Civil Society to Reflect on Measures for Implementing Security Council

Resolution 1540 (2004), in New Delhi, 25-26 February

 

NEW YORK, 24 February 2014 (Office for Disarmament Affairs) — Representatives of civil society, including non-governmental organizations, industry and academics will gather in New Delhi this week to help identify effective measures to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by terrorists and other non-State actors.

Attending the workshop, to be held on 25-26 February, will be representatives from Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Oceania and the Americas.  The event is supported by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs and organized by the New Delhi-based Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, in cooperation with the Institute for Strategic Studies, India, and King’s College, London, United Kingdom.

Ten years after the unanimous adoption of resolution 1540 (2004) by the United Nations Security Council, the workshop’s participants will review global and regional progress in implementing the landmark resolution.  They will then present and discuss specific resolution 1540 (2004) implementation practices and measures that have proved, in their assessment, effective in various areas covered by the resolution, such as border/export controls, enforcement of relevant national laws and regulations, and engagement of civil society and industry.

Resolution 1540 (2004)

Unanimously adopted on 28 April 2004, the resolution obliges 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.  All States are to establish domestic controls to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, including by establishing appropriate controls over related materials.

1540 Committee

The 1540 Committee, a subsidiary body comprising all Security Council members, reports on the implementation of resolution 1540 (2004).  In its resolution 1977 (2011), the Council decided to extend the Committee’s mandate until 25 April 2021.

1540 Committee’s Effective Practices

Security Council resolution 1977 (2011) requests the 1540 Committee, with the support of its Group of Experts, to identify effective practices, templates and guidance with a view to compiling a technical reference guide to resolution 1540 (2004), for the use of States on a voluntary basis in implementing the resolution.  In that regard, it encourages the 1540 Committee, at its discretion, to draw also on relevant expertise, including civil society and the private sector, with their State’s consent, as appropriate.

For further information, please contact François Coutu, United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, at e-mail:  coutu@un.org.

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For information media • not an official record