DYB2011-Part-II-web

Conventional weapons issues
addressed the issue of armed violence and its impact on development in their
respective regional settings.
Conventional arms ammunition
The United Nations Secretary-General pointed out that while arms can
have a lifespan of decades and are often recycled from conflict to conflict,
their value and the ability to sustain armed conflict or violence depend on the
availability of an uninterrupted supply of ammunition. 21
Demonstrating the urgent need to bet ter secure ammunition stockpiles,
much of the ammuni tion circulating among non-State actors seems to have
been diverted from Government security forces. Stockpiles also present
a sec ondary danger to civilian populations when they are placed in densely
populated areas.
Improving the whole-life management of conventional ammunition
stockpiles at the global, regional and national levels requires a concerted
response. In accordance with the recommendation in the report of the 2008
Group of Governmental Experts on the issue of conventional ammunition
stockpiles in surplus, 22 International Ammunition Technical Guidelines
(IATG) have been developed within the United Nations under the United
Nations SaferGuard programme, drafted by an expert consultant and reviewed
by a technical review panel.
From 5 to 8 September, the technical review panel held its third meeting
in Rio de Janeiro after which it gave its final affirmation that the technical
content of the IATG was complete, comprehensive and of the highest available
standards.
The United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution 66/42 of
2 December 2011, also welcomed the completion of the IATG and the
establishment of the United Nations SaferGuard programme for the stockpile
management of conventional ammunition. By adopting this resolution,
Member States acknowledged the completion of the mandate given to the
United Nations. The number of Member States sponsoring this resolution
saw a marked increase from 2 to 52 Member States. Another eight Member
States also joined as additional sponsors. The SaferGuard programme enabled
quick experts-only responses to requests from Member States for assistance
in securing ammunition stockpiles using the IATG. The implementation of the
programme—for which countries in a position to provide funding were invited
to do so—was currently under way.
21 See S/2008/258.
22 See A/63/182.
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