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United Nations Conference to Review Progress Made in the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, NY, 26 June - 7 July 2006
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UN Small Arms Review Conference 2006
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SECRETARY-GENERAL'S STATEMENT (Press Release of 10 July 2006)

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SG Quote, Let me note that this Review Conference is not negotiating a global gun ban, nor do we wish to deny law-abiding citizens their right to bear arms in accordance with their national laws. Our energy, our emphasis, and our anger is directed against illegal weapons, not legal ones. Our priorities are effective enforcement, better controls and regulation, safer stockpiling, and weapons collection and destruction. Our targets remain unscrupulous arm brokers, corrupt officials, dur trafficking syndicates, criminals and others who bring death and mayhem into our communities, and who ruin lives and destroy in minutes the labour of years. To halt the dstructive marh of armed conflict and crime, we must stop such purveyors of death. This is an ambitious--but achievable--goal. The Programme of Action has already provided us with a framework. Now, it is up to all of us, States, international and regional organizations, and civil society participants, to realize its aims.

 

The United Nations Conference to review the implementation of the Programme of Action on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons ended on 7 July 2006 without agreeing on an outcome document.

In spite of differences on follow-up details, the Conference did succeed in recalling the issue of small arms and light weapons to the attention of the international community, which clearly remains committed to the Programme of Action as the main framework for measures to curtail the illegal trade in these weapons.

The UN Programme of Action, adopted in 2001, is still in operation. It already brought over 50 countries to toughen their laws against illegal guns and 60 countries to destroy large number of them. These efforts spared large numbers of lives and will likely continue to do so.

Delegates from all parts of the world reaffirmed during the Conference that the most urgent task is to take firm steps to control illicit arms brokers. This issue will be studied in depth by a United Nations intergovernmental expert group, which will hold its first session in November 2006.

 
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