The World Forum on the Future of Shooting Activities (WFSA) President Ted Rowe spoke on behalf of one million sporting shooters worldwide at the UN Arms Trade Treaty meeting in New York from February 20 to March 4, 2011. The SSAA is one of more than 35 organisations across the world who make up WFSA, an advocacy organisation focused on preserving the shooting sports for generations to come.
WFSA statement to UN Arms Trade Treaty
UN Arms Trade Treaty
2nd Preparatory Committee
New York, February 28 - March 4, 2011
presented by Ted Rowe, President of WFSA
Mr Chairman, I would again like to thank you and the Preparatory Committee for the opportunity to make this intervention. I am Ted Rowe, President of the World Forum on the Future of Sport Shooting Activities, an ECOSOC NGO that represents hundreds of millions of civilian hunters and sport shooters and civilian firearms owners. There are several points which I would like to make.
Mr Chairman, whether or not any future ATT [Arms Trade Treaties] affects hunters, sport shooters and civilian firearms owners is one of the threshold questions this body must answer. It has always been, and remains, our belief that an ATT should only include, within the scope of any SALW [small arms and light weapons] category, military firearms. We would define military firearms as those capable of full automatic fire. We have stated our reasons for this in prior presentations.
An ATT, which includes civilian firearms, will likely not be ratified in one or more jurisdictions.
There are several other general comments we wish to make, Mr Chairman. We would recommend that Preparatory Committee look to existing treaties and arrangements as the foundation for any future ATT. Also, Mr Chairman, existing regulations, in several jurisdictions, govern the export and import or arms. These existing regulations cannot be ignored.
As we listen to the discussion, Mr Chairman, we are becoming more and more uncomfortable with the implementation proposals that include some type of permanent UN bureaucracy to, in some way, administer an ATT. This should be avoided.
Mr Chairman, we also continue to hear proposals to include ammunition within the scope of the ATT. I am repeating myself from prior statements, but I must again tell the Preparatory Committee that is impractical. Among the WFSA members associations are European and American ammunition manufacturers’ trade associations. Speaking for the companies that manufacture ammunition, the true experts in this field, let me say this. Mr Chairman, it is simply impossible to mark, keep records of and trace the billions of rounds of small arms ammunition that are produced every year. Aside from the utterly unmanageable quantities, small arms ammunition, like other commodities, is essentially a recyclable product. Cartridge cases can be easily reused, so individual markings, even if records could be keep, would be meaningless.
Finally Mr Chairman, let me conclude with a comment of the ATT drafting procedure itself. We have attended both the Open Ended Working Group meetings and these Preparatory Committee meetings. As much as we appreciate the opportunity to make these presentations, we do not find the process as open as it could be or as focused. Mr Chairman, the papers that have been released on scope, elements, etc, have been useful, but they are only a start. Mr Chairman, meetings that are comprised of repetitious speeches and closed sessions will not produce a viable ATT.
Thank you.
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