Statement by Mr Andrew Cooper, Fragility and Conflict section of AusAID to the Preparatory Committee for the United Nations Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty, as delivered 2 March 2011.
Mr Chairman,
Australia welcomes your non-paper on international cooperation and assistance and agrees it provides a good basis for Committee discussions on this important element of the ATT.
We recognise that for many states, the ATT will present implementation challenges.
Australia strongly supports the ATT’s important humanitarian objective of reducing armed violence and conflict.
A key priority of Australia’s assistance to developing countries is to address the root causes of the illicit arms trade and its broader human, social and economic impacts.
International cooperation and assistance will further underpin such efforts and ensure developing countries can play their role in achieving the goals of the ATT.
Australia believes that the focus of such assistance should be in the first instance to provide States with practical support for treaty implementation. Such support could include assistance with the establishment of legislative and administrative frameworks and the sharing of best practice guidelines.
Recipient states should decide on the allocation of assistance, for example through national health, disability, development and human rights frameworks, consistent with agreed principles enshrined in the Paris and Accra Declarations on Development Effectiveness.
Both donor and recipient states should also allocate assistance to address the impacts of armed conflict on women in accordance with existing international commitments, including United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1325, 1820, 1888 and 1889 on women, peace and security.
Mr Chairman,
Australia agrees with your draft provisions which propose [sic] that states in a position to do so, and where appropriate, shall provide assistance to States Parties aimed at the implementation of the obligations of this Treaty.
We have some drafting suggestions and are happy to provide these to you in due course. Specifically, we seek to replace ‘shall’ in the relevant clauses with ‘can offer or accept to’ in a number of provisions.
Mr Chairman, Australia considers your draft provision on victim assistance as a starting point to help inform further discussions on this issue.
Australia already provides assistance to victims of armed conflict through its strategy on addressing the needs of people with a disability, and through its Mine Action Strategy and considers this an adequate coverage of the issue at this stage.
In relation to the ATT Australia is prepared to support, where possible, states to develop a national plan which incorporates victim assistance within national health, disability, development and human rights frameworks and mechanisms.
Mr Chairman in conclusion, Australia stands ready to assist you and the committee to further develop our thinking on the provision of international cooperation and assistance in support of the broader goals of the ATT.
Thankyou.