Government of Jordan, United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs Host Workshop on Implementing Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004)

NEW YORK, 3 June (Office for Disarmament Affairs) — The Government of Jordan, in cooperation with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, hosted a regional workshop on the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1540 (2004) for member States of the League of Arab States.

The workshop took place on 2 and 3 June in Amman.  Following previous regional workshops and meetings in the Gulf and the Middle East on the implementation of resolution 1540 (2004), the workshop aimed at providing a forum where participating States could benefit from the experiences of others in meeting implementation challenges, as well as at helping define their specific assistance needs for effective implementation of resolution 1540 (2004).

Representatives of League of Arab States member States, as well as international and regional organizations, attended the event.  Participating States engaged in information-exchange and experience-sharing, and discussed effective national practices to implement resolution 1540 (2004), as well as cooperation with relevant international and regional organizations.

The Security Council, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, unanimously adopted resolution 1540 (2004) on 28 April 2004, obliging all States to enforce effective measures and establish domestic controls to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and their means of delivery to non-State actors.  To that end, States are required to develop and maintain appropriate effective measures to account for and secure such items in production, use, storage or transport, and to develop and maintain appropriate effective physical protection measures.

The Amman workshop was organized with funds provided by the European Union, Republic of Korea and the United States.

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