Eleven Central African States to Sign New Convention on Control

 

of Small Arms, Light Weapons, on 19 November

 

NEW YORK, 11 November (Office for Disarmament Affairs) — The United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa will hold its thirty-first ministerial meeting in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, from 15 to 19 November.  The highlight of the meeting will be the opening for signature of the Central African Convention for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, their Ammunition, Parts and Components that can be used for their Manufacture, Repair and Assembly, also called the Kinshasa Convention.

This Convention, adopted in April and elaborated by the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa, reflects the latest developments in the control of small arms and light weapons, as well as the specificities of the subregion.

In the framework of the ministerial meeting, the 11 member States of the Advisory Committee — Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Sao Tome and Principe — are expected to adopt the Implementation Plan of the Convention, which will allow the States to take the measures necessary for the control of small arms and light weapons at the earliest, as soon as the Convention enters into force.  The States will also share their experiences in the implementation of the Code of Conduct for the Defence and Security Forces in Central Africa, adopted by the Committee in 2009.  Together, the Convention and the Code of Conduct form the “Sao Tome Initiative”, adopted by the Committee in May 2007.

The agenda of the ministerial meeting in Brazzaville includes other topics, such as recent developments in the geopolitical and security situation in the subregion, maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, as well as the promotion of disarmament and arms limitation programmes in Central Africa.  In addition, the States will examine the implementation of Security Council resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009) and 1889 (2009) on women, peace and security.

The thirty-first ministerial meeting will be attended by ministers and high-level civilian and military officials of the member States.  The meeting is also open, by invitation, to some observers, among which are the African Union Commission, the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), missions and offices of the United Nations in the subregion, the International Organization of la Francophonie (OIF) and the General Secretariat of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR).

Succeeding the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo will assume the presidency of the Advisory Committee for its thirty-first ministerial meeting.

The Advisory Committee was established by the Secretary-General on 28 May 1992, pursuant to General Assembly resolution 46/37 B of 6 December 1991.  Its primary objective is to promote peace and security in Central Africa through confidence-building measures, notably in the fields of disarmament and arms limitation.

For more information, please contact the Secretary of the Committee, Ivor Richard Fung, Director, United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC), tel.:  +228 253 50 00; fax:  +228 250 43 15; e-mail:  mail@unrec.org; www.unrec.org.

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For information media • not an official record