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At UN forum, negotiations intensify on plan to curb illicit small arms trade

At UN forum, negotiations intensify on plan to curb illicit small arms trade

With the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons now in its final week, delegates from around the world are working overtime to forge consensus on an action plan set for adoption when the forum ends on Friday.

The Conference held its first night session on Monday as negotiators completed their initial reading of the preamble to the revised draft programme of action. They also started a paragraph-by-paragraph review of the entire text.

Today's closed-door meetings focused on the programme of action's first operative section, which deals with the main theme of preventing, combating and eradicating the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons.

The Conference President, Ambassador Camilo Reyes of Colombia, has predicted that the discussions will achieve concrete results. "There are good reasons to be optimistic -- we have a very good chance of arriving at a final document for the programme of action," he told a press briefing on Monday.

Commenting on how the negotiations were proceeding, Ambassador Reyes said the process was "very useful" because it involved a thorough exchange of ideas. "The method of work enabled delegations to focus on their own priorities," he said.