WORKSHOP SUPPORTING IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL SMALL ARMS MARKING,

TRACING INSTRUMENT GETS UNDER WAY IN RIO DE JANEIRO

 

RIO DE JANEIRO, 11 June (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 Rio de Janeiro.

Organized by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, through its Conventional Arms Branch and its Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Government of Brazil, the workshop is part of a partnership with INTERPOL, made possible thanks to financial support from the European Union and the Governments of the Czech Republic, Estonia and Norway.

The workshop aims at promoting the International Tracing Instrument and assisting States in building their capacity to implement it.  It is expected to help relevant Government officials to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Instrument 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.

Through the International Tracing Instrument, 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 those that are illicit.

The workshop benefits from the technical and substantive contributions of experts from the Central American Programme on Small Arms and Light Weapons Control (CASAC) of the Central American Integration System (SICA); Czech Proof House for Testing Arms and Ammunition; International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL); Organization of American States (OAS); United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); and the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC).  In addition, experts from the host country contributed to the workshop.

The workshop is the fourth in a series of regional seminars on the implementation of the International Tracing Instrument.  Previous workshops were conducted in Kenya for eastern, southern and northern African States; in Togo for west and central African States; and in the Republic of Korea for the Asia and Pacific region.

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