VZCZCXRO6558
RR RUEHBZ RUEHIK RUEHYG
DE RUEHTL #0316/01 1360844
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 160844Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY TALLINN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9825
INFO RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUCNDSC/DISARMAMENT CONFERENCE COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0278
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 TALLINN 000316 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/NB - JAMES LOVELL AND PM/DTCP - AMY 
WESTLING 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETTC KOMC UNDC PARM PREL EN
 
SUBJECT: ESTONIA SUPPORTS UN ARMS TRADE TREATY (ATT) 
 
Ref: A) STATE 63299 
 
¶1. (U) On May 15, we delivered reftel points to Arti 
Hilpus, MFA Director for Strategic Goods Control 
Division, and Tuuli Parnsalu, 3rd Secretary, and sought 
Estonia's support in opposing the UN-proposed Arms Trade 
Treaty (ATT).  Kruuv thanked us for the points and 
provided us with a copy of the GOE's views on the ATT 
(which it had submitted in writing to the UN Secretary 
General on April 23). 
 
¶2. (U) Kruuv said that Estonia supports the current 
draft of the ATT.  The GOE sees the ATT as an important 
first step in reducing the illicit and irresponsible 
sales and transfers of arms.  While Estonia sympathized 
with the USG's concerns and agreed on the need for 
improving accountability in arms transfers, Kruuv said 
that the GOE does not see an incompatibility in 
supporting the current ATT proposal and introducing 
stronger accountability and enforcement mechanisms in 
the future. 
 
¶3. (U) Below is the complete text of the GOE's 
submission of its views on the ATT to the UN Secretary 
General: 
 
Begin Text: 
 
"23 April 2007 
 
Response of the Republic of Estonia to the United 
Nations Secretary General's request for views on Arms 
Trade Treaty (ATT) submitted in accordance with the UN 
General Assembly resolution 61/89 
 
Estonia was amongst the co-sponsors and countries that 
supported the adoption of the resolution A/Res/61/89 on 
6 December 2006. We strongly support the objective of 
establishing effective common international standards 
for the import, export and transfer of arms and a 
comprehensive and legally binding international 
instrument regulating arms trade. 
 
Adoption of the resolution was a crucial step towards 
assuring more responsible and transparent arms trade. 
Admitting that today there exist no universal convention 
on the trade in conventional arms, we believe that Arms 
Trade Treaty will eliminate that lacuna. At the same 
time, we acknowledge that every country has an 
inalienable right to self-defence, and thus also to arms 
purchase. 
 
We also believe that Arms Trade Treaty would contribute 
to sustainable development, peace and security and 
respect of human rights at a global level. Accordingly, 
Estonia is willing to actively work together with all UN 
Member States and the UN-DDA towards a comprehensive 
legally binding convention covering export, import and 
transfers of all conventional arms. 
 
Feasibility 
 
Estonia fully recognizes that although it will not be a 
simple task, the aim of the negotiations should be to 
agree on a universal treaty that will ensure that all 
transactions are subject to a prior assessment of the 
risk that they would be unlawful and/or have a serious 
negative impact on peace, security or human rights. It 
should be made sure that in such circumstances the 
transactions should not be allowed to be executed.  The 
future treaty should set out the standards to be applied 
and also guarantee the necessary transparency and 
monitoring of implementation. Taking into account the 
relatively small size of Estonian public administration 
and the organizations in military and dual-use industry 
it is worthwhile to mention that more universal 
standards for the arms trade would in fact reduce 
workloads for licensing officials and business entities. 
 
Negotiations on ATT do not start from the empty ground. 
We believe that first of all, ATT should be based on 
global obligations stemming out from such legally 
binding documents as the United Nations Charter and UN 
 
TALLINN 00000316  002 OF 004 
 
 
Security Council resolutions. Also, there exist a number 
of international and regional treaties, conventions, 
agreements and other instruments which could be used as 
a basis in the forthcoming debate on ATT. We would like 
to mention, in particular, the following binding 
international or regional instruments with relevance to 
the deliberations of an arms trade treaty: 
 
- Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use 
of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be Deemed to 
be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate 
Effects, and its annexed Protocols; 
- Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, 
Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on 
Their Destruction, 1997; 
- Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and 
Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components 
and Ammunition, Protocol to Convention against 
Transnational Organized Crime, 2001; 
- Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit 
Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, 
Ammunition, Explosives and Other Related Materials, 
1997; 
- Inter-American Convention on Transparency in 
Conventional Weapons Acquisitions, 1999; 
- The 2001 Protocol on the control of firearms, 
ammunition and other related materials in the Southern 
African Development Community (SADC) region; 
- 2004 Nairobi Protocol for the Prevention, Control and 
Reduction of Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Great 
Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa; 
- 2006 Economic Community of West African States 
(ECOWAS) Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons. 
 
In the future debate on Arms Trade Treaty, it might also 
be useful to draw upon the experience and look at the 
formulations of politically binding international and 
regional agreements, such as: 
 
- The UN Register of Conventional Arms; 
- United Nations Guidelines for International Arms 
Transfers, 1996; 
- The UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat, and 
Eradicate the Illicit trade in Small Arms and Light 
Weapons, in All Its Aspects, 2001; 
- OSCE Criteria for Conventional Arms Transfers, 1993; 
- Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for 
Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies, 
1995; 
- 1998 European Union Code of Conduct on Arms Exports 
(EU Code of Conduct); 
- 1998 OAS Model Regulations for the Control of 
Firearms; 
- 2000 OSCE Document on Small Arms and Light Weapons; 
- 2002 Wassenaar Arrangement Best Practice Guidelines 
for Exports of Small Arms and Light Weapons; 
- Antigua Declaration on the Proliferation of Light 
Weapons in the Central American Region, 2002; 
- The 2003 OAS Model Regulations for the Control of 
Brokers of Firearms, their Parts and Components and 
Ammunition; 
- Inter-American Convention on Transparency in 
Conventional Weapons Acquisitions. 
 
It is important to emphasize that the ATT process is 
aimed at creating a new, independent and legally binding 
instrument, not solely to refer to already existing 
norms. 
 
Scope 
 
Estonia believes that the scope of the treaty plays a 
crucial role in ensuring the effectiveness of the 
Treaty. We are of the opinion, that ATT should cover all 
conventional arms such as, but not limited to, battle 
tanks, armoured combat vehicles, large-calibre artillery 
systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, 
missiles and missile launchers, man portable air defence 
systems (MANPADS), munitions, explosives, and most 
importantly, small arms and light weapons (SALW) and 
their ammunition. The list should also cover technology 
allowing the manufacture of such weapons. The UN 
Register of Conventional Arms might be used as a basis 
 
TALLINN 00000316  003 OF 004 
 
 
on forming the list of categories to be included in ATT. 
However, other lists, such as the European Union 
Munitions List or the Wassenaar Munitions List, which 
classifies conventional arms into 22 categories and sub- 
categories, might be considered. In order to avoid 
differing interpretations of the Treaty by the 
participating States, it is very important to pay 
attention on the definitions and terminology section of 
the Treaty. A viable option would be to include 
terminology used in arms embargoes imposed by the UN 
Security Council. 
 
Estonia believes that the treaty should cover a 
comprehensive list of transactions involving trade in 
armaments such as import, export, re-export, transfer, 
transit, transhipment, technical assistance, transfer of 
technology, and brokering activities. Inclusion of all 
sorts of transactions would avoid creating loopholes 
that might be used to get around the reach of the ATT. 
Similarly, the Treaty should cover the transactions 
between all sorts of trading parties that result in the 
movement of military equipment from the territory of one 
State to that of another State. That includes Government 
to Government or State to State transfers. However, ATT 
should not cover transfers within a State and impose 
restrictions on how arms may be acquired, held or used 
within a State's territory. 
 
Draft Parameters 
 
Estonia is convinced that the Treaty should set out 
clear standards that States are bound to abide by. The 
Treaty might set out the factors the States are obliged 
to consider when deciding whether or not to approve an 
import, export or transfer of arms. The list of factors 
might include, but should not be limited to, the 
following: 
- maintenance of international peace and security; 
- human rights situation; 
- compliance with international law, including 
international humanitarian law; 
- non-proliferation and disarmament agreements; 
- safety and effectiveness of peace keeping 
operations; 
- fight against international crime and terrorism; 
- effect on sustainable development. 
- conformity with international and regional arms 
embargoes; 
- validity of end-use and end-users. 
 
Despite the comprehensive list of the factors to be 
taken into account, the actual decisions on authorizing 
transactions should remain within the remit of 
individual States. It is also important that the Treaty 
acknowledges the inherent right of all States to 
individual or collective self defence in accordance with 
Article 51 of the Charter, and the security requirements 
of all States. 
 
In order to improve the transparency and guarantee the 
effectiveness of the future instrument, the Arms Trade 
Treaty should contain a reporting obligation. State 
parties should have an obligation to report regularly to 
a competent UN body about the destinations, actual 
nature and value of their arms exports. Estonia also 
sees merit in the compliance mechanism for the Treaty. 
 
We fully acknowledge that some of the countries may 
encounter problems in implementing the Treaty. Lack of 
administrative capacity, particularly when enforcement 
mechanisms would be incorporated in the ATT, might even 
make some countries hesitant to negotiating or joining 
the Treaty. In order to overcome these difficulties, 
provisions on international co-operation and assistance 
should be included in the Treaty. 
 
Conclusion 
 
Estonia hopes that these initial views on the 
feasibility, scope and draft parameters for a 
comprehensive, legally binding instrument establishing 
common international standards for the import, export 
and transfer of conventional arms will contribute to 
 
TALLINN 00000316  004 OF 004 
 
 
moving on with the discussions on Arms Trade Treaty. We 
look forward to the deliberations of the Group of 
Governmental Experts as a further step in the process. 
Estonia is willing to participate in this process as 
actively and constructively as possible." 
 
End Text. 
 
PHILLIPS