UNITED NATIONS TWO-DAY WORKSHOP IN SUPPORT OF IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL

SMALL ARMS MARKING, TRACING INSTRUMENT GETS UNDER WAY IN NAIROBI

 

NAIROBI, 10 December (Office for Disarmament Affairs) -- A workshop to support the implementation of the International Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace, in a Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons (International Tracing Instrument) began its session today, in Nairobi.

Organized by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, in partnership with INTERPOL, the Nairobi workshop was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Governments of the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and Norway.

The workshop is part of a series aimed at promoting the International Tracing Instrument and assisting States in building their capacity to implement it.  It is expected that the workshop will help relevant Government officials to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Instrument, its operational aspects and technical tools for the tracing of illicit small arms and light weapons, such as INTERPOL’s Electronic Weapons Tracing System (IWeTS).  It is also envisaged that the workshop will help to identify areas where capacity-building for international cooperation and assistance is needed.

In the International Tracing Instrument, which was adopted by the General Assembly in December 2005, States committed themselves to undertake a number of measures to ensure the adequate marking of and record-keeping for small arms and light weapons, and to strengthen cooperation in tracing illicit ones.

The workshop will benefit from the technical and substantive contributions of the Bonn International Centre for Conversion (BICC), INTERPOL, the Regional Centre on Small Arms (RECSA), the Small Arms Survey (SAS), the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (SARPCCO), and the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

The workshop, which will end on 11 December, will be attended by Governmental representatives from the following countries:  Angola, Botswana, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tunisia, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

A second workshop for Africa is being planned for March 2008, with the participation of States from West and Central Africa.  United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs is also planning to organize similar workshops in Asia and Pacific, and in Latin America and the Caribbean.

For further information, please contact António E. Évora, Political Affairs Officer, Office for Disarmament Affairs, e-mail: evora@un.org.

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For information media • not an official record