A meeting of the Council of Ministers, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, made the decision to ratify the firearms protocol. Countries that ratify the protocol must adopt a series of crime control measures in order to prevent illegal manufacturing of, or trafficking in, firearms on the basis of the protocol requirements.
The firearms protocol was adopted in May 2001 by UN General Assembly Resolution 55/255, as the third supplementary protocol to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, which came into force in September 2003.
The objective of the protocol is to promote, facilitate and strengthen cooperation among states in preventing, combating and eradicating the illicit manufacturing of, and trafficking in, firearms, their parts and components and ammunition.
The Cabinet meeting at Khoraim Gardens outside Riyadh also reviewed the worsening situation in occupied Palestinian territories. The meeting urged the United States and other members of the international community to stop the continuing Israeli aggression against Palestinians and work for establishing peace in the region.
Dr. Saud Al-Muthami, state minister and acting minister of culture and information, said the Cabinet had denounced Israel’s military escalation, its killing of innocent people and its move to establish new Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem. The Cabinet said Israel’s continuing aggressive practices and settlement policies would foil efforts to establish peace in the Middle East.
Muthami said the Cabinet meeting also reiterated Saudi Arabia’s support for international agreements aimed at containing climate change. The Kingdom has already pledged $ 300 million to finance the center for conducting research on energy, environment and climate change.
The Cabinet also made a number of other important decisions. It authorized the minister of defense and aviation or his deputy to hold talks with Kuwait on changing the air transport agreement between the two GCC countries.
It also appointed Dr. Abdul Rahman ibn Naif Bin-Humaid, head of the fourth brigade at the National Guard, and Yousuf ibn Ahmed Al-Saleh, assistant director for financial and administrative affairs at the Water Department in the Eastern Province.
