DYB2011-Part-II-web

United Nations Disarmament Yearbook 2011: Part II
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to assist Member States to build capacity to submit meaningful reports, including
capacity to report on small arms and light weapons.
First Committee. Three States that had abstained explained their positions after
the vote:
• Qatar spoke on behalf of the League of Arab States, expressing support for
transparency in armaments, particularly the Register of Conventional Arms, as
a means to enhance international peace and security. The League of Arab States
wished to expand the scope of the Register to better fulfil States’ security needs.
To include reporting on advanced conventional weapons and weapons of mass
destruction, as well as advanced technology with military applications, would
make the Register more comprehensive, balanced and less discriminatory, and
would lead to increased participation in the Register by Member States. It drew
attention to the situation in the Middle East, with Israel continuing to ignore
repeated calls to adhere to the NPT and to place its nuclear facilities under IAEA
safeguards, thereby undermining the credibility of international oversight and
transparency mechanisms.
• The Syrian Arab Republic explained that the draft resolution did not take into
account the special situation in the Middle East. It noted that Israel continued to
be armed with weapons of mass destruction and lethal conventional weapons,
and possessed the ability to manufacture advanced weapons such as nuclear
weapons.
• The United Republic of Tanzania clarified that, in principle, it was not against
the draft resolution. However, it wished that small arms and light weapons in
all their aspects were included in the Register. It was time to recognize and take
decisive action against the menace of small arms and light weapons.
66/41. National legislation on transfer of arms, military
equipment and dual-use goods and technology
Last presented two years ago, the resolution
reiterated all the main elements of the previous
resolution. The General Assembly invited
Member States that were in a position to do so,
without prejudice to the provisions in Security
Council resolution 1540 and subsequent relevant
Council resolutions, to enact or improve national
legislation, regulations and procedures to exercise
effective control over the transfer of arms, military
Introduced by: Netherlands
(21 Oct.)
GA vote: w/o vote (2 Dec.)
1st Cttee vote: w/o vote (27 Oct.)
For text and sponsors, see Yearbook,
Part I, pp. 91-92.
equipment and dual-use goods and technology, and encouraged Member States to
provide information on a voluntary basis to the Secretary-General on the above
matters, as well as the changes therein. The resolution requested the Secretary-General
to continue making that information accessible to all Member States.