies for their production".

As a guarantee of this, Archbishop Chullikatt identified five aspects to be taken into consideration:

"(1) The scope of the ATT should be broad, comprising not solely the seven categories of arms which the UN Register of Conventional Arms considers, but also small arms and light weapons, together with their relevant munitions".

"(2) The criteria for application of the Treaty must maintain reference to human rights, humanitarian law and development. These are the three areas in which the impact of the illicit market in arms is particularly pernicious".

"(3) The capacity for the success of the Treaty will depend also on its ability to promote and reinforce international cooperation and assistance between States".

"(4) Provisions relating to assistance for victims must be maintained and, if possible, strengthened, giving attention also to the prevention of illicit arms proliferation, by reducing the demand for arms which often feeds the illicit market. It seems opportune, from this perspective, then, to introduce references in the Treaty to educative processes and public awareness programmes".

"(5) Mechanisms for treaty review and updating need to be strong and credible, capable of quickly incorporating new developments in the subject matter of the ATT, which must remain open to future technological developments".