Central African States to Review Implementation of United Nations

Programme of Action on Small Arms, 24 to 25 April

 

NEW YORK, 22 April (United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs) -- A Regional Meeting for Central African States on the implementation of the 2001 United Nations Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons will be jointly organized by the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs in Kinshasa on 24 to 25 April.

The meeting will review progress made at national and regional levels in implementation of the Programme of Action, including the outcome of the Third Biennial Meeting of States on the Programme of Action, and will prepare Central African States for the fourth such meeting, scheduled to take place in New York on 14 to 18 June.  The Kinshasa meeting is the fifth in a series of regional meetings on the Programme of Action organized by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs.

The regional meeting will bring together representatives from the 11 member States of the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa, the United Nations, regional and subregional organizations, as well as civil society.

The Kinshasa meeting has been organized in the wake of a recent Security Council meeting on the topic:  “Central African Region:  Impact of illicit arms trafficking on peace and security”.  At that meeting, the Security Council expressed its grave concern about the illicit manufacture, transfer and circulation of small arms and light weapons and their excessive accumulation and uncontrolled spread, particularly in the subregion of Central Africa.  The Council emphasized the need for national authorities in the subregion to fully participate in the practical implementation of the Programme of Action.

The regional meeting will take place immediately prior to the thirtieth United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa Ministerial Meeting, from 26 to 30 April, also in Kinshasa.  The ministerial meeting will review a draft legal instrument on small arms control for the Central African region.

For more information, please contact the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa, tel.:  +228 253 50 00, fax:  +228 250 43 15, e‑mail:  mail@unrec.org.

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For information media • not an official record