Mongolia to Host Capacity-Building Training for Implementation of Action Programme on Small Arms, Light Weapons in Central Asia, 16-17 August

NEW YORK, 11 August (Office for Disarmament Affairs) — The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific and the Government of Mongolia will jointly organize a training workshop on building capacity for the implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in Central Asia, to be held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on 16 and 17 August.

During the meeting, Government officials from Central Asian States working in conventional arms control, as well as representatives from the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), will exchange views and share experiences related to the Programme’s implementation, including the preparation of national reports.

The training aims to enhance the capacity of participating States to use the Programme’s reporting mechanism effectively and to demonstrate their efforts to prevent the diversion of small arms and light weapons into illicit markets.  The training will also serve as a forum for dialogue among Central Asian States in the lead-up to the third Review Conference of the Programme of Action, which will take place in June 2018.

In order to address practical implementation and introduce support tools, the training will include hands-on simulations on preparing and submitting national reports, on using the International Tracing Instrument and on elaborating national action plans.  Government officials will be provided with practical advice and skills on collecting national data.

Participants will develop a greater understanding of how Programme of Action reporting can contribute to assessing progress towards realizing target 16.4 of the Sustainable Development Goals, on significantly reducing illicit arms flows.

The workshop is supported by the United Nations Trust Facility Supporting Cooperation on Arms Regulation.

For further information, please contact Yuriy Kryvonos, Director of the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific, at email:  info@unrcpd.org.