STATEMENT BY ARIEL KOH, DELEGATE TO THE 80TH UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY, AT THE CLUSTER FOUR THEMATIC DEBATE ON CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS OF THE 80TH UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY FIRST COMMITTEE, 24 OCTOBER 2025

Thank you, Mr Chair.

Singapore aligns itself with the statements delivered by Cambodia on behalf of ASEAN and Indonesia on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement. Please allow me to make three points in our national capacity.

2                    First, Singapore remains committed to the UN’s work in curbing the illicit arms trade and indiscriminate use of conventional arms. Beyond participating annually in the Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty, we fully support the implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects. We also welcome the adoption of the recommendations of the 2025 Preparatory Meeting of States on the Global Framework for Through-life Conventional Ammunition Management, which we hope will facilitate a meaningful Meeting of States in 2027.

3                    Second, Singapore is concerned by the humanitarian impact from the indiscriminate use of conventional weapons on civilians and we reaffirm our full commitment to their responsible use. In 2024, we became a High Contracting Party to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and welcome the substantive progress made at the GGE on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS), which is the appropriate forum for practical, multi-disciplinary discussions on LAWS. We also remain supportive of initiatives that mitigate the humanitarian concerns regarding the use of anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions, and have maintained an indefinite moratorium on their export since 1998 and 2008 respectively. Singapore has consistently voted in favour of resolutions on the implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions and the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention.

4                    Third, Singapore is committed to supporting efforts to uphold transparency in the conventional arms trade and promote the establishment of international standards. We have regularly submitted national reports to the UN Register of Conventional Arms since 1993. As one of the world’s busiest transhipment and transit hubs, Singapore is cognisant of the important role we play in upholding international regulatory efforts. We regularly review our export control regime to ensure that we uphold our obligations under the relevant UNSC resolutions.

5                    All States need to fulfil their international obligations to eradicate the illicit trade and indiscriminate use of conventional arms. We reiterate our commitment and stand ready to work with all delegations to prevent the unauthorised diversion, illicit trade and indiscriminate use of conventional weapons.

6                    Thank you.