Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. I would like to thank particularly Ambassador Jorge Urbina, Permanent Representative of Costa Rica and Chairman of the Security Council's 1540 Committee, for his leadership and personal commitment to the organisation of this Comprehensive Review of the status of implementation of Resolution 1540 (2004).
The UNSC resolution 1540 gives a strong legal basis to the EU's diplomatic and financial efforts to tackle proliferation by explicitly addressing illicit trafficking and procurement networks, and in particular, the involvement of non-state actors in the proliferation of WMD technology set out in the EU strategy against the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Therefore, while looking at how best to implement this resolution ourselves, we also urge our partners in the world to implement fully the provisions of the resolution. In that regard we welcome the 1540 Committee report to the UNSC in July 2008 and adoption of UNSCR 1810. We fully support the clearing-house role of the 1540 Committee in matching assistance requests and offers.
Full compliance with this resolution is not an easy task. The EU has been active in ensuring the full implementation of UNSCR 1540 both internally, inter alia through regular updates of its European Community regulation on export controls on dual-use goods, and externally, by promoting the full implementation of UNSCR 1540 in third countries. We also undertake other activities in this context under the EU WMD Strategy of 2003. This Strategy was complemented in 2008 by the EU New Lines for Action, adopted by our Council of Ministers, which focus on very concrete action-oriented projects to be undertaken by the end of 2010.
(A) Regarding EU internal implementation of UNSCR 1540, and as far as the EU's reporting obligations are concerned, in October 2004 the EU-Presidency submitted, on behalf of the EU, the European Union Report on the implementation of UNSC Resolution 1540 (2004), while the EU member States submitted their complementary reports individually.
EU Member States are implementing certain provisions of the Resolution through European legislation, namely in areas related to:
- accounting and security of production, use, storage and transport of WMD related materials within the European Union;
- physical protection of nuclear material; and
- European Community customs regimes for imports/ exports at the borders of the EU.
Efficient export controls are a key tool in preventing proliferation. Since 2000, an EU Council Regulation, regularly updated, governs at EU level export control of dual use goods and technology. In 2004, the EU carried out a Peer Review of its implementation, following the enlargement of the European Union, in order to identify and disseminate good practices.
Based on discussions concerning the implementation of the Peer Review and on the proposal submitted by European Commission, on 5 May 2009, the EU Council of Ministers adopted Council Regulation (EC) No. 428/2009 setting up a Community regime for the control of exports, transfer, brokering and transit of dual-use items (OJ L 134 of 29 May 2009). Since its entry into force on 27 August 2009 the new regulation is directly applied in all 27 EU Member States. In line with the EU non-proliferation Strategy and UNSCR 1540, the revised regulation provides a legal basis for enhanced information exchange between Member States and for the setting up of an online system for sharing denials. It also provides a legal basis for Member States to prohibit transit of non-Community listed dual use items in the case of serious risk of diversion to a WMD programme, and for controls on brokering of listed dual use items (in addition to the controls on exports imposed by European Community regulation [No. 1334/2000]). It includes an up to date version of the EU control list of dual use items, which takes into account the latest changes agreed in the export control regimes. The Regulation permits EU Member States, at national level, to extend the common provisions of the Regulation on controls of brokering and transit to non-listed items.
Beyond export control, the EU will also adopt before the end of 2009 a CBRN Action Plan consisting of 133 internal measures to prevent, detect and response to CBRN threats and risks. Around 100 million Euros, will be dedicated to the implementation of this package, mostly at Member State level.
This clearly demonstrates that strengthening the non-proliferation is a top priority for the EU. Since the world became more interdependent it is of the utmost importance to co-operate with each other even closer. Moreover, the United Nations Security Council explicitly notes in Operative Paragraph 7 of UNSC Resolution 1540 that some Member States will require assistance in implementing the obligations of the resolution, and consequently, invites States in a position to do so to make offers of assistance.
(B) In providing its assistance to third countries aiming at the full implementation of UNSCR 1540, the EU has always been closely collaborating with the 1540 Committee and UN ODA. The EU has also been collaborating and liaising with other major donors in this field in order to ensure efficiency and avoid overlapping in the provision of assistance.
The EU has initially supported the work of the 1540 Committee in ensuring compliance with reporting obligations under the resolution through a series of demarches vis-à-vis third countries between 2005 and 2006.
Since 2006, the EU has focused its assistance on the actual implication of UNSCR 1540 in terms of implementation efforts required from UN MS. It has done so co-financing, through a first Council Joint Action adopted in 2006, five regional seminars focusing on awareness raising and reporting obligations under UNSCR 1540. The seminars covered the following regions: South East Asia, Middle East, Southern and Central America, Caribbean, and Africa.
More recently, and taking into account the Work Programme of the 1540 Committee and its priorities as well as the experience gained from regional seminars concerning the importance of reinforcing export controls, border management and more generally training at working level, the EU adopted in May 2008 a second Joint Action in support of UNSCR 1540.
This new Joint Action aims at strengthening the skills and capacities of third countries' state officials involved in the export control process. The Joint Action is already being implemented by UN ODA in coordination with the 1540 Committee and other major donors, including the USA. The Joint Action foresees the co-funding of six regional workshops (covering Latin America, Middle East and Arab countries, South-East Asia, Central America, Africa and Pacific Islands). Four seminars were already held so far covering Southern America, the Gulf and the Middle East region, the Pacific Islands, and Central America and the Caribbean. The next seminar will take place in October 2009 and will cover the Arab countries.
In addition, the EU has also contributed to the full implementation of UNSCR 1540 through several Joint Actions in support of, inter alia, CWC, BTWC, IAEA (including as key donor to its Nuclear Security Fond, and support to the universalisation and implementation of the Additional Protocol and Safeguard Agreements). All these activities aim at reinforcing the universalisation and full implementation of international instruments in the field of WMD non-proliferation and disarmament. These aims clearly coincide with the spirit and objectives of UNSCR 1540.
EU assistance to ensure full implementation of UNSCR 1540 is also provided through the assistance programmes under the 2005 and 2006 Pilot Project programme of the European Commission focusing on the enhancement of national export controls systems. Countries assisted included Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Morocco, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates. This type of assistance is and will be further developed under the Long Term Programme in the framework of the Stability Instrument, focusing in particular on Tunisia, Malaysia and Georgia, and providing ad hoc missions for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Thailand.
Beyond export control, the EU Instrument for Stability foresees around €300m being spent on CBRN cooperation with third countries in the period 2007-2013, in support of the 2003 EU WMD Strategy. This community instrument includes programs to prevent the proliferation of scientific knowledge, border monitoring, illicit financing, bio-safety bio-security and, more generally, illicit trafficking, including nuclear smuggling. The objective is to develop a strong regional approach, in line with 1540 requirements, through the creation of regional CBRN centers of excellence in partnership with key regions such as the Middle East, South East Asia and parts of Africa. Close coordination with the 1540 Committee as well as with our major international partners is on going to maximize synergies and better plan together third country assistance. The idea of developing a culture of safety and security at regional level with stronger local ownership and increased chances of sustainability has received strong support in many countries.
The next stage in this process could be the preparation of national Action Plans for the implementation of Resolution 1540. The EU is ready to engage in co-operation with interested partners in the implementation of the UNSC Resolution 1540 and looks forward to further cooperating with them.
(C) To conclude, M. Chairman, allow me to make a brief assessment of assistance provided so far and draw some possible recommendations. The EU and its Member States, often in joint initiatives with other major donors, have developed a collective experience in the provision of outreach and assistance through the organization of several UN ODA implemented workshops. This experience has shown that helping States implement their obligations in an “appropriate effective” manner will be a long-term process. This is also linked to the multi-faceted scope of the obligations of UNSCR 1540. Several options exist to match requests for assistance with offers of assistance or existing assistance programs, with the 1540 Committee serving as a clearinghouse.
As of today the EU and other donors have provided assistance through regional workshops and specific regional and bilateral technical assistance. The seminars conducted until now have allowed, at regional level, a good understanding from States of their obligations under UNSCR 1540.
This experience, while confirming the continued need for assistance to third countries, has also shown the existence of some deficiencies in the provision of assistance that relate mainly to two issues:
- the coordination of donors in the provision of assistance and exchange of information on findings and lessons learnt has been only marginal. The 1540 Committee has been playing an important clearing-house role in matching assistance offers and requests, thus providing a structured channel of communication between beneficiaries and donors. However, the role played by the Committee in this field needs to be significantly enhanced in order to ensure that offers and requests of assistance are regularly matched.
- current assistance workshops in the framework of the Resolution 1540 do not always address all elements of the resolution – for example, developing 1540 implementation plans to help establish priorities, or training of dedicated national staff to work on UNSCR 1540 on inter-ministerial level. This is mainly due to a lack of specialized experts being available to participate and contribute to assistance activities. While the EU and other donors can draw on their Member States' and national expertise, they are not always in a position to mobilize a heterogeneous group of experts to match specific requirements of a beneficiaries state or group of states. This often leads to a situation in outreach where discussions and assistance address the obligations deriving from the resolutions, but does not allow getting into necessary details concerning specific aspects of UNSCR 1540 implementation. In this regard, the creation of a permanent database of sectoral experts the 1540 Committee could draw upon would arguably enhance the quality and suitability of assistance provided to requesting states. Assistance programmes could benefit from focusing on certain areas, e.g. export controls and illicit trafficking, in order to offer the necessary level of quality.
Thank you, Mr Chairman.