UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan warned the international community on Monday that unregulated sale of weapons and military equipment was a threat to world peace.

Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting on the need to regulate weapon sales, Pakistani representative Ambassa­dor Aamir Khan said that ultra-nationalist and hegemonic policies of some states had further complicated the situation.

In a 2020 report to the Security Council, UN Under-Secretary-General Izumi Nakamits said the spread of almost one billion small arms and light weapons remained a major global threat. From 2010 to 2015, they contributed to some 200,000 deaths every year.

Ms Nakamits, who is also the United Nations High Represen­tative for Disarmament, briefed the council on Monday as well.

In a similar report, Amnesty International highlighted another key issue: reckless production, and stockpiling of weapons. The report noted that 80 per cent of the world’s weapons exports were from six countries — China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK and the United States.

“In most cases, peace and security is threatened by the ultra-nationalist and hegemonic policies of some states, particularly those that are turbocharged by the extremist ideologies,” Ambassador Khan said.

“These states seek to build up conventional and nuclear weapons capabilities … to threatened neighbors, impose regional hegemony, and promote great power aspirations. They also indulge in behavior that seeks to oppress their minorities, and also crush requests for self-determination.”

Such states were emboldened by lack of global accountability and generous supply of advanced weapons and technologies from multiple sources, Ambassador Khan added.

The Pakistani envoy said that the causes of war were even more important to address than the instruments of war. “To deal with the growing and unacceptable human cost that these weapons inflict, particularly in situations of foreign occupation and suppression of the right to self-determination, a comprehensive and integrated approach is required,” he added.

Ambassador Khan identified illicit trade, brokering, diversion, lax regulations, and weak management of weapons stockpiles as the main factors for the easy availability of weapons.

“Every day, innocent people, including women and children, fall victim to the murderous designs of terrorists, criminals and insurgents using these weapons,” he said. “Peacekeepers, police, and security forces bear the brunt of this in the line of duty.”

Agreeing with the general spirit of the debate, the Pakistani envoy noted that these were major enablers of criminal violence and conflict. The nexus between organised crime, drug trafficking and the illegal arms trade adds a layer of complexity to a daunting challenge, he said.

The UN Programme of Action, the International Tracing Instrument and the Firearms Protocol provide a normative framework to address the use, regulation, and impact of these arms. All States need to intensify efforts to fully implement these mechanisms.

Published in Dawn, April 11th, 2023