Arms Transfers Must Be Transparent, within International Legal Frameworks, Senior Disarmament Official Tells Security Council
Several Delegates Call Repeated Meetings by Russian Federation Distraction from Moscow’s Own Violations
The Security Council discussed the transfer of arms supplies to Ukraine today, with some members voicing concern over potential unwarranted diversion of weaponry and calling for effective measures to prevent this, while speakers also said that the meeting’s call was a distraction from the Russian Federation’s own procurement of weapons from other countries.
The Director and Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Adedeji Ebo, said that amid expanding provision of arms and ammunition to Ukraine, their transfer must be transparent and within international legal frameworks and have provisions for controls to prevent their irregular transfer.
“The supply of weapons and ammunition into any armed conflict situations raises significant concerns about the potential escalation of violence and the risks of diversion,” he said. Measures to counter such diversion “will be key to post-conflict recovery and regional security and stability, as well as to conflict prevention in other regions,” he added.
He urged Member States to utilize various United Nations instruments to increase transparency, such as the UN Register of Conventional Arms, and to prevent diversion through instruments such as the Arms Trade Treaty, the Firearms Protocol, the Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons and its International Tracing Instrument.
Briefing the Council, political satirist and civil rights activist, Randy Credico, relayed what he had witnessed of the conflict in Ukraine and his consequent concerns about more arms entering the country. He recounted being in Donetsk, moments after a university had been shelled by a United States-made missile. “They hit the university and as emergency medical services carry out the wounded and dead, they shell the place again 20 minutes later, causing maximum damage to those who are helping.” He recalled United States President Joseph R. Biden’s recent address on “the attacks in Israel and the genocide in Gaza”, in the middle of which he was “hustling Americans to shell out more money so they can kill more civilians to create more jobs”.
In the ensuing debate, several delegates criticized the Russian Federation for calling the meeting and for receiving arms from Iran and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Concern was also raised whether arms transfers to Ukraine are correctly controlled and monitored.
The representative of the Russian Federation, holding up military fragments from several shells, detailed how each was recovered and its country of origin, pointing to them as physical evidence of the West’s supply of weapons that are actively used to strike civilian infrastructure. Detailing the impact of Ukrainian strikes, including against hospitals and Donetsk neighbourhoods, he said all that is a tragic consequence of the massive supply of lethal weapons. The United States and its allies are eagerly increasing military supplies to Ukraine “to weaken Russia” and because of their “most ordinary desire to profit”, he continued. The Western elites continue to look the other way regarding corruption in Ukraine, he added.
The representative of the United States said the Russian Federation undermines the Council’s credibility when it calls repeated meetings to spread false and misleading accusations regarding the assistance from allies and partners in support of Ukraine’s legitimate self-defence. Noting the Russian Federation’s expansion of its military partnership with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, he condemned Pyongyang for providing Moscow with military equipment to be used to further attack Ukrainian citizens and civilians.
The delegate of the United Kingdom outlined Moscow’s “flouting of its obligations in arms control and disarmament” over the past two decades, which has accelerated since the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine. In Ukraine, he noted that Moscow had sourced weapons from heavily sanctioned States such as Iran and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, showing its “scorn for international cooperation to prevent weapons proliferation” as well as its willingness to violate United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Likewise, Japan’s representative said Member States should refrain from supporting the Russian Federation’s aggression either directly or indirectly. “In this regard, arms transfers from North Korea to Russia which directly violates relevant Security Council resolutions is absolutely unacceptable,” he said. Such transfer would not only exacerbate the situation in Ukraine, but also undermine the non-proliferation regime, he added. “If Russia is truly concerned about the risks posed by the influx of weapons, it should immediately stop the war it started.”
Gabon’s delegate urged a redoubling of efforts to implement international commitments on disarmament, and nuclear non-proliferation. The representative of the United Arab Emirates highlighted the need for effective oversight by national authorities of weapons transfers. He welcomed efforts for stronger arms control in Ukraine and across the region, in particular those stopping any potential diversion of weapons.
Ukraine’s delegate condemned the Russian Federation’s misuse of the Council’s toolbox to divert the 15-member organ’s attention from the war crimes and crimes against humanity Moscow has committed. “What is the value of this discussion?” he asked. If Moscow wants to use that Court’s rulings to support its position, it must start to implement its decisions concerning the Russian Federation itself, particularly the 16 March 2022 order of the International Court of Justice. He noted that Moscow has received Iranian drones for more than a year and is now “ready to kneel down before the North Korean regime to beg for additional weapons and munition to continue its war of aggression against Ukraine”.
THREATS TO INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY
https://press.un.org/en/2023/sc15468.doc.htm
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