Ministry Statements & Speeches:
Thank you, Mr Chair.
Firstly, please allow me to extend my Delegation’s sincere thanks to Switzerland, and in particular Ambassador Dallafior, for their tireless efforts as chair of the Working Group on Effective Treaty Implementation. We would also like to express our gratitude to the Delegations of Ghana, Sweden and Jamaica for all of their work as facilitators on each of the Articles.
It may be hard to envisage a time when Treaty implementation will not be at the core of our meetings of States Parties here in Geneva. But it is clear from the constructive nature of this year’s preparatory sessions, including the excellent presentations being delivered by Delegations and the thoughtful reports being drafted in each of the working groups, that there is a widespread commitment to ensuring the success of this Treaty and the lofty aspirations it represents. After all, who can really doubt the global ‘public good’ of implementing the highest possible common standards for the regulation of trade in conventional arms and the eradication of illicit transfers?
And yet, our Treaty is at something of a cross-roads, Mr President. There are differences over whether particular transfers by individual states do indeed meet the standards the Treaty has set – and whether, therefore, all States Party are meeting their ATT obligations. There are challenges, too, in encouraging new Parties to come on board – including those who play a pivotal role in global arms sales – in order to further our goal of the Treaty’s universalisation.
We must all stay alert to these challenges, Mr President, while continuing steadfastly in our support for the excellent work done to date in the Working Group on Effective Treaty Implementation, as well as in other contexts of the ATT.
We welcome in particular the work that has been done on a Basic Voluntary Guide to Establishing a National Control System; recent updates that have been made to the List of Possible Reference Documents to be Considered by States Parties in Conducting Risk Assessments; as well as the multi-year work plan on diversion. We consider that each of these has the potential to make a significant contribution to our future implementation efforts.
New Zealand, for its part, remains fully committed to the success and full implementation of our Treaty. We look forward to serving as chair of the Voluntary Trust Fund in that context, to working closely with the Secretariat and engaging fully with States Parties – as well as prospective States Parties – on the VTF and related projects.
Mr. President, ATT meetings all share, as part of their essential backdrop, a common pursuit for better prospects for international and regional peace, security and stability, and for the reduction of human suffering, via our commitment to a more responsible international trade in conventional arms. I am confident that we, as States Parties, can all work together to fulfil our promise to make this Treaty a credible and universalised body of principles.