13 July 2011 - ATT PrepCom - Australian Permanent Mission to the United Nations

Australian Permanent Mission to the United Nations

New York

Permanent Mission address: 150 East 42 Street, Level 33, New York, New York 10017 - Telephone: 1 212 351 6600 - Fax: 1 212 351 6610

Preparatory Committee for the United Nations Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty

13 July 2011

Statement by Mr John Tilemann
International Security Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

(Check against delivery)

Mr Chairman,

At the outset, I wish to convey the Australian delegation’s full support for the approach that you have taken in the draft paper on final provisions.

And as most the points that we had wanted to raise have been mentioned by others, we can be very brief.

First, with reference to paragraph 1 of Section C, we agree with your proposal that entry into force on attaining a simple threshold number of ratifications is the preferred a more practical approach. We would think a ‘reasonable’ number of ratifications for entry into force to be rather in the direction of 60, but can be flexible on this given the strong preferences of some participants for a lower threshold.
Second, as mentioned by some others, we would like to see a strengthening of the provisions against withdrawal in section D, paragraph 2.

Third, we support the approach that you have taken in Section E not to allow reservations that are incompatible with the object and purpose of the Treaty.
Fourth, we consider that it would be useful to include an additional provision in the treaty dealing with the relationship between this Treaty and other legal instruments. This could state that the ATT shall not affect the right of States Parties to enter into bilateral or multilateral agreements, provided that these are compatible with their obligations under the ATT. The thought behind this suggestion is that we would wish to encourage regional and other initiatives which might reinforce and strengthen the objectives of the Arms Trade Treaty.

Finally, Mr Chairman, I wish to reiterate our confidence in the process that you have initiated and look forward to receiving your revised text.

Thank you Mr Chairman.