§ Baroness Goldingasked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the purpose of the Conference on Strengthening the Export Control on Small Arms and Light Weapons. [HL1091]
§ The Minister for Trade (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean)HMG hosted a successful meeting on strengthening export controls on small arms and light weapons at Lancaster House on 14 and 15 January. Over 50 nations and representatives of international organisations and NGOs attended. My right honourable friends the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for International Development addressed the delegates.
The meeting was an initiative of the Government's Global Conflict Prevention Pool. The Government's objective was to build on and develop consensus between small arms exporting nations, whether producers or stock-holders, on the need for effective export controls and controls on arms brokers. These were sensitive issues that the Government considered would benefit from further work following the UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects in 2001.
Recognising the central role for the UN, the meeting discussed ways of taking forward work on international agreement to control the activities of arms brokers. There was also general agreement on the need for effective export controls on small arms.
The UK will report the outcome of the meeting to the United Nations biennial review meeting in July 2003 and follow up on the common ground established at Lancaster House.
The meeting demonstrates the strength of the international consensus to implement more effective controls on small arms exports and brokers. All who attended saw the meeting as a useful initiative to take forward key elements in the international effort to control the spread of small arms, a major factor in instability and conflict, particularly in Africa and in human rights abuses and crime worldwide.