Madam Chairperson, I congratulate you on your appointment as chair of this important conference. It is my privilege to introduce the NGO/Civil Society Presentation. I speak for the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) which represents the global movement against gun violence – a network of more than 500 civil society organizations working in a hundred countries to stop the proliferation, reduce the demand and end the misuse of small arms and light weapons. I thank you in advance for your attention and commitment to the active participation of civil society in this important global process. We are especially grateful for your willingness to open this session to NGOs.

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, more than one million people across the world have lost their lives in incidents involving small arms and light weapons since the UN Conference on Small Arms and Light Weapons in 2001. Each day, more than a thousand people die from small arms.

There have been some positive developments since that conference, including the end to civil wars in Angola, Sierra Leone and East Timor, and the collection and destruction of guns in a number of countries. However, each hard-won gain is threatened by renewed supplies of arms, and new fronts are opening up in the struggle against the destructive consequences of gun proliferation.

The UN Programme of Action (PoA) agreed to in 2001 was the international community’s first attempt to find a joint solution to the problem of small arms proliferation. The Programme explicitly recognizes the important role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other civil society members in addressing this problem. The range of work reported under the PoA is geographically widespread and diverse, showing that the problem of small arms is now internationally recognized, and some appropriate counter measures are being developed, mainly at a national level.

Some of the many highlights of the work undertaken since 2001 include:

· Formulation of stricter legislation governing small-arms possession in Belarus, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Belgium, and Germany.
· The continued collaboration between police in Mozambique and South African Police officers in the most recent phases of Operation Rachel, collecting and destroying several thousand firearms and over a million rounds of ammunition.
· Yemen’s ban on civilians carrying guns on all city streets.
· The development of an EU common position on brokering and the continued introduction of brokering controls in several EU countries. ·
· The agreement between USA and Mexico to strengthen export controls under the Organization of American States (OAS) Convention.
· A 15-day amnesty held in Sri Lanka in January 2002 to encourage the surrender of unauthorized weapons.
· Public ceremonies to destroy small arms in Kenya, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea.
· Encouraging movement toward government/Civil Society Partnerships in the implementation of the UN Programme of Action.

The Programme of Action adopted in 2001 was a positive step, but the process is still in its infancy. The purpose of this First Biennial Meeting is to reflect on action taken so far and to identify both the successes and challenges of implementation to date. Civil society can contribute significantly, and indeed has been doing so over the last two years. IANSA and its participants have published an assessment report of action so far by states and civil society to implement the PoA.

To compile this report, IANSA drew on its extensive network and gathered data from 156 countries, analyzing relevant national, regional and international processes. The result is a set of achievable recommendations to promote and facilitate the implementation of the PoA. These range from the establishment of national points of contact to the inclusion of arms availability as a factor in the design and implementation of aid and development programmes and greater transparency in arms production and transfers.

Our aim in this session is not to present a systematic review of progress – or lack thereof – in the implementation of the PoA. The IANSA presentation seeks to contextualize why we are here this week, and why we need stronger commitment to the implementation of the PoA: to reduce human suffering and the death and disability toll that the use and misuse of these weapons exacts.

Governments have created the problem of the global flood of small arms. Some governments create the problem directly--by selling or giving away millions of new and surplus small arms without regard for the consequences, while others contribute to the problem of small arms indirectly--by maintaining the legislative and operational loopholes that allow these weapons to flow into the hands of despots, bandits, human rights abusers and other misusers. Just as they have created the problem, governments bear the primary responsibility for solving the problem.

Without States taking responsibility for controlling the supply, reducing the demand and ending the misuse of weapons, human security will continue to be destabilized and unattainable. The IANSA presentation seeks to give voice to those people most directly affected by and those who are working in diverse ways to be part of the solution to this crisis. Seven themes will be presented by individuals who are representative of the enormous diversity of IANSA. The first presentation will outline the human cost of small arms, and the need to connect community and global action in the years to come. A following presentation will examine the urgent need to restrict the supply of small arms – including government-authorized sales - in a world saturated with small arms. Shutting down loopholes and cracking down on weapons brokers, and the need to mark weapons will be covered in the following presentation.

Beyond the restriction of supply, reducing misuse and demand compels us to global action. The next two presentations will examine how to reduce and end such demand and misuse. These are critical issues that have been overlooked in the official debates but which NGOs recognize are keys to the ultimate success of efforts to address the scourge of small arms. The fifth theme shows how NGOs have been active participants in the creation of national strategies on small arms in countries in different regions. And finally, the last theme reflects the need for consensus and dialogue on the regional, national, and global levels on a variety of issues such as: restricting arms transfers to non-state actors; progress towards regional agreements; and the human security dimensions of weapons availability.

The issue of small arms availability and use has many perspectives and diverse non-government organizations are gathered here this week to speak on these perspectives. Most of the organizations belong to IANSA, although some groups present here hold positions different from these IANSA participants. Mid way through this session representatives from shooting organizations and the US National Rifle Association will make a set of presentations, after which we will return to complete the presentations by IANSA.

Small arms availability and misuse is a complex problem, but even complex problems do have solutions. I hope that this session will chart some useful ideas for moving forward on this issue. Thank you.