Permanent Mission of France 
to the Conference on Disarmament

Déclarations

SMALL ARMS AND LIGHT WEAPONS : FRANCE'S ACTION

Press release

Chapter 1 - Small arms and light weapons : a destabilising and lethal potential

- Combating illicit trafficking.
- Strengthening controls on legal trade in small arms.
- Helping prevent conflict and managing post-conflict situations.

Chapter 2 - The French regime on light weapons : transparency and

- Better control over exports.
- Ensuring real control of brokering transactions.
- Strict stockpile management.
- Reducing the numbers of small arms circulating freely on french national territory.
- Enhancing transparency

Chapter 3 - France's international action : prevention and control

- The United nations conference on the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, in all its aspects, New York, 9-20 July 2001.
- The Franco-Swiss initiative on the traceability of small arms and light weapons : tracing, marking, and record-keeping.
- West Africa : the ECOWAS moratorium.

Annex 1 - Numbers of prior authorisations issuedfor small arms and light weapons in 1999

Annex 2 - Working paper establishing a tracing mechanism on small arms and light weapons

Glossary