REGIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON IMPLEMENTATION OF UN PROGRAMME OF ACTION

ON ILLICIT SMALL ARMS TRADE TO BE HELD IN ALGIERS, 11-13 APRIL

NEW YORK, 7 April (UN Department for Disarmament Affairs) -- A regional symposium on the Implementation by the Arab States of the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, organized by the United Nations Department for Disarmament Affairs, and hosted by the Government of Algeria, will take place in Algiers, from 11 to 13 April 2005.

The regional symposium will provide an informal forum for Arab States to share experiences and lessons learned in the implementation of the Action Programme prior to the United Nations Second Biennial Meeting of States (New York, 11 to 15 July 2005).  It will also offer participants an opportunity to consider regional as well as transborder cooperation in the fight against the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons with representatives of other interested States, regional organizations and civil society.  International cooperation and assistance to support regional efforts and initiatives will also be addressed, as well as the role of women in small arms disarmament.

The Department for Disarmament Affairs organized the regional symposium, with the generous support from the Governments of the CzechRepublic, Germany, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.  The meeting will be opened by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdelaziz Beckhadem, of Algeria and United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, Nobuyasu Abe.  A number of senior officials will attend, including Pasi Patokallio of Finland, Chair-Designate of the Second Biennial Meeting of States to consider the implementation of the Action Programme, and Anton Thalmann of Switzerland, Chair of the United Nations Open-Ended Working Group to Negotiate an International Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace, in a Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons.

The regional symposium is an important step in strengthening further cooperation between the UN Department for Disarmament Affairs and the ArabStates.  This constructive dialogue started formally with the 2003 Conference on the Implementation by the Arab States of the Action Programme, jointly organized by the Department for Disarmament Affairs and the League of Arab States, in Cairo in December 2003.  The dialogue continued during the general meeting between United Nations representatives and the Arab League in Cairo, in February 2004 and a subsequent workshop on Action Programme implementation for the Mahgreb subregion, organized by the Department for Disarmament Affairs and the United Nations Development Programme and hosted by the Government of Tunisia, in June 2004.

For further information, please contact Agnès Marcaillou, Chief, Regional Disarmament Branch; tel.:  212 963 3768; e-mail:  marcaillou@un.org.

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