UNITED NATIONS REGIONAL SEMINAR TO PROMOTE COOPERATION IN COMBATING ILLICIT SMALL

ARMS BROKERING IN SOUTH, CENTRAL ASIA, TO BE HELD IN KATHMANDU, 17-19 JUNE

 

NEW YORK, 16 June (Office for Disarmament Affairs) -- The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, through its Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific, located in Nepal, is organizing a regional seminar entitled “Enhancing International and Regional Cooperation to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate Illicit Brokering in Small Arms and Light Weapons in South Asia and Central Asia”, to be held in Kathmandu, the Nepalese capital, on 17-18 June.

Financially supported by the Governments of Austria, Japan and the Republic of Korea, this United Nations initiative is the first of three subregional seminars on the topic of “Illicit Brokering of Small Arms and Light Weapons” in Asia and the Pacific.  Its main purpose is to raise awareness of the importance and urgency of addressing the issue of illicit brokering in small arms and light weapons, and to enhance cooperation on this issue among States in Asia and the Pacific.

The seminar also aims to identify areas of assistance in which States could benefit, including capacity-building in drafting and strengthening national legislation and regulations, strengthening national arms transfer licensing control systems and enhancing the capacity of law-enforcement agencies to combat illicit brokering activities.

Representatives from 13 countries in South and Central Asia, international and regional organizations, including the United Nations, INTERPOL and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), as well as civil society organizations, will gather in Kathmandu to discuss ways to tackle the issue.

For further information on the seminar, please contact Taijiro Kimura, Director, or Roman Hunger, Special Coordinator for Peace and Disarmament Programmes, at the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific, Phone: +977 1 501 0257, Fax: +977 1 501 0223, e-mail: info@unrcpd.org.np.

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For information media • not an official record