Office for Disarmament Affairs, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Organize Meetings on Implementation of Resolution 1540 (2004)

NEW YORK, 7 April (Office for Disarmament Affairs) — The year 2014 marks the tenth anniversary of the adoption of Security Council resolution 1540 (2004), which stipulates that all States shall refrain from providing any form of support to non-State actors attempting to acquire or use weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery.

To promote international and regional cooperation in the implementation of resolution 1540 (2004), the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) has organized, jointly with the Conflict Prevention Centre of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Secretariat, a series of meetings from 7 to 11 April in Vienna.  Staff and experts from the secretariats of more than 20 international and regional organizations will discuss how to enhance cooperation and information-sharing, and to identify synergies that can be exploited on issues of implementing resolution 1540 (2004) for the benefit of their respective Member States.

UNODA has been promoting value-added cooperation among international and regional organizations in areas within the scope of resolution 1540 (2004) since 2010, a platform that enables organizations to identify and share their best practices and lessons learned in relation to the implementation of resolution 1540 (2004).  The meetings are supported by voluntary contributions from the Governments of Norway and the United States as well as the European Union.

For more information on this event, please contact Francois Coutu, Political Affairs Officer, United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, at e-mail:  coutu@un.org.