A/RES/63/69 GA

United Nations A/RES/63/69 General Assembly Distr.: General 12 January 2009 Sixty-third session Agenda item 89 (f) 08-47493 Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 2 December 2008 [on the report of the First Committee (A/63/389)] 63/69. Transparency in armaments The General Assembly, Recalling its resolutions 46/36 L of 9 December 1991, 47/52 L of 15 December 1992, 48/75 E of 16 December 1993, 49/75 C of 15 December 1994, 50/70 D of 12 December 1995, 51/45 H of 10 December 1996, 52/38 R of 9 December 1997, 53/77 V of 4 December 1998, 54/54 O of 1 December 1999, 55/33 U of 20 November 2000, 56/24 Q of 29 November 2001, 57/75 of 22 November 2002, 58/54 of 8 December 2003, 60/226 of 23 December 2005 and 61/77 of 6 December 2006 entitled “Transparency in armaments”, Continuing to take the view that an enhanced level of transparency in armaments contributes greatly to confidence-building and security among States and that the establishment of the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms0F 1 constitutes an important step forward in the promotion of transparency in military matters, Welcoming the consolidated reports of the Secretary-General on the Register, which includes the returns of Member States for 2006 1F2 and 2007, 2F3 Welcoming also the response of Member States to the request contained in paragraphs 9 and 10 of resolution 46/36 L to provide data on their imports and exports of arms, as well as available background information regarding their military holdings, procurement through national production and relevant policies, Welcoming further the inclusion by some Member States of their transfers of small arms and light weapons in their annual report to the Register as part of their additional background information, Noting the focused discussion on transparency in armaments that took place in the Conference on Disarmament in 2007 and 2008, Stressing that the continuing operation of the Register and its further development should be reviewed in order to secure a Register that is capable of attracting the widest possible participation, _______________ 1 See resolution 46/36 L. 2 A/62/170 and Add.1–3. 3 A/63/120 and Add.1. A/RES/63/69 2 1. Reaffirms its determination to ensure the effective operation of the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms, as provided for in paragraphs 7 to 10 of resolution 46/36 L; 2. Calls upon Member States, with a view to achieving universal participation, to provide the Secretary-General, by 31 May annually, with the requested data and information for the Register, including nil reports if appropriate, on the basis of resolutions 46/36 L and 47/52 L, the recommendations contained in paragraph 64 of the 1997 report of the Secretary-General on the continuing operation of the Register and its further development, 3F 4 the recommendations contained in paragraph 94 of the 2000 report of the Secretary-General and the appendices and annexes thereto,4F5 the recommendations contained in paragraphs 112 to 114 of the 2003 report of the Secretary-General 5F 6 and the recommendations contained in paragraphs 123 to 127 of the 2006 report of the Secretary-General;7 3. Invites Member States in a position to do so, pending further development of the Register, to provide additional information on procurement through national production and military holdings and to make use of the “Remarks” column in the standardized reporting form to provide additional information such as types or models; 4. Also invites Member States in a position to do so to provide additional background information on transfers of small arms and light weapons on the basis of the optional standardized reporting form, as adopted by the 2006 group of governmental experts, 6F7 or by any other methods they deem appropriate; 5. Reaffirms its decision, with a view to further development of the Register, to keep the scope of and participation in the Register under review and, to that end: (a) Recalls its request to Member States to provide the Secretary-General with their views on the continuing operation of the Register and its further development and on transparency measures related to weapons of mass destruction; (b) Requests the Secretary-General, with the assistance of a group of governmental experts to be convened in 2009, within available resources, on the basis of equitable geographical representation, to prepare a report on the continuing operation of the Register and its further development, taking into account the work of the Conference on Disarmament, the views expressed by Member States and the reports of the Secretary-General on the continuing operation of the Register and its further development, with a view to taking a decision at its sixty-fourth session; 6. Requests the Secretary-General to implement the recommendations contained in his 2000, 2003 and 2006 reports on the continuing operation of the Register and its further development and to ensure that sufficient resources are made available for the Secretariat to operate and maintain the Register; 7. Invites the Conference on Disarmament to consider continuing its work undertaken in the field of transparency in armaments; _______________ 4 A/52/316 and Corr.2. 5 A/55/281. 6 A/58/274. 7 See A/61/261. A/RES/63/69 3 8. Reiterates its call upon all Member States to cooperate at the regional and subregional levels, taking fully into account the specific conditions prevailing in the region or subregion, with a view to enhancing and coordinating international efforts aimed at increased openness and transparency in armaments; 9. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session on progress made in implementing the present resolution; 10. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its sixty-fourth session the item entitled “Transparency in armaments”. 61st plenary meeting 2 December 2008

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