Statement by Canada to the Fourth Review Conference of the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects

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New York, USA, June 18, 2024

Delivered by H.E. Mr. Bob Rae, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations in New York

Thank you, Madame President. Congratulations on your appointment; you and your team have Canada’s full support. Your leadership, transparency and dedication have been instrumental to this very successful Review Conference.

I would also like to congratulate you on your appointment as First Committee Chair. Your commitment to these issues is unwavering and we are very pleased to see you take on this important role.

Madame President, Conventional weapons – including small arms and light weapons – remain the weapon of choice for most conflicts globally and inflict a significant number of casualties every year. Canada has been a supporter of the implementation of the Programme of Action since its origins.

We recognize the contribution of this important instrument in addressing, preventing, combating, and eradicating the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. We remain active at all levels and in many fora to address this problem, including in the Arms Trade Treaty, among others.

And we are committed to addressing it at home, as well.

Bill C-21 became law in Canada in December of last year and represents the most significant changes to Canadian gun control legislation in more than 40 years. The Bill imposes tougher penalties for firearms trafficking, smuggling, illegal manufacturing, and related offences. It also created new tools and strengthened existing ones available to law enforcement to investigate firearms-related offences.

Like many of you, we are witness to the challenges posed by home-made firearms. With Bill C-21, Canada has adopted a series of concrete measures to help address this problem, including criminalizing the unauthorized manufacture of firearms. We welcome the creation of an open-ended group of technical experts to examine developments in the manufacture, technology and design of small arms and light weapons. There is a great deal of work to be done in this area; you can count on our willingness to share our own experiences and learn from yours.

Canada has also established a strong partnership with our neighbour, the United States, to identify sources and disrupt the trafficking of firearm parts used to manufacture privately manufactured firearms. Our law enforcement agencies readily share information on homemade firearms that have been recovered in our communities and report manufacturing plans that are available online with international partners, including INTERPOL.

Canada reiterates its commitment to combating the illicit trafficking, diversion and proliferation of small arms and light weapons through its international assistance programs. We have disbursed more than $11 million since 2015 for projects related to arms trafficking.

Madame President, if I may add, in Haiti, where heavily armed gangs control 80% of Port-au- Prince with significant impacts for the Haitian population, we are working with UNODC and UNLIREC to build the capacity of Haitian authorities to stem the flow of SALW and ammunition to the gangs as well as to secure stockpiles. I might also add that in our meeting today of the Children in Armed Conflict, we have to recognize that civilians, women and children are the most vulnerable to SALW trade.

Madame President,

Being attuned to gender considerations will strengthen decision-making processes related to arms control. This is why we promote the integration of gender perspectives into every disarmament forum, including this one. To this end, we are pleased to have co-sponsored a gender working paper written by UNIDIR and the Small Arms Survey, along with Chile, the

United Kingdom, Thailand, Germany, and Ireland. This working paper illustrates Canada’s commitment to aligning the priority of gender equality with the goal of reducing arms. This commitment is enhanced by consulting with civil society, Indigenous Peoples, youth, and members of the LGBTQI+ community, and advocating for a feminist and intersectional approach to disarmament, non-proliferation, and arms control that leaves no one behind. I want to make clear this is not some kind of politically correct or woke enterprise on anyone’s part. It stems from a realization that unless we include everyone in this process of dealing with the expansion of small arms, we will not succeed.

We reiterate the recommendations from the working paper to: improve data collection on all forms of violence disaggregated by gender, sex, and whether or not a small arm was used and if so, how it was acquired; identify synergies between other agendas and conventions, such as the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda; and, prioritize the meaningful inclusion, participation, and engagement of marginalized groups in decision-making and implementation of the PoA. Canada is committed to also adopting this approach for the Outcome Document of this Review Conference.

Canada is ready to engage and collaborate with other delegations to achieve a meaningful consensus-based outcome this week, this week. We must achieve critical success on this issue – human lives depend on it.

Thank you.