Welcoming remarks

By Sven Mollekleiv, Secretary General of the Norwegian Red Cross, Norway

Welcome to this international meeting of experts on arms availability, violations of international humanitarian law, and the worsening situation of civilians in armed conflict. You have all been carefully chosen for your expertise and commitment to international law and protecting humanitarian standards in the face of the surge of deadly weapons today finding their way into irresponsible hands in conflict zones all over the world.

It is an honour for us at the Norwegian Red Cross to host this first international meeting of its kind jointly with our friends from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

We have called this Norwegian Red Cross Conference Centre our "Peace Centre". It was built precisely for such important international gatherings intended to promote peace, human rights and development.

International action to study, control and limit arms transfers that result in human rights abuses has grown increasingly important for the Norwegian Red Cross. Together with its partners in the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and together with like-minded organizations belonging to the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers, we will seek the strongest possible coalitions in order to curb the proliferation of small arms and protect humanitarian law and human rights.

The Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers is a joint effort to study and encourage measures to control and limit small arms transfers that may endanger peace and human rights. Our partners in this endeavour are with us here today: Norwegian Church Aid, Oslo's International Peace Research Institute and the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs.

It is the hope of the organizations behind this meeting – the ICRC and the Norwegian Red Cross – that our three days of work and dialogue here will be fruitful for you and assist you in your noble objective of easing the situation of civilians caught up in armed conflict.

These are difficult tasks, probably more difficult than the campaign to ban anti-personnel landmines, an issue to which we have devoted years of effort. And the proof of the pudding, as they say, is in the eating. In other words, your work here this week will ultimately be measured by the tangible results.

The most vulnerable people in conflict areas – particularly women and children – are under constant threat from armed violence. Our efforts regarding small arms should therefore have the clear goal of alleviating their suffering. And that means bringing more security and dignity to ordinary people.

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