June 4, 2001

 

 

Secretary of State Colin Powell

U. S. Department of State

2201 C St. NW

Washington, DC 20520

 

Dear Secretary Powell:

 

I am writing to you as Chair of the Small Arms Working Group (SAWG) - an alliance of arms control, human rights, and peace organizations and individuals working to promote responsible U.S. policy on small arms exports –to draw your attention to the upcoming UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All it Aspects scheduled for July 9-20, 2001.  SAWG participants strongly urge you to attend the opening sessions of the Conference in order to demonstrate U.S. commitment to international efforts to counter the proliferation and misuse of small arms.

 

SAWG participants would also like to encourage the U.S. government to take a constructive approach at the Conference by supporting a comprehensive and forward-looking program of action.  With this in mind, SAWG has developed the enclosed document to provide specific suggestions for U.S. action at the Conference.  We urge you to take them into consideration as you and your staff formulate your position for the Conference.  We look forward to continuing to work with your team on small arms issues in the future, as we outlined in our letter to you dated February 2, 2001.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Rachel Stohl

Chair

Small Arms Working Group

 

Enclosure