prepared text for opening remarks of Mr. Stoltenberg, Workshop on Small Arms, 2 Nov. 1999.

Dear friends and colleagues,

On behalf of the Mali and Norwegian Governments and Mali and Norwegian Red Cross Societies I welcome you to this workshop on one of the greatest humanitarian challenges of our time: the world-wide proliferation of small arms and light weapons.

My name is Thorvald Stoltenberg, I am President of the Norwegian Red Cross, and co-chair of this workshop together with my friend and colleague, Mr. Adama Diarra, President of the Mali Red Cross Society.

The issue of small arms proliferation and misuse is one of particular interest and concern to Norwegian Red Cross. For this reason, Norwegian Red Cross joined together with several other Norwegian non-governmental organizations to form the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers (NISAT) in 1997. Among our principal partners have been the Mali Red Cross and the Norwegian and Mali governments.

Military-style small arms and light weapons—such as assault rifles, machine guns and grenade launchers—are a plague to people around the world. In many regions, vast stockpiles of these weapons circulate and re-circulate outside of state control. In some areas assault rifles are so prevalent that they are used as barter or local currency.

The low cost and portability of these weapons mean they are used by combatants of all sides—state militaries, militias, and insurgents alike. And their sheer availability and ease of use make it likely that these weapons would be used in a high proportion of the killing around the world. They are believed responsible for as much as 90 percent of combat-related deaths. More than half of these casulties are civilians, - children, women and refugees are the victims of our contemporary conflicts, as we will hear in the presentation this afternoon of the major ICRC study.

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is not alone in its concern. Civil society—churches, women’s organizations, human rights groups--around the world is also mobilizing on the issue. The International Action Network on Small Arms—launched by 165 non-governmental organizations in May—is now working to encourage governments to lessen the flow of arms.

At the same time, many international organizations have begun focusing on the humanitarian and criminal impact of light weapons. The Organization of American States recently approved a convention on the illicit trade in firearms, and it is the model for a global treaty currently being negotiated by the UN in Vienna. The European Union, Organization of African Unity, South African Development Community and many other regional bodies have taken up the issue in the past few years.

Many states are now considering initiatives to limit small arms transfers, but most of these efforts focus on the illegal trade in such weapons, without giving sufficient attention to legal trade in surplus guns and grenades. Data collected by the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers suggests that some of the same states expressing concern about the negative impact of the illicit trade on civilians, business people, and aid workers are continuing to produce and authorize the export of these weapons into conflict zones.

One of our principal goals in Norway has been to encourage and help gain international support for efforts by West African States to declare a halt to further small arms production and purchases. We will learn more about this unique Moratorium on Small Arms and Light Weapons from our Malian friends in the course of the workshop.

Thus, I am very pleased to share the podium with my colleague from the Malian Red Cross and look forward to our discussion.