United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs Regional Centre for Asia and Pacific Assists with Building Capacity in Small Arms Control in Bangladesh

NEW YORK, 17 June (Office for Disarmament Affairs) — A workshop on capacity-building for the Programme of Action on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons and the Arms Trade Treaty jointly organized by the Government of Bangladesh and the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific is taking place in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 17 and 18 June.

The workshop is aimed at assisting the relevant ministries and agencies of Bangladesh responsible for the control of small arms and light weapons to enhance their capacity to implement the Programme of Action, and in the future, the Arms Trade Treaty.  Bangladesh has signed the Treaty — the first global treaty to regulate the trade in conventional weapons, which entered into force on 24 December 2014.

A cadre of up to 40 Government officials will gather with international experts and representatives from the Regional Centre to share best practices on policies and technical issues related to the aforementioned arms control instruments, and to discuss ways for their implementation in Bangladesh.

Adopted in 2001, the Programme of Action has proven a useful tool to counter the illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons.  The Programme contains provisions on stockpile management, marking, record-keeping and other related areas that were further elaborated by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs in the International Small Arms Control Standards.  During the workshop, international experts will provide practical recommendations on how to improve national standards of small arms and light weapons regulation.

Another purpose of the workshop is to assist the Government of Bangladesh in addressing challenges of building national capacity to meet standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms established by the Arms Trade Treaty.

The event is organized with financial support from the United Nations Trust Facility Supporting Cooperation on Arms Regulation.

For further information, please contact Yuriy Kryvonos, Interim Director, United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament, at e-mail:  info@unrcpd.org.