India intervention under Agenda Item 8, BMS 8,  29.6.2022

Delivered by Ms. Subhashini Narayanan, Counsellor (Disarmament), Permanent Mission of India to the Conference on Disarmament, Geneva

Madame Chair

India believes that international cooperation and assistance including capacity building are vital for the full and effective implementation of the UNPoA and the International Tracing Instrument.

Such cooperation and assistance could strengthen capabilities for building national systems for small arms, their marking and record-keeping, border controls to monitor transfers, tracing, etc. and thus prevent and combat illicit transfers and trafficking of SALW.

India, therefore, fully supports the importance of capacity building, technical support and expertise on areas related to POA and ITI implementation for fellow developing countries.

India has undertaken a number of initiatives to strengthen international cooperation. Indian Customs has coordinated with the World Customs Organisation for capacity building in relevant trade controls, and exercises related to preventing illicit trafficking of controlled goods, combating illicit trafficking of small arms, etc. 

India engages in information-exchange with other countries, on diversion concerns of controlled goods including SALW. 

We believe that our national experiences in terms of national law, regulations, systems, national database of firearms and ammunition might have value for other countries and offer to share them with interested countries.

Madame. Chair 

While measurability of implementation and achievement of targets are important, making them conditional for international cooperation and assistance will be counterproductive.

Recent technological developments have made it even more imperative for augmenting capacity building commensurately to address their affect on illicit trafficking of SALWs as well as deploy them to combat such trafficking.  

We thank the Secretariat for the presentation on the NAM proposal for  SALW fellowship. India supports the establishment of the fellowship and urges member states to support its operationalization without further delay.  

Madame Chair

India stands ready to work with fellow Member States constructively in achieving tangible outcomes in the area of International Cooperation and Assistance. 

I thank you Madame Chair. 

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