A/RES/68/43 GA

United Nations A/RES/68/43 General Assembly Distr.: General 10 December 2013 Sixty-eighth session Agenda item 99 (e) 13-44203 *1344203* Please recycle Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 5 December 2013 [on the report of the First Committee (A/68/411)] 68/43. 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, 61/77 of 6 December 2006, 63/69 of 2 December 2008, 64/54 of 2 December 2009 and 66/39 of 2 December 2011, 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 Arms 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 include the returns of Member States for 2009,1 20102 and 2011,3 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 Member States in a position to do so of their transfers of small arms and light weapons in their annual report to the Register as part of their additional background information, _______________ 1 A/65/133 and Add.1–5. 2 A/66/127 and Corr.1 and 2 and Add.1. 3 A/67/212 and Corr.1 and 2 and Add.1 and 2. A/RES/68/43 Transparency in armaments 2/3 Welcoming the adoption on 2 April 2013 of the Arms Trade Treaty,4 as well as its signatures and ratifications up to the present date, and the increase in transparency in armaments that will be provided by the Treaty, Expressing its hope that the Treaty will soon enter into force, Noting the focused discussions on transparency in armaments that took place in the Conference on Disarmament in 2010, 2011 and 2012, Expressing its concern with respect to the reduction in reporting to the Register, in particular the low level of reporting to the Register in 2012, 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. 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. Endorses the report of the Secretary-General on the continuing operation of the Register and its further development and the recommendations contained in the consensus report of the 2013 group of governmental experts;5 3. 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, 6 the recommendations contained in paragraph 94 of the 2000 report of the Secretary-General and the appendices and annexes thereto,7 the recommendations contained in paragraphs 112 to 114 of the 2003 report of the Secretary-General,8 the recommendations contained in paragraphs 123 to 127 of the 2006 report of the Secretary-General, 9 the recommendations contained in paragraphs 71 to 75 of the 2009 report of the Secretary-General10 and the recommendations contained in paragraphs 69 to 76 of the 2013 report of the Secretary-General;5 4. 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; 5. Also invites Member States in a position to do so to provide additional 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,11 or by any other methods they deem appropriate; _______________ 4 See resolution 67/234 B. 5 A/68/140. 6 A/52/316 and Corr.2. 7 A/55/281. 8 A/58/274. 9 A/61/261. 10 A/64/296. 11 A/61/261, annexes I and II. Transparency in armaments A/RES/68/43 3/3 6. 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, including on whether the absence of small arms and light weapons as a main category in the Register has limited its relevance and directly affected decisions on participation, 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 2016, within existing resources, with the broadest possible participation, in line with the recommendation contained in paragraph 76 of the 2013 report of the Secretary-General, and on the basis of equitable geographical representation, to prepare a report on the continuing operation and relevance of the Register and its further development, taking into account the work of the Conference on Disarmament, relevant deliberations within the United Nations, 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 seventy-first session; (c) Also requests the Secretary-General to continue to assist Member States to build capacity to submit meaningful reports, and encourages States in a position to do so to provide assistance for this purpose upon request, including capacity to report on small arms and light weapons; 7. Requests the Secretary-General to implement the recommendations contained in his 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2013 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; 8. Invites the Conference on Disarmament to consider continuing its work undertaken in the field of transparency in armaments; 9. 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 and regional efforts aimed at increased openness and transparency in armaments; 10. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its seventy-first session on progress made in implementing the present resolution; 11. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-first session, under the item entitled “General and complete disarmament”, the sub-item entitled “Transparency in armaments”. 60th plenary meeting 5 December 2013

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