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UN / CENTRAL AFRICA ARMS TRAFFICKING
STORY: UN / CENTRAL AFRICA ARMS TRAFFICKING
TRT: 2.07
SOURCE: UNTV/ UNODC
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/ FRENCH/ NATS
DATELINE: 19 MARCH 2010, NEW YORK CITY/ FILE
FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior UN building
19 MARCH 2010, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Med shot, delegates
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Asha-Rose Migiro, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations:
“Illicit traffic in small arms and light weapons is never an isolated phenomenon. Weapons trafficking in Central Africa has complex links, not only to conflict but also to a number of other criminal activities which undermine our efforts to engender social justice, foster the rule of law and ultimately achieve the Millennium Development Goals.”
5. Med shot, delegates
6. SOUNDBITE (English): Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC):
“In today’s world, conflicts take place within rather than between nations, and are fought with light rather than heavy weapons. Arms are acquired on the illicit market, estimated globally between two-hundred and three-hundred million dollars a year, which is about 20 percent of the licit arms trade. Africa, the arms smugglers most profitable market, suffers the largest number of casualties because of it.”
7. Med shot, delegates
8. SOUNDBITE (French) Louis Sylvain-Goma, Secretary-General of the Economic Community of Central African States:
“Combating the proliferation and illegal movement of SALWs is part and parcel of the global and collective security strategy of the sub-region. We want to look at the whole chain, from makeshift production to the import of such weapons and end use for criminal purposes.”
9. Wide shot, Security Council
FILE – JULY 2008, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC (C.A.R.)
10. Various shots, groups of armed men
FILE – UNODC - 17 MARCH 2010, GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA
11. Zoom out, pile of small arms
The efforts of Central African nations to consolidate peace and further development are being thwarted by weapons trafficking, top United Nations officials warned today (19 March) calling on Member States to do all they can to eradicate this scourge.
Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro, in her remarks to the Security Council, said that the Illicit traffic in small arms and light weapons (SALWs) in Central Africa is linked not just to conflict “but also to a number of other criminal activities” undermining efforts to “engender social justice, foster the rule of law and ultimately achieve the Millennium Development Goals.”
Migiro added that efforts to eradicate weapons trafficking must include greater commitment by the States of the sub-region to implement global instruments and to strengthen their capacity to identify and combat those involved in illicit brokering activities.
These instruments include the UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects; the UN Firearms Protocol; and the International Tracing Instrument.
The head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Antonio Maria Costa, noted that today’s conflicts take place “within rather than between nations, and are fought with light rather than heavy weapons”. He added that Africa, “the most profitable market for smugglers”, suffers the consequences.
The Secretary-General of the Economic Community of Central African States, Louis Sylvain-Goma, told the Council that combating the proliferation and illegal movement of SALWs is part of the global and collective security strategy of the sub-region, stressing the need to “look at the whole chain, from makeshift production to the import of such weapons and end use for criminal purposes.”
According to UNODC, the illicit market of SALWs is estimated globally at between two-hundred and three-hundred million dollars a year, about 20 percent of the licit arms trade.
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