United Nations Under-Secretary-General of Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu stressed that preventing the transfer of arms and ammunition is essential to avoid fueling conflict and insecurity in the world.
In a session of the UN Security Council on Friday night under the item "Threats to international peace and security", Nakamitsu said that since the war in Ukraine on Feb 24, 2022, several countries have transferred weapons and ammunition systems to Ukraine for their defense forces, and that the information received from governments regarding their transfers is largely available through open source.
She added that these transfers included heavy conventional weapons, including battle tanks, armoured fighting vehicles, artillery systems, missile systems, unmanned aerial combat vehicles, small arms, and light weapons.
There are widespread and independently verified reports of the transfer of major conventional weapons systems to non-state armed groups involved in the conflict against Ukraine, including artillery missile systems, Nakamitsu explained.
The large-scale flow of arms in any armed conflict raises many peace and security concerns, including transfer risks and potential repercussions and escalation, Nakamitsu said.
