This second Bulletin about the UN process on small arms will focus specifically on the 2005 Biennial Meeting of States (2005 BMS). As explained in the first UN Bulletin, the BMS in July 2005 is not a negotiating meeting. Governments are expected to report on their implementation of the Programme of Action since the last BMS in July 2003. The significance of this meeting is increased by its proximity to the 2006 Review Conference (RevCon), with much of the tone for 2006 set next July.

Civil society can maximise this opportunity by highlighting the work NGOs and UN agencies have undertaken to tackle the arms trade and its human cost. This edition of the IANSA UN Bulletin seeks to lay out in more detail what the stakes are, how the meeting could be shaped, and how IANSA participants can contribute.

Glossary of Terms
2005 BMS and 2006 RevCon
The First Committee: Shaping the next steps of the UN process
Structure of the BMS
Format of NGO presentation
Other ways NGOs can participate
How will IANSA prepare for the meeting?

Glossary of Terms

UN PoA: United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects - Agreed in 2001 by the member states (Available at: http://disarmament2.un.org/cab/poa.html)

BMS: Biennial Meeting of States – a meeting held every two years to review progress in implementing the PoA. The last one was held in July 2003; the next one will be held in July 2005.

RevCon: Review Conference – a conference scheduled in 2006 to review the Programme of Action.

PrepCom: Preparatory Committee – meeting held in advance of a major international conference to decide on the structure of the conference and start negotiating any text to be agreed.

First Committee: General Assembly First (Disarmament and International Security) Committee – one of the six main Committees set up by the General Assembly to discuss particularly contentious issues. All member states of the UN are invited to attend. (for more information see here. )

2005 BMS and 2006 RevCon

The 2005 BMS will occur barely 12 months before the RevCon (a PrepCom for the 2006 Conference is scheduled for January 2006). While states insist that the 2005 BMS is not a PrepCom for the 2006 Review Conference, undoubtedly outcomes that civil society would like to see in 2006 will need to be inputted into the process in 2005. This should be a key focus of NGO advocacy starting today. If a group of states were to include a shared vision for 2006 in their national reports, this could help shape the 2006 RevCon. These key messages can be advocated by your organisation to the relevant government officials. Furthermore, it is very important that NGOs flag not only what they want of out of the 2006 RevCon, but also what they think the UN process should look like beyond 2006. The next UN Bulletin will contain more details on the key messages to be advocated by IANSA and other civil society organisations in the lead up to the 2006 RevCon.

The First Committee: Shaping the next steps of the UN process

The General Assembly’s First Committee on disarmament will be held in New York this month, October 2004, chaired by Mexican Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba. Small arms is one of the issues to be addressed. NGO are not invited to participate in the debates, however delegations should be encouraged to include ‘experts’, whether they are governmental experts or not.

It is during the First Committee that the Chair of the 2005 BMS will be elected. At this stage it is not yet clear who this will be – except that the Chair will come from a European Union state. This is unusually late. In 2002 the Chair for the 2003 BMS was already known at the time of the First Committee and the debates helped clarify the agenda and structure of the meeting. As well, informal consultations were held by the Chair designate which provided an invaluable opportunity to encourage states to report as well as gather opinions on structure and process.

In addition to electing the Chair of the BMS, the First Committee also traditionally adopts the omnibus resolution introduced by Japan, South Africa and Colombia on the “illicit trade of small arms and light weapons in all its aspects”. The 2003 resolution (A/RES/58/241) is available here. The 2004 resolution is expected to be updated to include a reference to the importance of addressing brokering, as well as the outline of the 2005 BMS structure and the dates for the 2006 RevCon. It provides an opportunity to make explicit the link between the two meetings.

Structure of the BMS

The 2003 BMS was structured in a series of reporting sessions, first by government delegations, then regional organisations, international organisations, NGOs, and finally thematic discussions. Will this structure again prevail in 2005?

Concern was raised in particular regarding the length and repetitive nature of national statements, which occupied two and a half days out of the five day meeting. A session on national reporting is instrumental in encouraging information exchange and transparency, as well as acknowledging action by states to address the small arms crisis. However, ways could be found to allow more space for thematic discussions, for example by:

• Encouraging delegations to restrict their general presentations to subjects not covered in the thematic discussions;
• Limiting speeches to 3 or 5 minutes, similar to practice at the Human Rights Commission;
• Encouraging delegations to offer forward-looking suggestions for the next phase of multilateral work on small arms;
• Identifying thematic issues in advance in order for governments and NGOs to make considered interventions.

Format of NGO presentation

In 2003 NGOs were allocated a 3-hour session to present their views. IANSA coordinated an NGO statement organised around key themes, with speakers and languages chosen to reflect the Network’s diverse constituency. There were no presentation from any one individual NGO and this practice will continue at the next BMS and RevCon. This will provide an opportunity for all NGOs in the network to contribute to crafting an impressive NGO presentation, regardless of whether they come to the meeting or not.

However, there is no reason why NGO participation should be limited to a separate session. Given the range of expertise in the Network and the UN PoA’s explicit commitment to partnership between states and civil society, we look forward to an opportunity to contribute to the thematic debates. This is established practice in other arms control processes such as the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, which is available at here, and the Ottawa process on landmines that is available here. This is an issue on which you can seek the views and support of your government

Other ways NGOs can participate

There are numerous ways for organisations to provide input and prepare for this meeting – whether you attend the New York meeting or not:

1. Arrange a meeting with your national focal point or relevant government officials (A document listing all 113 focal points can be found in the right hand column here);

2. Extend the willingness of NGOs to provide information and analysis to the preparation of your country’s progress report. If there are no plans to develop one, alert government representatives to the UNDP-UNDDA-UNIDIR support project aimed at developing the long-term capacity of countries affected by small arms to report on their implementation of the PoA (see here for more information);

3. Encourage the inclusion of an NGO representative on the official delegation. This is an established practice which governments such as Canada, Mali, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland undertake in small arms as well as other disarmament processes. It is a positive indicator of civil society-government partnership;

4. Ask for civil society reports to be annexed to your government’s national report, so that your views are circulated in writing in the plenary as part of the official document;

5. Be prepared to respond to the call from IANSA in the coming month to offer information and analysis on key themes the Network will be presenting governments with the latest policy thinking on in the lead up to the 2005 BMS. These issues include: International transfers (brokering, embargoes, legal controls, Firearms protocol); Transparency; National control measures (civilian possession, weapons held by police); Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DD&R); Taking weapons out of circulation (weapons collection, stockpile management); Victim assistance; Demand (including use of guns by police); and Gender. If your NGO has specific information, research or messages on these issues, please send this information through when the call goes out in late 2004.

It is important to bear in mind that the 2005 BMS is not the only game in town. There are other processes where NGO attention is needed, such as the process on brokering, on marking and tracing, the thematic discussion on small arms at the Security Council, or numerous meetings held at the regional level.

How will IANSA prepare for the meeting?

IANSA will make its presence felt before the opening of the 2005 BMS in a large, public event. Stay tuned for more information on this!