 | | Ambassador Le Luong Minh | Ambassador Le Luong Minh, Vietnamese permanent representative to the UN Security Council, has reaffirmed the country’s support for the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects.
Minh was delivering a speech the open debate of the UN Security Council on the Small Arms in New York on April 30.
The ambassador said general and complete disarmament constitutes a solid guarantee for world peace and security while the illicit trade in small arms can strain relations between states, fuel and add violence to disturbances, especially transnational crimes and civil wars and cause numerous sufferings to human beings.
From that understanding, Ambassador Minh noted, “ Vietnam realises the need for the international community to strengthen cooperation against the illicit trade and proliferation of small arms and light weapons.”
He went on to say, “We share the observation of the Secretary General that within the United Nations, coordination on the issue of small arms could benefit from further improvement and look forward to studying specific proposals towards this end, including those aimed at promoting exchanges between the Security Council and the General Assembly on the issue.”
The Vietnamese representative also shared the view expressed by the Secretary-General that Member States remain central providers of security and this is their sovereign right and responsibility.
He underlined that production, imports and retention of small arms and light weapons in particular and conventional weapons in general for the purpose of national defense and security remain the legitimate right of every sovereign state recognised by international conventions.
The Vietnamese representative pointed out that international cooperation in fighting the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons and preventing them from falling into the hands of organised criminals and terrorists is necessary but it must be in accordance with the principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations and must not affect that legitimate right of States.
“Since the submission of its report on the implementation of the Programme of Action in 2006, Vietnam has been taking various steps, at national, regional and international levels to effectively implement the Programme,” Ambassador Minh told the participants.
He reported the UN Security Council delegates that no incident of illegal trade of small arms and light weapons from or into Vietnam has been discovered up to now.
He also briefed that in Vietnam , the number of criminal cases where small arms and light weapons are used has been minimised, the safety of the people is ensured, small arms and light weapons manufactured domestically are closely managed and properly marked in accordance with the Government’s regulations.
“ Vietnam pledges to continue to work with all Member States to promote international cooperation in combating the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons and implementation of the Programme of Action,” the Ambassador said in conclusion | 
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