EN Official Journal of the European Union L 188/37

COUNCIL DECISION 2011/428/CFSP

of 18 July 2011

in support of United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs activities to implement the United Nations Programme of Actions to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 26(2) and Article 31(1) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) On 20 July 2001, the States participating in the ad-hoc Conference adopted the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (the Programme of Action). On 8 December 2005, the United Nations General Assembly adopted an International Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace, in a Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons (International Tracing Instrument). Both these international instruments declare that States will cooperate, as appropriate, with the United Nations to support their effective implementation.

(2) The 2008 Third Biennial Meeting of States to Consider the Implementation of the Programme of Action noted in its final report the importance of regional approaches to the implementation of the Programme of Action and the usefulness, therefore, of convening regional meetings sponsored by interested States and international, regional and sub-regional organisations in a position to do so. The final report also encouraged States to support and make full use of existing mechanisms that support the implementation of the Programme of Action and the matching of needs with resources, such as the Programme of Action Implementation Support System.

(3) On 15-16 December 2005, the European Council adopted the EU Strategy to combat the illicit accumulation and trafficking of small arms and light weapons (SALW) and their ammunition (the EU SALW Strategy). The EU SALW Strategy identifies support for the UN Programme of Action as the first priority for action at international level, and calls for the adoption of a legally binding international instrument on the tracing and marking of SALW and ammunition.

(4) Following the adoption of the international tracing instrument, the European Union supported its full implementation through the adoption and implementation of Council Joint Action 2008/113/CFSP of 12 February 2008 in support of the International Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace, in a Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) (1). The implementation of that Joint Action was positively assessed by the Council of the European Union.

(5) On 2 December 2009, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution A/RES/64/50 on the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects which encourages all initiatives, including those of international, regional and sub-regional organisations, for the successful implementation of the Programme of Action and emphasises that initiatives by the international community with respect to international cooperation and assistance remain essential and complementary to national implementation efforts.

(6) Resolution A/RES/64/50 also provided that the fourth biennial meeting of States to consider the national, regional and global implementation of the Programme of Action should be held in New York from 14 to 18 June 2010, and that a conference to review progress made in implementation of the Programme of Action will be convened for a period of 2 weeks in New York, no later than in 2012.

(7) Also on 2 December 2009, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution A/RES/64/51 on Problems arising from the accumulation of conventional ammunition stockpiles in surplus, which encourages States in a position to do so to contribute to the development within the United Nations of technical guidelines for the stockpile management of conventional ammunition, in order to assist States in improving their national stockpile management capacity, preventing the growth of conventional ammunition surpluses,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

1. With a view to supporting the preparation of the Review Conference of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects to be held in 2012, the Union shall pursue the following objectives:

— the promotion of the implementation of the UN Programme of Action on SALW both at global and regional level,

— supporting the implementation of the International Tracing Instrument (ITI),

— supporting the development and implementation of UN technical guidelines for ammunition stockpile management.

2. In order to achieve the objectives referred to in paragraph 1, the Union shall undertake the following measures:

— developing the Programme of Action Implementation Support System as an effective tool to coordinate international efforts to implement the UN Programme of Action, including through support to the informal Group of Interested States on SALW,

— organising up to eight 2-day regional meetings on advancing the implementation of the Programme of Action at regional level,

— organising regional training-of-trainers courses on the International Tracing Instrument for countries in West Africa, and setting-up marking facilities and expertise in countries of the region lacking such equipment,

— supporting the development of UN technical guidelines on ammunition stockpile management,

— supporting the implementation of the guidelines through regional training-of-trainers programmes for law enforcement officials in the African Great Lakes region, Latin America and the Caribbean,

— supporting individual States in critical need of assistance in the management of their ammunition stockpiles, by providing technical, legal and policy assistance and specialised training.

A detailed description of these measures is set out in the Annex.

Article 2

1. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (the HR) shall be responsible for the implementation of this Decision.

2. The implementation of the measures referred to in Article 1(2) shall be carried out by the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (hereinafter UNODA).

3. UNODA shall perform its task under the responsibility of the HR. For this purpose, the HR shall enter into the necessary arrangements with UNODA.

Article 3

1. The financial reference amount for the implementation of the measures referred to in Article 1(2) shall be EUR 2 150 000.

2. The expenditure financed by the amount set out in paragraph 1 shall be managed in accordance with the procedures and rules applicable to the general budget of the Union.

3. The Commission shall supervise the proper management of the expenditure of the amount referred to in paragraph 1. For this purpose, it shall conclude a financing agreement with UNODA. The agreement shall stipulate that UNODA is to ensure the visibility of the Union’s contribution, appropriate to its size.

4. The Commission shall endeavour to conclude the financing agreement referred to in paragraph 3 as soon as possible after the entry into force of this Decision. It shall inform the Council of any difficulties in that process and of the date of conclusion of the financing agreement.

Article 4

The HR shall report to the Council on the implementation of this Decision on the basis of regular bi-monthly reports prepared by UNODA. Those reports shall form the basis for the evaluation carried out by the Council. The Commission shall report on the financial aspects of the implementation of the measures referred to in Article 1(2).

Article 5

1. This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.

2. This Decision shall expire 24 months after the date of conclusion of the financing agreement referred to in Article 3(3). However, it shall expire 6 months after the date of its entry into force if that financing agreement has not been concluded by that time.

Done at Brussels, 18 July 2011. For the Council The President C. ASHTON

(1) OJ L 40, 14.2.2008, p. 16.