Background Release

Comprehensive Review of Implementation of Security Council Resolution

 

1540 (2004) Opens Three-Day Meeting at Headquarters, 30 September

 

The Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004) is holding an open meeting from 30  September to 2 October at United Nations Headquarters in New York as part of the Comprehensive Review of the status of implementation of the resolution.  The open meeting starts with a general debate until 1 October, and is followed by an interactive session through Friday, 2 October.

The Review is a process to assess the evolution of risks and threats, address specific critical issues, and identify possible new approaches for the implementation of the resolution.

This event offers a forum to all Member States and international and regional organizations to share experiences and express their views.  As some of the specific elements to address, the following topics have been identified in a letter from the Committee Chairman to the Security Council President (document S/2009/170):

-- assess the impact of resolution 1540 (2004), including through measures taken after the adoption of the resolution;

-- assess whether States have undertaken measures derived from resolution 1540 (2004), including through the establishment and enforcement of appropriate criminal or civil penalties for violations of export control laws and regulations;

-- conduct regional analyses of implementation, with some examples of national and regional practices and experience sharing;

-- generate new tools, such as guidelines on handling assistance requests, and develop practical means to address the most common “gaps” in implementation;

-- evaluate, as appropriate, the impact of national implementation measures on individuals and due process standards;

-- analyse the work of the Committee and identify possible ways of increasing the effectiveness of its activities;

-- assess the existing templates, particularly the 1540 Committee matrix, in light of the information gathered for the 2006 and 2008 reports; and

-- develop methodologies to improve the effectiveness of cooperation with individual States, subregional, regional and international organizations, multilateral arrangements dealing with export controls and relevant entities within the United Nations system, and assess the level of cooperation between the Committees established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004), 1267 (1999) and 1373 (2001), assessing, in particular, the level of information sharing and coordination on visits to countries, and make specific recommendations, if appropriate, for enhancing cooperation.

On 28 April 2004, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1540 (2004) under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, obliging all States to adopt and enforce appropriate effective laws which prohibit any non-State actor to develop, acquire, manufacture, possess, transport, transfer or use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and their means of delivery.  All States are also to establish domestic controls to prevent the proliferation of these weapons and their means of delivery, including by establishing appropriate controls over related materials.

In resolution 1887 (2009), adopted on 24 September, the Security Council reaffirmed its resolution 1540 (2004) and the necessity for all States to implement fully the measures contained therein.  The Council also welcomed the comprehensive review of the status of implementation of resolution 1540 (2004).

For further information, contact Vesselin Kostov, tel.:  917 367 3577; or the Committee’s website:  www.un.org/sc/1540/comprehensive_review.shtml; or e‑mail:  sc-1540-Committee@un.org.

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For information media • not an official record