Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-06-14-Speech-3-248"
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"en.20060614.18.3-248"2
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".
Mr President, we support the principle of the proposed international arms trade treaty. Small arms, in the wrong hands, prolong and exacerbate some of the world’s most brutal conflicts. However, we are under no illusions that so long as certain arms manufacturing nations remain outside the scope of international treaties, then oppressive governments, terrorists and insurgents and other organised criminal groups will continue to have easy access to weaponry.
The British arms industry already operates to some of the highest standards in the world and the British Defence Manufacturers’ Association has said that it warmly welcomes the principle behind the international arms trade treaty. If other countries were willing to emulate the strict standards enforced by the United Kingdom, an arms treaty would certainly be a worthwhile asset and a boon to international security. However, responsible countries such as the United Kingdom and other EU Member States will only achieve a hollow moral victory if other less conscientious nations rush to fill the gap in arms sales left by our absence.
The United Nations, and not the European Union, is the arena in which to pursue an international arms trade treaty and it must include as many countries as possible, and particularly China, if it is to have the desired effect. Amnesty International has recently identified China as one of the world’s major arms exporters, with increasing influence in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Chinese weapons have helped sustain conflicts and human rights violations in Sudan, Nepal, Burma and southern Africa. I am reminded that China also continues to stockpile enormous quantities of anti-personnel landmines.
For many years I have worked to overcome the problem of anti-personnel landmines, but I have always sought to focus attention on the real culprits, who use such weapons indiscriminately and irresponsibly. Usually, these have been armed rebel groups in developing countries which are supplied by non-Western countries.
I think it is important, therefore, that when considering the matter of small arms, we should take care not to become over-obsessed with our own authorities or legitimate traders engaged in transparent activities. Instead, we should focus on terrorist groups and other criminal elements that are either sitting on stockpiles of weapons or continuing to obtain them from various sources. That is the area on which we should now concentrate our attention. Let us also work hard to bring China and other such countries into the scope of an international treaty."@en1
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