HC Deb 14 November 2001 vol 374 cc742-3W
Llew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the annual report on the implementation of the EU joint action, of 17 December 1998, on the European Union's contribution to combating the destabilising accumulation and spread of small arms and light weapons (199/34/CFSP) and the EU programme on illicit trafficking in conventional arms of June 1997. [14259]

Mr. Bradshaw

I have been asked to reply.

The Government had an opportunity to comment on the draft of the annual report on the implementation of the EU joint action, of 17 December 1998, on the European Union's contribution to combating the destabilising accumulation and spread of small arms and light weapons (1999/34/CFSP) and the EU programme on illicit trafficking in conventional arms of June 1997, as did all other EU member states. The report is entirely consistent with the Government's policy on Small Arms and Light Weapons. It provides a detailed account of action taken by EU member states at the national level and in international forums to combat the dangerous proliferation of small arms. The report also sets out priorities for a more systematic approach to EU assistance in this crucial area of work. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office submitted the report for parliamentary scrutiny on 14 June.

The Government are committed to tackling the scourge of small arms proliferation. The need to eradicate the illicit trade in small arms has a particular urgency in the context of the war against terrorism. The annual report predates the first ever UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, held in New York in July 2001. The Conference adopted a Programme of Action which commits States politically to put in place export control mechanisms, measures to ensure small arms traceability and to control brokers, and to destroy surplus weapons. There will be a Review Conference in 2006. It is vital that countries sustain the political momentum built up at the Conference to implement the programme of Action. The UK will continue to co-operate with our EU partners, within the framework of the EU's Joint Action on Small Arms and the EU Programme on Illicit Trafficking, to address these issues as a matter of priority.