MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines reiterated Thursday its call for progress in international disarmament efforts, especially in curbing the illicit flow of small arms and light weapons (SALWs).
A statement on the Philippine mission to the United Nations website said the call came as the UN again tackles the issue during the 63rd Session of the General Assembly.
"The Philippines' main concern remains to be the proliferation and the uncontrolled spread of small arms and light weapons or SALWs," said Philippine representative to the UN Hilario Davide Jr.
Davide said SALWs are easily acquired and easily transported and smuggled because of their small size, and are easily used with minimum training.
He urged the international community to move the disarmament agenda forward.
Also, Davide underscored the importance the Philippines places on the efforts of the United Nations to curb the illicit flow of small arms and light weapons.
"Given their mass spread and proliferation, SALWs have killed and maimed a great number of combatants and innocent civilians alike," he said.
Davide also called for the elimination of nuclear weapons and support for international agreements that promote peace and nuclear non-proliferation such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
The Philippines is a state party to both international agreements which form the cornerstone of the nuclear non-proliferation regime, said Ambassador Davide, adding that the country is a major contributor to both, specifically the CTBT.
"The Philippines is proud to be a contributor to the CTBT with its hosting of three facilities that form part of the International Monitoring System," Davide said as he cited the seismological monitoring stations in Davao and Tagaytay and the radionuclide station in Quezon City.
"The International Monitoring System created by the CTBT, aside from being able to detect nuclear explosions given its 337 facilities all over the world, also has civilian uses such as tsunami warning," he added.
Davide also cited Philippine support for the Landmine Treaty and the Cluster Munitions Treaty that was negotiated in Dublin in May this year.
"Landmines and cluster munitions have an adverse impact on civilian populations since many of them are left unexploded long after a conflict has ended and they victimize innocent civilians including children," he said.
"The Philippines as one of the largest contributors of Peacekeepers to the United Nations would like to see the elimination of these types of weapons since they could end up harming our troops while they are serving abroad carrying out the mandate of the 192-member United Nations," he added.
Davide urged member states of the UN to show the political will necessary so that progress can be achieved in the complex field of disarmament. - GMANews
No comments:
Post a Comment