Council Decision (CFSP) 2018/1789 of 19 November 2018 in support of combating the illicit trade in and proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the Member States of the League of Arab States

With a view to supporting the LAS Member States with their national implementation of the UN PoA and the International Tracing Instrument (ITI), the Union will pursue the following objectives:

• sustainably build the national capacity of LAS Member States to combat the illicit proliferation of SALW, combat terrorism and enhance security in post-conflict situations while fully respecting international human rights standards,

• sustainably build the regional capacity of the LAS to address the same challenges,

• strengthen LAS Member States' national control over SALW at key stages of their life cycle,

• enhance the exchange of best practices and lessons learned.

In order to achieve the objectives referred to in paragraph 1, the Union shall, by means of this Decision, support actions in the following areas:

• international SALW transfer control (combating illicit arms flows),

• identification and disruption of sources of illicit small arms (capacity-building for law-enforcement agencies),

• other measures related to small-arms control, including stockpile management, control of related supplies and security,

• disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR),

• provision of information relevant to illicit SALW and enhanced SALW control.

A detailed description of the project referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 is set out in the Annex to this Decision.

The High Representative shall be responsible for the implementation of this Decision.

The technical implementation of the project referred to in Article 1 shall be carried out by the Small Arms Survey (‘SAS’), represented by the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, with the assistance of the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) and the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and in close cooperation with the LAS Secretariat.

SAS, assisted by Interpol and the WCO, shall perform its tasks under the responsibility of the High Representative. For that purpose, the High Representative shall enter into the necessary arrangements with SAS.

The financial reference amount for the implementation of the project financed by the Union referred to in Article 1 shall be EUR 2 858 550.

The expenditure financed by the reference amount set out in paragraph 1 shall be managed in accordance with the procedures and rules applicable to the Union budget.

The Commission shall supervise the proper management of the expenditure referred to in paragraph 2. For that purpose, it shall conclude the necessary agreement with SAS. The agreement shall stipulate that SAS has to ensure the visibility of the Union's contribution, appropriate to its size.

The Commission shall endeavour to conclude the agreement referred to in paragraph 3 as soon as possible after the entry into force of this Decision. It shall inform the Council of any difficulties in that process and of the date of conclusion of the agreement.

The High Representative shall report to the Council on the implementation of this Decision on the basis of regular quarterly reports prepared by SAS. Those reports shall form the basis of the evaluation carried out by the Council.

The Commission shall report on the financial aspects of the project referred to in Article 1.

This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.

This Decision shall expire 30 months after the date of the conclusion of the agreement referred to in Article 3(3).