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Statement H.E. Dr. R.M. Marty Natalegawa New York, 30 April 2008
Mr. President, Let me first of all thank the Director and Deputy to the High Representative on Disarmament Affairs, Ms. Hannelore Hoppe, for her briefing. I would also like to thank the Secretary-General for his report on “Small Arms” (document S/2008/258). This report provides a clear picture of the multidimensional and multi-level nature of the challenge of small arms today. It clearly underlines the responsibilities accruing to various organs of the United Nations, including this Council, in addressing these challenges. The International Committee of the Red Cross estimates that 90% of recent war casualties have been brought about by small arms. The threat posed by these weapons arises from the widely-known fact that they tend to be relatively cheap, portable and easy to conceal. These weapons, therefore unfortunately are in high demand and easily accessible in civil wars, terrorism, organized crime, and gang warfare. Much monumental human misery may be traced to them. In a wider context, however, small arms are not only a security issue, they are also a development issue. Developing countries continue to be threatened by the destruction brought by these weapons, and the hindrance it has placed to productive economic activities. Mr. President, Our strategies for dealing with small arms should, in our view, include not only curbing illicit trade and brokering, but also dealing with existing stockpiles and surpluses of arms and controlling their spread. These efforts have begun in some places, such as the DRC, and have met with considerable success. Greater effort needs to be undertaken, with cooperation amongst governments and regional actors, to ensure that surplus or excessive small arms are destroyed. Furthermore, global advocacy can contribute in raising public awareness on the importance of addressing these issues and in galvanizing support within countries and regions. As a subscriber to the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development, Indonesia finds it both necessary and beneficial to start to develop innovative and robust methods for measuring systematically the scope, scale, distribution as well as impact of armed violence and furthermore to develop measurable reductions in armed violence. Indeed, concerted efforts should be pursued in order to develop economies, eliminate poverty, and create sustainable development, particularly in the poor countries that are still fragile, to the emergence and relapsing into internal conflicts. Mr. President, My delegation is pleased to note the Council’s renewed focus on the issue of small arms. The consideration of this issue in the Council, while extremely important on its own, should always be in synergy with that of the General Assembly, which has been seized of this issue. We believe that the Assembly has provided important norm setting initiatives, including the 2001 UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects, as well as the development of instruments on international tracing and illicit brokering. Pursuant to the Security Council request contained in its presidential statement of 29 June 2007, the Secretary-General has submitted some far-reaching recommendations, particularly those pertaining to data collection and development issues that could be of benefit to this process. In this regard, the Security Council could, in its part, contribute in the ongoing international effort by closely considering the recommendations therein, Mr. President, Indonesia believes that one of the most important
element in achieving success in our effort to address this highly
complex problem is coherence and cooperation among all relevant bodies,
such as governments, international organizations, the World Bank,
the community of donors, agencies of the United Nations, NGOs and
civil society. Such a comprehensive approach will strengthen the full
implementation of the Program of Action. Mr. President, With a view to better addressing the challenges brought by small arms, Indonesia is in favor of an early multilateral negotiation to establish a legally-binding instrument to curb the illicit transfer of small arms, including ammunition. While supporting those practical measures, my delegation is also of the view that the legitimate defense and security needs of States should always be taken into account. The inherent right of individual or collective self-defense in accordance with Article 51 of the Charter of the UN, including the right of States to maintain their territorial integrity, should not fall victim of our effort to prevent small arms from falling into the wrong hands. The legitimate rights of sovereign States for acquiring and possessing small arms and government-to-government trade relations on these weapons should also be guaranteed. Finally Mr. President, Indonesia emphasizes that only by concerted action can we reach the goal of reducing the flow of these weapons for use by non-state actors in war, crime, and violence throughout the world. Only by persistence, as well as the visibility that this Council has, can we ensure a brighter future for societies to which small arms have inflicted destruction, or might yet invite damage. I thank you.
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