My country urges the international community to confront the excessive accu...

My country urges the international community to confront the excessive accumulation of small arms and light weapons, whose devastating effect on the civilian population has been clearly demonstrated. These arms often constitute a genuine threat to the peace and security of entire regions when they are trafficked and used by terrorist groups to attack innocent persons and threaten States and groups of States. In conclusion, I would like to state that, beyond United Nations actions to restore and build peace, preventive diplomacy and early warning systems remain important tools available to the Security Council for the peaceful settlement of disputes, the de-escalation of emerging crises and the prevention of the return of conflict. They should be used more often and systematically so as to have a palpable impact on hotbeds of tension throughout the world.