August 31, 2007...9:52 am
More South South cooperation needed
By Folade Mutota, Women’s Institute for Alternative Development (WINAD), Trinidad and Tobago
Canada’s Informal Meeting on Transfer Control Principles for Small Arms and Light Weapons in Geneva continues to facilitate information sharing among States on the opportunities available for cooperation and capacity building. This is the fifth and last day, of the meeting and I’ve found it informative and timely. I think the discussions will help all regions of the world to prepare for a successful Biennial Meeting of the UN Program of Action on Small Arms and light weapons at the UN in 2008.
Yesterday’s meeting focused entirely on States’ capacity to engage in the process of transfer controls. Peter Bachelor, UNDP, informed participants that the UNDP would soon publish a guide to establishing national commissions. He also called for more South South cooperation in building capacity among States. The UN Office of Disarmament Affairs’ Antònio Évora talked about the role of the relevant UN agencies in small arms transfer and outlined several measures which have been taken to support States’ efforts to build capacity. He also encouraged States to utilize the UN Development Framework in making decisions on transfers and related matters.
Several donor countries and groups provided information on the programmes which they have in place for cooperation and gave examples on the effectiveness of these programmes to date. Many countries suggested that there is room for more to be done in order to match resources with needs.
I hope yesterday’s discussions allowed for more clarity about what options States have in building their capacity to ensure they have effective control over small arms.
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