General Statement: Tenth Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty

Thank you President, I confirm my delegation’s support for all your efforts.

I also wish to thank all ATT office holders, and the dedicated ATT Secretariat. Special thanks and best wishes to our colleague on the podium.

I also offer New Zealand’s sincere condolences on the passing of our ATT Secretariat colleague.

President, I acknowledge the contributions of civil society, and extend a special congratulations to Control Arms, and its donors, for publishing the ATT Monitor. The Monitor is an important contribution to transparency within our Treaty.

Finally, I extend a warm congratulations and welcome to Gambia and Malawi.

New Zealand is proud to celebrate 10 years since the entry into force of our Treaty.

We are pleased to support the Declaration to mark this occasion, developed by our UK colleagues.

It remains our joint responsibility to ensure that the humanitarian and security benefits that can flow from this Treaty are realised, through effective implementation and full universalisation.

To promote transparency, build confidence and support implementation, New Zealand encourages States Parties to continue sharing their experiences applying the Treaty’s criteria. This is particularly pertinent in cases that involve a transfer to contexts involving, or closely linked with, armed conflict.

For New Zealand, each application for an export permit is assessed on a case-by-case basis, guided by six criteria. Under criterion 2, for example, an export and its intended use is assessed against New Zealand’s obligations and commitments regarding fundamental principles of international law, international human rights law and international humanitarian law. Noting High Representative Nakamitsu’s comments yesterday, we confirm that adherence to the Political Declaration on EWIPA is listed as something we take into account under criterion 1.

For complex applications we seek input from regional experts within our Ministry, which may include input from staff at our posts.  We may also reach out to other agencies within New Zealand, and internationally.

President, we recall the humanitarian imperative that drove the negotiation and adoption of this Treaty over 10 years ago. Today, this imperative is no different. With this in mind, we would like to highlight the value of thorough discussions in the Working Group on Effective Treaty Implementation, including on emerging issues, and longstanding issues like gender-based violence. We recall our alignment with the statement delivered yesterday by Mexico.

President, we call once again on all States Parties to fulfil their national reporting obligations under the Treaty, and to consider making their reports public, as a contribution to confidence-building among our membership.

In line with our commitment to transparency, we note that New Zealand is currently modernising our Arms Act, which came into force in 1984. We look forward to updating our Initial Report to the ATT once these legislative changes have been made.

Finally, we call on all States Parties to comply with their ATT obligations, at all times, without exception.

President, New Zealand looks forward to the substantive discussions this week and I wish us all success in driving forward the Treaty’s core mission of reduced human suffering.

I thank you.