ESTONIA SUPPORTS UN ARMS TRADE TREATY (ATT)

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 TALLINN 000316

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/NB - JAMES LOVELL AND PM/DTCP - AMY
WESTLING

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETTC KOMC UNDC PARM PREL EN

SUBJECT: ESTONIA SUPPORTS UN ARMS TRADE TREATY (ATT)

Ref: A) STATE 63299


1. (U) On May 15, we delivered reftel points to Arti
Hilpus, MFA Director for Strategic Goods Control
Division, and Tuuli Parnsalu, 3rd Secretary, and sought
Estonia's support in opposing the UN-proposed Arms Trade
Treaty (ATT). Kruuv thanked us for the points and
provided us with a copy of the GOE's views on the ATT
(which it had submitted in writing to the UN Secretary
General on April 23).


2. (U) Kruuv said that Estonia supports the current
draft of the ATT. The GOE sees the ATT as an important
first step in reducing the illicit and irresponsible
sales and transfers of arms. While Estonia sympathized
with the USG's concerns and agreed on the need for
improving accountability in arms transfers, Kruuv said
that the GOE does not see an incompatibility in
supporting the current ATT proposal and introducing
stronger accountability and enforcement mechanisms in
the future.


3. (U) Below is the complete text of the GOE's
submission of its views on the ATT to the UN Secretary
General:

Begin Text:

"23 April 2007

Response of the Republic of Estonia to the United
Nations Secretary General's request for views on Arms
Trade Treaty (ATT) submitted in accordance with the UN
General Assembly resolution 61/89

Estonia was amongst the co-sponsors and countries that
supported the adoption of the resolution A/Res/61/89 on
6 December 2006. We strongly support the objective of
establishing effective common international standards
for the import, export and transfer of arms and a
comprehensive and legally binding international
instrument regulating arms trade.

Adoption of the resolution was a crucial step towards
assuring more responsible and transparent arms trade.
Admitting that today there exist no universal convention
on the trade in conventional arms, we believe that Arms
Trade Treaty will eliminate that lacuna. At the same
time, we acknowledge that every country has an
inalienable right to self-defence, and thus also to arms
purchase.

We also believe that Arms Trade Treaty would contribute
to sustainable development, peace and security and
respect of human rights at a global level. Accordingly,
Estonia is willing to actively work together with all UN
Member States and the UN-DDA towards a comprehensive
legally binding convention covering export, import and
transfers of all conventional arms.

Feasibility

Estonia fully recognizes that although it will not be a
simple task, the aim of the negotiations should be to
agree on a universal treaty that will ensure that all
transactions are subject to a prior assessment of the
risk that they would be unlawful and/or have a serious
negative impact on peace, security or human rights. It
should be made sure that in such circumstances the
transactions should not be allowed to be executed. The
future treaty should set out the standards to be applied
and also guarantee the necessary transparency and
monitoring of implementation. Taking into account the
relatively small size of Estonian public administration
and the organizations in military and dual-use industry
it is worthwhile to mention that more universal
standards for the arms trade would in fact reduce
workloads for licensing officials and business entities.

Negotiations on ATT do not start from the empty ground.
We believe that first of all, ATT should be based on
global obligations stemming out from such legally
binding documents as the United Nations Charter and UN

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Security Council resolutions. Also, there exist a number
of international and regional treaties, conventions,
agreements and other instruments which could be used as
a basis in the forthcoming debate on ATT. We would like
to mention, in particular, the following binding
international or regional instruments with relevance to
the deliberations of an arms trade treaty:

- Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use
of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be Deemed to
be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate
Effects, and its annexed Protocols;
- Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling,
Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on
Their Destruction, 1997;
- Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and
Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components
and Ammunition, Protocol to Convention against
Transnational Organized Crime, 2001;
- Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit
Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms,
Ammunition, Explosives and Other Related Materials,
1997;
- Inter-American Convention on Transparency in
Conventional Weapons Acquisitions, 1999;
- The 2001 Protocol on the control of firearms,
ammunition and other related materials in the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) region;
- 2004 Nairobi Protocol for the Prevention, Control and
Reduction of Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Great
Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa;
- 2006 Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS) Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons.

In the future debate on Arms Trade Treaty, it might also
be useful to draw upon the experience and look at the
formulations of politically binding international and
regional agreements, such as:

- The UN Register of Conventional Arms;
- United Nations Guidelines for International Arms
Transfers, 1996;
- The UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat, and
Eradicate the Illicit trade in Small Arms and Light
Weapons, in All Its Aspects, 2001;
- OSCE Criteria for Conventional Arms Transfers, 1993;
- Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for
Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies,
1995;
- 1998 European Union Code of Conduct on Arms Exports
(EU Code of Conduct);
- 1998 OAS Model Regulations for the Control of
Firearms;
- 2000 OSCE Document on Small Arms and Light Weapons;
- 2002 Wassenaar Arrangement Best Practice Guidelines
for Exports of Small Arms and Light Weapons;
- Antigua Declaration on the Proliferation of Light
Weapons in the Central American Region, 2002;
- The 2003 OAS Model Regulations for the Control of
Brokers of Firearms, their Parts and Components and
Ammunition;
- Inter-American Convention on Transparency in
Conventional Weapons Acquisitions.

It is important to emphasize that the ATT process is
aimed at creating a new, independent and legally binding
instrument, not solely to refer to already existing
norms.

Scope

Estonia believes that the scope of the treaty plays a
crucial role in ensuring the effectiveness of the
Treaty. We are of the opinion, that ATT should cover all
conventional arms such as, but not limited to, battle
tanks, armoured combat vehicles, large-calibre artillery
systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships,
missiles and missile launchers, man portable air defence
systems (MANPADS),munitions, explosives, and most
importantly, small arms and light weapons (SALW) and
their ammunition. The list should also cover technology
allowing the manufacture of such weapons. The UN
Register of Conventional Arms might be used as a basis

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on forming the list of categories to be included in ATT.
However, other lists, such as the European Union
Munitions List or the Wassenaar Munitions List, which
classifies conventional arms into 22 categories and sub-
categories, might be considered. In order to avoid
differing interpretations of the Treaty by the
participating States, it is very important to pay
attention on the definitions and terminology section of
the Treaty. A viable option would be to include
terminology used in arms embargoes imposed by the UN
Security Council.

Estonia believes that the treaty should cover a
comprehensive list of transactions involving trade in
armaments such as import, export, re-export, transfer,
transit, transhipment, technical assistance, transfer of
technology, and brokering activities. Inclusion of all
sorts of transactions would avoid creating loopholes
that might be used to get around the reach of the ATT.
Similarly, the Treaty should cover the transactions
between all sorts of trading parties that result in the
movement of military equipment from the territory of one
State to that of another State. That includes Government
to Government or State to State transfers. However, ATT
should not cover transfers within a State and impose
restrictions on how arms may be acquired, held or used
within a State's territory.

Draft Parameters

Estonia is convinced that the Treaty should set out
clear standards that States are bound to abide by. The
Treaty might set out the factors the States are obliged
to consider when deciding whether or not to approve an
import, export or transfer of arms. The list of factors
might include, but should not be limited to, the
following:
- maintenance of international peace and security;
- human rights situation;
- compliance with international law, including
international humanitarian law;
- non-proliferation and disarmament agreements;
- safety and effectiveness of peace keeping
operations;
- fight against international crime and terrorism;
- effect on sustainable development.
- conformity with international and regional arms
embargoes;
- validity of end-use and end-users.

Despite the comprehensive list of the factors to be
taken into account, the actual decisions on authorizing
transactions should remain within the remit of
individual States. It is also important that the Treaty
acknowledges the inherent right of all States to
individual or collective self defence in accordance with
Article 51 of the Charter, and the security requirements
of all States.

In order to improve the transparency and guarantee the
effectiveness of the future instrument, the Arms Trade
Treaty should contain a reporting obligation. State
parties should have an obligation to report regularly to
a competent UN body about the destinations, actual
nature and value of their arms exports. Estonia also
sees merit in the compliance mechanism for the Treaty.

We fully acknowledge that some of the countries may
encounter problems in implementing the Treaty. Lack of
administrative capacity, particularly when enforcement
mechanisms would be incorporated in the ATT, might even
make some countries hesitant to negotiating or joining
the Treaty. In order to overcome these difficulties,
provisions on international co-operation and assistance
should be included in the Treaty.

Conclusion

Estonia hopes that these initial views on the
feasibility, scope and draft parameters for a
comprehensive, legally binding instrument establishing
common international standards for the import, export
and transfer of conventional arms will contribute to

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moving on with the discussions on Arms Trade Treaty. We
look forward to the deliberations of the Group of
Governmental Experts as a further step in the process.
Estonia is willing to participate in this process as
actively and constructively as possible."

End Text.

PHILLIPS