Niger Hosts Visit by Security Council’s 1540 Committee, 13-17 January

 

NEW YORK, 17 January (Office for Disarmament Affairs) — A delegation of the Security Council’s 1540 Committee wrapped up its four-day visit to Niger, at the invitation of the Government.

Sophie Nzeyimana from the Permanent Mission of Rwanda to the United Nations led the delegation, which included two experts supporting the Committee’s work. 

Among the objectives were raising awareness and sharing information on the implementation of resolution 1540 (2004), identifying possible assistance needs and any future steps to be undertaken by Niger in support of implementation, including the possibility of developing a National Implementation Action Plan.

In Niamey, the delegation held working sessions with various national stakeholders involved in the implementation of resolution 1540 (2004).  The visit was coordinated by Niger’s 1540 National Focal Point, Colonel Bako Boubacar.

The delegation also visited a customs office in Torodi, on the main road connecting Niger and Burkina Faso, and the CTBTO (Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization) National Data Centre.

Resolution 1540 (2004) was adopted unanimously by the Security Council, under the United Nations Charter’s Chapter VII, on 28 April 2004.  It obliges all States to refrain from providing any form of support to non-State actors attempting to develop, acquire, manufacture, possess, transport, transfer or use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and their means of delivery.  The resolution also requires all States to establish domestic controls to prevent the proliferation of those weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, including by establishing appropriate controls over related materials.

The 1540 Committee, a subsidiary body of the Council, reports to it on implementation of the resolution.  On 20 April 2011, the Security Council adopted resolution 1977 (2011), by which it extended the Committee’s mandate until 2021.

For additional information about the 1540 Committee, please visit the website http://www.un.org/sc/1540/.

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For information media • not an official record