Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-06-12-Speech-2-392-000"
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"en.20120612.19.2-392-000"2
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"Madam President, today, the international trade in weapons is one of the least regulated sectors of international commerce. Armaments can be very easily diverted to the illegal market, can fuel conflicts and can be used in serious violation of human rights and international humanitarian law, and contribute to international crime and to terrorism. Weapons that fall into the wrong hands can have a devastating effect on regional and international peace and security. I would argue that international action is urgently needed to address this.
The unity and coherence of the EU as a block will be put under pressure during the negotiations. But we must remain united. That is why my services are putting a huge amount of time and resources into coordinating our negotiating position, so that we are ready to defend them strongly at the negotiating table.
We are also proactively engaging with the major stakeholders in the remaining time. The treaty has been raised by the EU in all of our recent high-level meetings with third countries, including China, India, US, Russia, Pakistan and Mexico. On top of this, we have been conducting a major worldwide outreach campaign since 2009 involving ten regional seminars covering almost all of the countries in the framework of two Council decisions. Our work will not end with the negotiation of the treaty. In order to have real impact on international peace and security, the treaty must be implemented.
We therefore stand ready to play our part, including through the provision of assistance to those countries that show willingness to establish effective arms transfer controls, but will need support to do so.
Through the negotiations of a legally binding Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), we have the opportunity to set the highest possible standards to regulate international trade in arms. Such a treaty can make trade in arms more transparent, or accountable, and prevent the diversion of weapons.
The European Union has been at the forefront of this initiative from the beginning. We strongly believe that the Arms Trade Treaty has the potential to improve the lives and security conditions of hundreds of thousands of people around the world, by ensuring that weapons are traded in the most responsible way.
The European Parliament has also played a major role in this campaign. The resolution of this House adopted in 2007, at the outset of the process, helped to gain political momentum in support of the ATT initiative. I welcome today the adoption of a new European Parliament resolution ahead of the UN conference in July, when the treaty will be negotiated.
This is a collective effort. EU Foreign Ministers will also agree in June on comprehensive Council conclusions on the ATT, setting the priorities for the negotiating conference.
To have real impact on the way arms are traded at international level, we need to make sure that the treaty we negotiate in the United Nations will be as strong and robust as possible. The treaty should make sure that not only exports of weapons, but also transit, transhipment and brokering are controlled. There should be a shared responsibility by all players involved in the arms trade.
Similarly, we should make sure that all types of conventional weapons are controlled, and not only major military systems. Transfers of large quantities of small arms can have a much more destabilising effect than the transfer of a limited number of large military vehicles.
We should make sure that the treaty contains clear and strong parameters, against which arms transfers can be assessed. This should ensure that arms are transferred and used in full respect of human rights and international humanitarian law.
A treaty should also include a credible implementation mechanism, requiring State parties to put in place national control systems to control the transfer of weapons and to penalise transfers that have not been properly authorised. Finally, the treaty should contain a credible and clear transparency mechanism to increase accountability in the global arms trade."@en1
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