OEA/Ser.P
AG/RES. 1642 (XXIX-O/99)
7 June 1999
Original: English

PROLIFERATION OF AND ILLICIT TRAFFICKING IN
SMALL ARMS AND LIGHT WEAPONS

(Adopted at the first plenary session, held on June 7, 1999,
and pending review by the Style Committee)


THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

HAVING SEEN the Annual Report of the Permanent Council (AG/doc.3830/99), and in particular the chapter on the Report by the Committee on Hemispheric Security (CP/CSH-214/99), as it relates to the proliferation of and illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons;

WELCOMING the decision of the United Nations General Assembly, expressed through the adoption of resolution 53/77E entitled "Small Arms", to convene an international conference on the illicit arms trade in all its aspects, no later than 2001;

RECALLING the Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and other Related Materials;

EMPHASIZING the importance of the member states signing or ratifying this Convention as soon as possible;

RECALLING also its resolution "Confidence- and Security-Building in the Americas" [AG/RES. 1566 (XXVIII-O/98)], which instructed the Permanent Council to endeavor, through the Committee on Hemispheric Security, to advance the development of the most appropriate approach, at the hemispheric level, to strengthening dialogue aimed at addressing questions related to small arms and trafficking therein;

ACKNOWLEDGING that dealing with the problem of small arms and light weapons calls for integrated action that addresses matters of security; the collection of weapons from demobilized combatants, the destruction of those weapons, and the reintegration of such persons into civilian life; humanitarian issues; cultural and economic circumstances specific to each case; and the legal aspects of arms control;

ACKNOWLEDGING also, the need for a coordinated and comprehensive approach at the global, regional and national levels to combat the destabilizing accumulation and proliferation of small arms and light weapons in order to contribute to regional and international peace and security;
AWARE of the urgent need to continue hemispheric cooperation in order to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, ammunition, explosives, and other related materials, due to the harmful effects of these activities on the security of each State and the region as a whole, endangering the well-being of peoples, their social and economic development, and their right to live in peace;

CONVINCED of the need to continue and to intensify multilateral cooperation as an important contribution to addressing the problems associated with the proliferation of and the illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons;

RECOGNIZING the valuable work of the United Nations and the United Nations Group of Governmental Experts on Small Arms to advance solutions to the small arms and light weapons challenge to regional and international security;

REAFFIRMING member states' commitment to respect the United Nations Security Council arms embargoes through the adoption, as may be necessary, of appropriate national norms;

TAKING NOTE with interest of the work in progress for the elaboration of an international convention against transnational organized crime, including a protocol to combat illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition, in the framework of the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice of the Economic and Social Council, and also of other related efforts by that Commission and the Center for International Crime Prevention in Vienna;

RECALLING with satisfaction the unprecedented West African moratorium on the importation, exportation, and manufacture of light weapons declared by members of the Economic Community of West African States on October 31, 1998;

NOTING the Oslo document entitled "An International Agenda on Small Arms and Light Weapons: Elements of a Common Understanding"; and

ACKNOWLEDGING the importance of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission's (CICAD) Model Regulations adopted at its twenty-eighth regular session [AG/RES. 1543 (XXVIII-O/98)], and expressing its satisfaction with the work on those Model Regulations and CICAD's related training programs,

RESOLVES:

1. To encourage member states to apply, where appropriate, the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission's (CICAD) Model Regulations in the development of national legislation and regulations.

2. To encourage member states to adopt such measures concerning arms brokering and transit as may be necessary to combat the illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons.

3. To request that CICAD continue its training programs in order to contribute to the capabilities of member states to address the proliferation of and illicit trafficking in firearms.
4. To instruct the Permanent Council, that through the Committee on Hemispheric Security, it:

a. hold a meeting to continue advancing the development of the most appropriate approach at the hemispheric level to strengthen dialogue aimed at addressing questions related to small arms and light weapons and the illicit trafficking therein; and

b. invite to that meeting the Chairman of the UN Group of Governmental Experts on Small Arms, the available experts from the member states that participated in that Group, the Chairman of the UN Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of a Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, and the Director of the UN Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, so that they may provide information on the results of their work.

5. To express its support for the conclusion, by the year 2000, of negotiations in Vienna of an international convention against transnational organized crime, and in particular, of a protocol thereto to combat the illicit manufacture of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition, a process inspired by the Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacture of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials.

6. To request that CICAD continue to provide assistance to Member States on those matters within its purview, in order to facilitate compliance with the said Inter-American Convention and the application of the said Model Regulations, as appropriate.

7. To instruct the Permanent Council to carry out the activities mentioned in this resolution within funds allocated in the program-budget and other resources.

8. To request that the Secretary General transmit this resolution to the United Nations' Secretary-General.

9. To request that the Permanent Council report on the implementation of this resolution to the General Assembly at its thirtieth regular session.

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