Mr. Chairman,
The Colombian delegation has the honour to take the floor on behalf
of the countries members of the Rio Group
on the item "Transparency in armaments".
Mr. Chairman,
The strengthening of regional peace and security is one of the key
objectives of the countries members of the Rio
Group and we are therefore convinced that the application of measures
to promote confidence and security will
help to create a climate favourable to the effective limitation of conventional
arms, which, in turn, will make it
possible to devote a larger proportion of available resources to economic
and social development. In this regard,
the Heads of State and Government of the region pledged at the Second
Summit of the Americas, which was held
in Santiago, Chile, in 1998, to continue to promote transparency in
defence policies concerning, inter alia,
modernization of their armed forces, the comparison of military expenditures
in the region and the further
development of and wider participation in the United Nations Register
of Conventional Arms.
The countries members of the Rio Group, in order to promote a permanent
order of peace and cooperation
among the States, have pledged within the framework of the Inter-American
system, to accept as the guiding
principle of disarmament and of policies for the control and limitation
of arms at the regional level the need to
promote security and stability with the lowest possible level of forces
that reflect legitimate defense requirements.
We also pledged to contribute effectively to international efforts in
this area, in accordance with the Constitutions
and domestic laws of our countries, as well as with the principles and
purposes of the Charter of the Organization
of American States and the Charter of the United Nations.
In this regard, in June 1999, the Inter-American Convention on Transparency
in Conventional Weapons
Acquisitions was opened for signature in Guatemala City.
The objective of this Convention is to contribute to greater openness
and transparency in the procurement of
conventional arms through the exchange of information on procurements,
with a view to promoting confidence
among the States of the region.
In addition to imports and exports, the States parties must also provide
information on procurements through
national production. Moreover, States that are not members of the OAS
can contribute to the aims of the
Convention by providing information on exports and imports to countries
that are members of the OAS.
The countries members of the Rio Group reaffirm our commitment to
the principles of the Inter-American
Convention on Transparency in Conventional Weapons Acquisitions.
Mr. Chairman,
Since the adoption of resolution 46/36 L, this Committee has debated
the necessity of including information on the
production and holding of the seven categories of arms covered by the
United Nations Register of Conventional
Arms. In this regard, we have taken note of the conclusions of the report
of the Group of Governmental Experts
on the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms (A/55/281), which
states that with respect to the further
development of the Register, the Group examined the possibility of including
procurement from national
production. In this regard, the Group "reaffirmed the objective
of expanding without delay the scope of the
Register" and "welcomed" the growing number of States
that voluntarily submit reports on their military holdings
and procurement from national production.
Trade in arms is only one phase in the life cycle of arms, which begins
with the process of research and
development, then enters the production phase and finally the trading
phase. Policies that are aimed only at the last
stage of the cycle - the arms trade - will be incomplete and ineffective
if the transparency measures are not
applied to the complete cycle.
We also note that the Group considered the possibility of including
small arms and light weapons within the scope
of the Register, but decided to await the convening of the international
conference on the illicit arms trade in all its
aspects.
In addition, the Group of Experts acknowledged in their report the
importance of the principle of transparency
and its applicability to weapons of mass destruction. In reviewing the
proposals to add a new category that would
include such weapons, the Group considered the nature of the Register,
the concerns about regional security and
existing international legal instruments on the subject, as well as
General Assembly resolution 46/36 L. Taking all
of these factors into account, especially the fact that the Register
would cover only conventional arms, the Group
agreed that the item of transparency in weapons of mass destruction
was a subject that should be taken up by the
General Assembly.
Mr. Chairman,
It is necessary to involve arms producing countries so that they would
discourage investments in the development
of and research into new types of arms, promote the conversion of military
industries and adequately monitor
trading circuits and arms transfers to prevent diversion into illicit
channels. Arms-importing countries should
therefore exercise moderation in their demand and thus avoid promoting
arms races.
Greater openness and transparency in armaments should help to promote
mutual confidence, reduce tensions and
strengthen regional and international peace and security, while attaining
a more ambitious phase, which is
self-control in the procurement, manufacture and transfer of conventional
arms in order to prevent the arms races
that are already being witnessed in regions in which new weapons systems
and advanced launching systems have
been introduced.
