Security Council focuses on illicit small arms trade

The UN Security Council on Friday asked Secretary-General Kofi Annan to submit by September 2002 recommendations on how it can respond to the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons.

In an official statement read by its president, Colombian Foreign Minister Fernandez de Soto, the Council noted that the illegal flow of small arms “increases the intensity and duration of armed conflicts, undermines the sustainability of peace agreements, impedes the success of peace-building, frustrates efforts aimed at the prevention of armed conflict, hinders considerably the provision of humanitarian assistance, and compromises the effectiveness of the Security Council”.

However, the statement welcomed recent initiatives, such as the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, adopted at a UN conference in July, and called on all states to implement it.