Ministry Statements & Speeches:
Thank you, President. New Zealand congratulates you on your Presidency, and commends you for the excellent preparatory work you have led. You have our full support.
I also wish to thank all ATT office holders, and the dedicated ATT Secretariat, for their support to you during your tenure.
We acknowledge the important contribution civil society makes to our work, and extend a special congratulations to Control Arms, and its donors, for the ATT Monitor. The Monitor is an important contribution to research and transparency within the ATT, and an important confidence-building measure.
Finally, I extend a warm congratulations and welcome to Malawi, Colombia, and Vanuatu, our newest States Parties.
At the outset, let me underline the importance of all States Parties complying with their ATT obligations, at all times. As the international security environment becomes more contested, illicit and unregulated trade in conventional arms can exacerbate human suffering, meaning the ATT’s key aims are as salient as ever.
In this regard we see merit in the proposal by the United Kingdom for States Parties to develop a five-year strategy for the ATT. Other disarmament treaties work with five-yearly strategies, and our experience is that these have been practical tools for tracking progress, helpful for maintaining momentum, and support effective treaty implementation.
As noted by the Stimson Center’s The Arms Trade Treaty at 10 report, there is a dissonance between the Treaty’s object and purpose, and the substance of our discussions at CSPs and in Working Groups, with some limited exceptions.
It is essential, therefore, that in the development of any strategy, we focus on Article 1 of the Treaty. That is, through implementing the Treaty we contribute to peace, security, and stability; we reduce human suffering; and we promote cooperation among States, with NGOs and with industry and that we improve transparency.
Our discussions can be highly technical, and while this is often necessary, we cannot lose sight of the humanitarian imperative that drove the negotiation and adoption of this Treaty.
President, New Zealand is committed to working with civil society and will continue to champion their full participation in ATT mechanisms. Indeed, the preamble of the Treaty expressly recognises the active role that civil society can play in supporting Treaty implementation. We call on all States Parties to support civil society’s full participation and engagement in Arms Trade Treaty meetings.
President, New Zealand looks forward to the substantive discussions this week and I wish us all success in our collective mission to reduce human suffering.
I thank you.