Costa Rica to Host United Nations Workshop on Implementing Security Council

Resolution 1540 (2004) in San José, 8–10 September

 

NEW YORK, 4 September, (Office for Disarmament Affairs) -- A United Nations workshop on implementing United Nations Security Council resolution 1540 (2004) will be held from 8 to 10 September 2009 in San José, Costa Rica.

Hosted by the Government of Costa Rica, the workshop is organized by the Office for Disarmament Affairs (ODA) with financial support from the European Union and the Governments of Norway and the United States.  Ambassador Jorge Urbina, Permanent Representative of Costa Rica and Chairman of the Security Council’s 1540 Committee, will open the workshop.  Officials from Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama, as well as representatives from a number of international, regional and subregional organizations, have been invited to participate.

Consistent with the objectives of resolution 1540 (2004), the workshop aims to enhance national capacities for the management of export-control processes at a practical level, and to improve information- and experience-sharing between participating countries.  The workshop is also expected to facilitate assistance related to the resolution’s implementation.

Acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1540 (2004) on 28 April 2004, obliging all States to refrain from providing any form of support to non-State actors that attempt to develop, acquire, manufacture, possess, transport, transfer or use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and their means of delivery.  Under the resolution, all States are required to establish domestic controls to prevent the proliferation of these weapons and delivery systems, including by establishing appropriate controls over related materials.  The resolution also affirms support for multilateral treaties aimed at eliminating or preventing proliferation.

As a subsidiary body of the Security Council, the 1540 Committee, was established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004), which calls upon States to report to it on steps they have taken or intend to take in implementation of the resolution.  On 25 April 2008, by its resolution 1810 (2008), the Council extended the Committee’s mandate until 25 April 2011, emphasizing the importance of full implementation of resolution 1540 (2004) by all States.  Among other things, the Council requested the Committee to continue to organize and participate in regional and subregional outreach events promoting States’ implementation of the resolution.

The San José workshop is the fourth organized by ODA on implementation of resolution 1540 (2004) after the adoption of resolution 1810 (2008).  The three previous workshops were held in Brazil (November 2008), Qatar (March 2009) and Vanuatu (April-May 2009) for MERCOSUR (Southern Common Market), Arab and Pacific island States, respectively.

For further information, contact: Ms. Gabriele Kraatz-Wadsack at (212-963-3633).

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For information media • not an official record