15 July - Prep Com to ATT - 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

15 July 2011

Statement by H.E. Gary Quinlan
Ambassador and Permanent Representative
of Australia to the United Nations

(Check against delivery)

Thank you, Mr Chair, for taking into consideration the wide range of comments expressed by States over the last few days, and indeed months, and circulating a revised paper on the key elements of the Treaty. We consider this an excellent starting block for the run to the negotiating conference next year.

As I said on Monday, while we have made progress over the past year, we do not under-estimate the challenges we have ahead of us. But we have an obligation that we must use intelligently and constructively to build on our work to date with focus and determination to achieve a Treaty we so uncontestably need.

Mr Chair
We can see reflected in this paper the wide range of views expressed by States – some acceptable to some, some not to others - but we can also see the emergence of an increasingly cohesive approach.

The paper will undoubtedly elicit much deliberation within and among States in the time between this meeting and our next meeting in 2012.

As a general comment we welcome the revised structure of the paper as positive and commendable.

We are generally supportive of the section on scope, particularly its building on the categories of arms in the UN Conventional Arms Register, and the inclusion of small arms and light weapons, and munitions – including ammunition as mentioned by Sweden and Italy.

We disagree with suggestions that arms for civilian use - such as sporting and hunting firearms - should be expressly excluded from the scope of the Treaty.
The movement of recreational firearms will not be unnecessarily impeded by the definition of transfer as contained in Annex A.

We believe that an exporting State must necessarily exercise a high level of vigilance and control in relation to a proposed export of arms.

We agree that States must be required to deny an export application that would contravene a State’s international, regional and domestic legal obligations including UN Security Council sanctions.

We also agree that a State must “take into account” other criteria in assessing a potential export of arms.We welcome the rationalisation of the section on implementation. This new approach provides the framework for further discussion and, in future, a draft Treaty text.

The effective function of the Arms Trade Treaty will depend on the creation of national authorisation systems that:
1. Require exporting States, as a minimum, to assess transfers of arms that fall within the scope of the Treaty against the criteria set out in the Treaty.
2. Require all States, including importing, transit and trans-shipment States, to establish legal and administration mechanisms, including verifiable authorisations, notifications of manifests and criminal enforcement capabilities to address unauthorised transfers that pass into, out or through a State’s territory, and exercise those measures wherever feasible.
3. Facilitate the sharing of information wherever possible, and
4. Require States to keep records of the information available to them about the activities that fall within the scope of the Treaty.

Clearly, these provisions will need to be crafted in a way that is sensitive to the resource constraints faced by all States participating in these discussions.
We welcome the extra detail in your paper on international cooperation and assistance, and recognise the important role there will be for an ISU.

Mr Chair, we are strongly of the view that States should ensure that we use the intersessional period energetically – and - constructively, and discuss the elements of the Treaty in real substance.

The paper you circulated yesterday will serve us very well in this regard, as it provides rich – and very solid - material for further work.

In the course of our work over the last year the Australian delegation has been pleased to work closely with key stake holders in this process – in particular we have liaised closely with the countries of the Caribbean and Pacific. We look forward to continuing – and widening - this collaboration energetically – especially with Africa - as we head towards the critical negotiating phase. We encourage others to do the same.

Mr Chair, we thank you again on your crucial – and instrumental - leadership of our discussions to date, and look forward to embarking on the next stage of our deliberations and continuing to work actively under your leadership, on the basis of the paper you have provided to us.

It is simply obvious, of course, that no treaty will – or can – ever be perfect. But we need to have ambition to achieve the very best we can. We agree that we must be realistic and, in particular, pay more attention in the intervening period to ensuring the treaty is strongly rooted in an understanding of the practical aspects of international arms transfers so that we can frame an effective, workable and implementable treaty.

It was after all the greatest United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjőld who reminded us that the United Nations was not created to take us to heaven but to save us from hell. But notwithstanding that, to make progress in human affairs we still need to have strong leadership, ambition and vision. You spoke this morning about the role of the master chef in preparing a really good meal. I agree. We very definitely need the master chef to guide us cooks in the kitchen. And we look forward to continuing to benefit even more masterfully from your own culinary talents until we complete the treaty which – as Australia has always said – we so uncontestably need.

Thank you.