OSCE participating States adopt Plan of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons
VIENNA, 26 May 2010 - The 56 OSCE participating States adopted a plan of action to tackle the threat of small arms and light weapons (SALW) at a meeting of the Forum for Security Co-operation in Vienna today.
The plan aims to counter the uncontrolled proliferation and destabilizing accumulation of illicit SALW by improving the implementation of existing measures and reviewing principles, norms and measures, in order to improve capacity and efficiency.
"As the main weapons used in the majority of armed conflicts and violence, small arms and light weapons endanger the security of states and people. The plan of action agreed today represents a unanimous commitment on the part of the 56 OSCE States to improve controls and counter the dangers of these illicit weapons, and most importantly includes concrete steps, with a timetable for implementation," said György Molnár, the Hungarian Ambassador to the OSCE, who currently chairs the Forum for Security Co-operation.
The comprehensive set of measures agreed under the action plan include more rigorous monitoring and active assistance through targeted projects, possible expansion of the scope and strengthening export and brokering controls and facilitating implementation of the International Tracing Instrument (ITI) to mark existing stores.
The Plan of Action will be a major element of the OSCE's contribution to discussions to take place in New York in June at the Fourth Biennial Meeting of States to Consider the Implementation of the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons. As a regional organization under Chapter VIII of the UN Charter, the OSCE contributes to the implementation of globally agreed documents, including the Programme of Action.
The Forum for Security Co-operation meets weekly in Vienna to discuss and take decisions regarding military aspects of security in the OSCE area, in particular confidence- and security-building measures.