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UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 5-- A Chinese UN envoy on Wednesday said that political settlement of conflict is the key to controlling the illicit trade of small arms and light weapons (SALWs). "The settlement of disputes through political and diplomatic means and maintenance of international and regional peace and stability is the key to eliminating the illicit trade of SALWs," Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, said at a Security Council meeting on small arms. The international community should intensify peacekeeping and post-conflict rebuilding effort to assist the concerned countries in achieving economic prosperity and sustainable development, he said. Moreover, the Chinese envoy said, governments bear the primary responsibility for combating the illicit trade of SALWs and they should establish and improve laws and regulations, and strengthen their enforcement. Governments should also strictly implement Security Council resolutions on arms embargo, not transfer weapons to non-state actors, and prevent the trafficking of legitimate weapons to illicit channels, Wu said. Emphasizing the leadership of the UN in this regard, he said that states should carry out their international obligations, support the secretary-general and UN agencies in playing their positive role, and push forward the multilateral process of countering illicit trade of SALWs. In light of the needs of developing countries, the international community should increase its assistance in institutional and capacity-building, funding contributions, technology transfer and personnel training, he said. | 
