CONFERENCE ON IMPLEMENTATION, BY ARAB STATES, OF UN ACTION PROGRAMME ON ILLICIT TRADE IN SMALL ARMS TO TAKE PLACE IN CAIRO, 16-18 DECEMBER

CONFERENCE ON IMPLEMENTATION, BY ARAB STATES, OF UN ACTION PROGRAMME ON ILLICIT

TRADE IN SMALL ARMS TO TAKE PLACE IN CAIRO, 16-18 DECEMBER

NEW YORK, 12 December (UN Department for Disarmament Affairs) -- The United Nations Department for Disarmament Affairs is organizing, in cooperation with the League of Arab States, a “Conference on the Implementation, by the Arab States, of the UN Programme of Action on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons”.  The Conference will be held from 16 to 18 December 2003, at the headquarters of the League of Arab States in Cairo, Egypt.  The organization of this conference has benefited from the generous support of Norway and Germany.

Representatives of the member States of the League of Arab States and other interested States, as well as representatives of regional arrangements, international financial institutions, and non-governmental organizations have been invited to participate in the Conference. 

In light of the outcome of the First Biennial Meeting of States to Consider the Implementation of the Programme of Action, held in July 2003, the Conference will address issues such as national and regional capacity-building; regional cooperation and assistance; disarmament, reconstruction and reconciliation; and gender perspectives in disarmament, peace and security.

For further information, please contact Susanna Estrella or Marco Kalbusch of the Regional Disarmament Branch of the United Nations Department for Disarmament Affairs, tel:  1-212-963-9624, fax:  1-212-963-4989, e-mail:  estrellas@un.org.

* *** *