OSCE Chairman calls for strong move to tackle illicit arms trafficking by air

BRUSSELS, 4 December 2006 - The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht, has called for a wide range of organizations and companies to attend a special meeting early next year to work on ways to fight the illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons by air.

During the two-day Ministerial Council that ends tomorrow, OSCE foreign ministers are expected to endorse a decision by the Organization's Forum for Security Co-operation to hold the special meeting in the first quarter of next year.

"Certain progress has been made on some subjects such as small arms and light weapons," Minister De Gucht said in opening remarks to the Ministers, referring to military aspects of security. He noted specifically some progress had been made in the fight against the illicit trafficking of such weapons by air.

The proliferation of small arms poses a serious threat to human security. Small arms kill more than half a million people a year, or 1,400 each day. In today's globalized world, governments are making sure they protect their citizens and work together to find a co-ordinated answer to the challenge.

The Forum for Security Co-operation meets weekly in Vienna to discuss and take decisions on the military aspects of security, notably on confidence- and security-building measures. It has been instrumental in the OSCE setting the trend on developing standards and guidelines to deal with small arms and light weapons.