Political settlement key to control of small arms, light weapons: Chinese envoy

A Chinese UN envoy on Wednesday said that political settlement of conflict is the key to controlling the illicit trade of small arms and light weapons (SALWs).

"The settlement of disputes through political and diplomatic means and maintenance of international and regional peace and stability is the key to eliminating the illicit trade of SALWs," Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, said at a Security Council meeting on small arms.

The international community should intensify peacekeeping and post-conflict rebuilding effort to assist the concerned countries in achieving economic prosperity and sustainable development, he said.

Moreover, the Chinese envoy said, governments bear the primary responsibility for combating the illicit trade of SALWs and they should establish and improve laws and regulations, and strengthen their enforcement.

Governments should also strictly implement Security Council resolutions on arms embargo, not transfer weapons to non-state actors, and prevent the trafficking of legitimate weapons to illicit channels, Wu said.

Emphasizing the leadership of the UN in this regard, he said that states should carry out their international obligations, support the secretary-general and UN agencies in playing their positive role, and push forward the multilateral process of countering illicit trade of SALWs.

In light of the needs of developing countries, the international community should increase its assistance in institutional and capacity-building, funding contributions, technology transfer and personnel training, he said.

The Chinese government consistently opposes the illicit trade of small arms and light weapons, and actively participates in international and regional cooperation in combatting such illicit trade, Wu said.

China has started legal procedures for the accession to Arms Trade Treaty, he said, adding the move has fully shown China's determination and sincerity in adhering to multilateralism, in actively participating in the global governance of arms trade, and in building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Before Wu spoke, UN Undersecretary-General of Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu warned that the destabilizing accumulation, illicit transfer and misuse of small arms and light weapons continue to initiate, sustain and exacerbate armed conflict and pervasive crime.

She told the Security Council that small arms and light weapons are "the weapons of choice" in intra-state conflicts and for terrorism, organized crime and gang warfare.

Currently, nine UN peacekeeping and political missions across the globe address conventional weapons-related issues, including small arms and light weapons control and weapons and ammunition management, she said.

With regard to the source of illicit weapons, Nakamitsu said diversion remains a major source of weapons and their ammunition for gangs, criminal organizations, and terrorist groups.

She explained that those weapons and their ammunition originate from poorly-managed state-owned stockpiles and battlefield capture or loss following state collapse.

(CGTN)