China Hosts First-Ever Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004) Training Course on National Contacts in Asia-Pacific Region
A training course for national points of contact of States in the Asia-Pacific region for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1540 (2004) took place in Qingdao, China, from 7 to 11 September. The course, hosted by the Government of China on behalf of the Security Council’s 1540 Committee, was the first of its kind. The 1540 Committee hopes that the course, which is an excellent example of the regional approach it favours, will be replicated in other regions of the world.
Participants in the course were national points of contact and representatives from the Governments of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The course was opened on 7 September with addresses from Yang Li, Deputy Director-General of the Arms Control and Disarmament Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in China, and Román Oyarzun Marchesi, Chair of the 1540 Committee Ambassador.
Instruction on the course was led by members of the 1540 Committee’s Group of Experts with support from representatives from organizations including the Asia-Pacific Biosafety Association (A-PBA), Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Also, Germany provided an instructor from their Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA), as did the United States from their Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) Programme and the Department of Energy.
Support for the organization and conduct of the course was provided by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs and the United Nations Development Programme Office in China.
While in China, Mr. Marchesi held discussions in Beijing on 6 September with Deputy Foreign Minister Li Baodong on matters related to collaboration on the implementation of resolution 1540 (2004), including the comprehensive review of the resolution. On the same day he also held discussions at the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association with its Director-General, Changhe Li, Secretary-General, Kai Chen, and senior staff.
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 the 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 www.un.org/sc/1540/.