OPEN-ENDED WORKING GROUP ON CONVENTIONAL AMMUNITION

SECOND SUBSTANTIVE SESSION

(Geneva, August 15-19, 2022)

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Statement by Commodore Nitin Parvataneni, Director (Military Affairs),

Ministry of External Affairs

on 

OTHER UNIDENTIFIED GAPS OR MEASURES TO SUPPORT SAFE, SECURE, AND SUSTAINABLE THOUGH-LIFE AMMUNITION MANAGEMENT

(August 18, 2022)

We feel that the gap lies in inability or restricted ability of all countries to plug into any suggested global network due to differing capacities, standards and expertise levels. 

To alleviate this, we propose a Two-tiered mechanism: 

At global level, there must be a platform for regular exchange of information – on national implementation, on best practices, on contemporary challenges, on enhancing the traceability of seized and recovered ammunition etc. 

But at the regional and sub-regional level, we propose a mechanism for provision of actual technical, legal, and other training-related assistance so that we can, as a comity of nations, promote national implementation by following a certain set of international guidelines agreed upon by us. 

Towards this, we recommend regional anchors. We can call them preferred partners. In effect, we suggest something equivalent to a joint cooperation centre at regional levels manned by countries in the region. And these joint coordination centers could plug into international system. We propose this at a micro-level for the following reasons: 

- Locally available expertise within the region and sub-region, including from the industry and the non-governmental sectors, can be easily tapped into such a mechanism.

- Such expertise would be familiar with the political-security environment and challenges in the region and hence have a better understanding in extending the necessary cooperation and assistance.

- The micro-level participation may enhance the agility in response for requests of assistance.

- This would complement the existing global mechanisms and not result in duplication of efforts.

This is something like a global 911, but at a regional level, that we suggested on the first day. 

Thank you for your time.

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