Statement by

Mr. Heidar Ali Balouji

First Counselor

of the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations

at the Eighth Biennial Meeting of States

to Consider the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects

On International Cooperation

New York, 29 June 2022

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

Madam Chair,

Given the challenges posed in the implementation of the PoA and the ITI, international cooperation can complement the national resources in the realization of the main objectives of these documents. The PoA recognizes the urgent necessity for close international cooperation and assistance, including financial and technical assistance, to support and facilitate efforts at the local, national, regional and global levels. These efforts are all aimed at preventing, combatting and eradicating illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects.

After more than two decades implementing the PoA and against the backdrop of the decreasing international cooperation, this crucial factor should be strengthened with the involvement of developed countries as well as the private sector and industry in a concrete manner.

The need to facilitate the non-discriminatory transfer of technologies and equipment to developing countries, in particular x-ray devices, body scanners and advanced radar systems for border control, is required in order to effectively combat the trafficking and illicit trade in small arms and light weapons.

Unfortunately, the undue restrictions imposed on a number of member states in contravention of the commitments made in the UN Program of Action have limited the access to the technical assistance and financial support needed to combat the illicit trade of small arms and light weapons in different regions.

Given the problems of drug trafficking linked to the illicit trade of arms, terrorism and organized crime, the Islamic Republic of Iran has the utmost motivation to support the UN Program of Action. I would like to emphasize that international cooperation and assistance remain essential to the full and effective implementation of the PoA and ITI that should aim at building a sustainable capacity in the recipient Country.

Therefore, we reiterate the importance of a number of crucial points, such as increasing assistance to developing countries to bridge the technological gap between States in marking and tracing small arms and light weapons. This assistance could comprise, among others, of training, capacity building for the related staff at all levels, technology and equipment transfer, technical help and financial support. We suggest including a dedicated section on the activities of international cooperation in the voluntary national reports on the implementation of the PoA and ITI.

Last but not least, we commend establishing a dedicated standing fellowship program for developing countries based on the NAM proposal. We appreciate the valuable support of all member states extended to the proposal and also, we welcome the work done by the Secretariat in developing the related documents. We remain hopeful that the expedient realization of this program will help in bridging the gaps, especially for the developing countries.

I thank you, Mr. Chair.