NEW YORK: The Arab Group at the United Nations on Tuesday welcomed the establishment of the Open-ended Working Group on conventional ammunition with an aim to establish a comprehensive framework on dealing with the matter. This endeavor would support safe and sustainable management of these weapons domestically, regionally and globally, transparency and confidence-building between countries, especially in light of tensions worldwide and the emergence of a global arms race, Counselor at Kuwait's permanent UN mission Abdulaziz Al-Ajmi said, speaking on behalf of the Arab Group during UN talks.

The diplomat urged the necessity of addressing all aspects of the issue independently within the framework of the current working group. The need for a flexible global framework, which takes into account the specificity of each country, its geographical region and national capabilities was also maintained. Also, the need to ensure the eligibility of countries to use these weapons for security purposes, namely to protect borders and national security, and to prevent these weapons from falling into the wrong hands, specifically criminal gangs and terrorists.

The safe disposal of unexploded ordnance after the assessment of its technical condition was also highlighted by the Arab Group, which called to secure the remnants of war through unconditional international cooperation between member states. This would contribute to the development of a comprehensive plan aimed at building the capacities of developing countries to deal with these related developments, the Arab Group underlined. The regional group went to stress the need to steer clear of vague terms and concepts in relation to the issue, and to avoid punitive measures against certain countries without setting a clear standard and specifying the party in question throughout each individual case. - KUNA