EU-verklaring over oude magazijnen met conventionele ammunitie (en)

(07/07/05)

Permanent Council No.562

The EU notes that substantial progress has been achieved in relation to the implementation of both the OSCE Documents on SALW and on Stockpiles of Conventional Ammunition. The decisions taken in FSC in the last year, concerning additional measures for tighter export controls for SALW including MANPADS, reaffirm the OSCEâ€Ös continued commitment in this area and demonstrate the FSCâ€Ös ongoing efforts to combat terrorism and to prevent the illegal diversion of small arms and light weapons.

The reply to requests for help in coping with the problems of excess SALW and Stockpiles of conventional ammunition is also starting to take place in Tajikistan in the form of a project led by the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe. Also in Belarus progress has been made on a bi- and trilateral basis. Furthermore in Georgia, Moldova and Armenia OSCE-led Stockpiles-projects are being carried out, although not under the auspices of the Stockpiles document. These examples show that the OSCE has been able to meet the challenges, although there remains much to be done.

The EU welcomes NATO proposals to improve contacts with the OSCE concerning ongoing SALW and Stockpiles projects. Such contacts, particularly with regard to increased transparency and visibility of each others activities on a case by case basis, will prove most valuable in ensuring precious resources are not wasted by duplication .

The EU welcomes the OSCE effort to reach out to other regions and organizations as part of the implementation of the UN PoA on SALW. An actual example is the participation in the Biannual Meeting to consider the implementation of the PoA in UN next week.

The EU stands ready to engage constructively and in a spirit of co-operation in the work in further implementation of the SALW and Stockpiles Documents. As an example of a possibility for further action the EU would highlight the recent instrument agreed in UN earlier this month concerning Marking and Tracing of SALW. As a Regional Organisation under Chapter VIII of the UN the next step for the OSCE could now be to have a follow-up on this instrument.

The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania, the Candidate Countries Turkey and Croatia1, as well as Ukraine and Moldova align themselves with this declaration.

1: Croatia continues to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process