Discurso do Representante Permanente, Embaixador Sérgio França Danese, em debate geral debate geral da Quarta Conferência de Exame do Programa de Ação das Nações Unidas sobre Armas Pequenas e Leves (UN-PoA) - 18 de junho de 2024 (texto em inglês)

Publicado em 19/06/2024 12h57 Atualizado em 09/10/2024 17h34

Statement by the Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations, Ambassador Sérgio França Danese, at the General Debate of the Fourth Review Conference of the UN Programme of Action of Small Arms and Light Weapons
June 18th, 2024

Señora Presidenta,

La felicito por su elección como Presidenta de la Cuarta Conferencia de Revisión del Programa de Acción de las Naciones Unidas sobre Armas Pequeñas y Ligeras. Su elección es especialmente significativa por lo que representa para la participación de las mujeres en todos los niveles de las discusiones sobre desarme y para la acción de nuestra región en este importante tema. Aunque Latinoamérica y el Caribe no carecen de desafíos también en el área del comercio ilícito de Armas Pequeñas y Ligeras, también hemos adquirido una valiosa experiencia en políticas públicas y acciones exitosas, que nos gustaría compartir con todos los participantes de esta Conferencia.

Madam President,

Despite the scale of the challenge when it comes to Small Arms and Light Weapons, we come to this Fourth Review Conference with a sense of optimism.

First, optimism regarding this very process. Across eight biennial meetings of Member States and four Review Conferences, we have developed a significant “acquis” on how to best implement the Programme of Action.

This has included actionable recommendations on technical matters such as tracking, tracing, record-keeping and cooperation between different agencies at the bilateral, regional and global levels. It has also included significant conceptual developments, such as a recognition of the link between sustainable development and combatting the illicit trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons. We also have acknowledged the importance of the meaningful participation of women at all stages of our work.

A major step forward last year was the adoption a Global Framework on Ammunition Management, endorsed through the GA resolution 78/47. This framework helped bring the management of conventional ammunition under many of the same principles that underlie this Programme of Action.

Our task is now to build on the momentum from last year, exploring the synergies between the Global Framework on Conventional Ammunition and the UN-Programme of Action. Management of ammunition and management of firearms are two sides of the same coin, that can and should reinforce each other.

Madam President,

It is clear that there is still much work to be done to fully implement the Programme of Action and the International Tracing Instrument. My region needs no reminder of the need to curb the scourge of illicit trade. Countries in Latin America, including Brazil, have often registered yearly seizures of over 10,000 illegal firearms, some of the highest global numbers according to the World Custom Organization. In a region with the highest proportion of gun-related homicides worldwide, we are keenly aware of the urgency of our discussions here.

These challenges have been magnified by the rapid pace of development of new technologies. Tracing disassembled firearm parts has always been a challenge. Yet that challenge has gotten even harder in recent years with the rise of 3D printed parts and modular weapons. Parts are often not subject to the same level of controls as fully assembled firearms. This means that legal imports of components can increasingly be used in the production of illegal, unmarked weapons.

We must do more both to increase our understanding of how these new technologies are being used in the illegal trade and to tighten export and import controls.

Madam President,

We are encouraged by efforts to set up an Open-Ended Technical Experts Group to tackle these many issues related to the role of new technologies in the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. This Group should explore how these new technologies can be leveraged by Member States to tackle traditional concerns such as improving the identification and tracking of industrially-produced weapons.

We are further encouraged by the emphasis given to the draft outcome document on the need for improved assistance mechanisms to help implement the Programme of Action and the International Tracing Instrument. While we have long stated that assistance is fundamental, the growing role of technology in this topic has highlighted the need for more effective assistance to close existent technological gaps between countries. Assistance should also include technology transfers to allow countries to develop and improve national capacities in all aspects, including in border controls, marking, records-keeping, tracking and tracing.

Madam President,

There is one last reason for optimism in our discussions here. As great as our challenges are in combatting the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, we have so far shown the political will to be creative and constructive in tackling those challenges. This is useful not only for our work here, but for what it can signal for our discussions on disarmament more broadly.

Indeed, a successful adoption of an outcome document in this Review Conference could give a much-needed boost to other disarmament processes. If we can be pragmatic and find can be leveraged by Member States to tackle traditional concerns such as improving the identification and tracking of industrially-produced weapons.

Madam President,

Indeed, a successful adoption of an outcome document in this Review Conference could give a much-needed boost to other disarmament processes. If we can be pragmatic and find compromise around a pressing issue such as the illegal trade in small arms and light weapons, we can also do so in other urgent issues in disarmament.

I thank you.