Malawi Hosts Visit by Security Council 1540 Committee, 5 to 8 AUGUST

 

NEW YORK, 8 August (Office for Disarmament Affairs) — A delegation of the  Security Council’s 1540 Committee has concluded a four-day visit to Malawi, conducted upon invitation by the Government.

Mr. Dovydas Špokauskas, from the Permanent Mission of Lithuania to the United Nations and member of the 1540 Committee, led the delegation, which included two experts supporting the Committee’s work, as well as officers from the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC).

The main objective of the visit was the provision of assistance to Malawi in the drafting process of its first 1540 Committee national report, while also discussing future steps to be undertaken by Malawi in accordance with the resolution.

The delegation held a number of working sessions with various national stakeholders involved in the implementation of resolution 1540 (2004), including:  Bestone W. Chisamile, Secretary for Home Affairs; Lonely Magreta, Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Defence; and General I.E.J. Maulana, Malawi Defence Commander; as well as officials of the Environmental Affairs Department who manage the implementation of Malawi’s Atomic Energy Act.

The delegation paid a visit to the Dedza border checkpoint, in order to observe the procedures in place and to have an exchange of views with officials from the Malawi Revenue Authority’s customs operations.

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 requires all States 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.

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