Asia-Pacific States to Convene in Kathmandu to Promote Sustainable, Safe, Secure Ammunition Management

Kathmandu, 4 December (United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs) – On 4 and 5 December, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and its Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD), in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal and with financial support from Germany, will organize an Informal Regional Meeting on the New Global Framework for Through-life Conventional Ammunition Management in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Inadequate through-life conventional ammunition management fuels insecurity.  The diversion, illicit trafficking and misuse of conventional ammunition, including small arms and light weapons ammunition, has been a catalyst for armed conflict, pervasive violence and acts of crime and terrorism.  Diverted conventional ammunition is also frequently used by non-State actors for the manufacture of improvised explosive devices.  Moreover, poorly managed conventional ammunition stockpiles can result in unplanned explosions at munition sites with disastrous humanitarian and socioeconomic consequences, including death, injury, displacement and environmental damage.

The Global Framework, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2023, offers a comprehensive solution.  Covering all types of conventional ammunition, it outlines 15 objectives to strengthen safety, security, and sustainability at every stage — from manufacture to disposal.

The regional meeting aims to raise awareness of this new instrument and the political commitments it contains.  Officials from 20 Asia-Pacific States, alongside UN entities, regional organizations, non-governmental organizations and civil society actors, will share expertise and explore solutions tailored to national and region-specific needs in ammunition management.  Discussions will focus on best practices for ammunition safety and security to mitigate risks such as unplanned explosions and diversion to wrong hands.

Participants will also examine synergies with initiatives under the women, peace, and security agenda and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  During this segment, they will focus on the Global Framework’s potential as a tool to enhance security and create conditions conducive to sustainable development, and explore Objective 14 on strengthening gender mainstreaming and promoting gender equality in through-life conventional ammunition management.

Moreover, participants will discuss regional and subregional initiatives and approaches to arms control in the Asia-Pacific region and explore how these efforts can support the implementation of the Global Framework.

More information on the Global Framework for Through-life Conventional Ammunition Management is available at:  https://disarmament.unoda.org/convarms/ammunition/#gfammunition

For additional details on the regional meeting, please contact Nora Allgaier, UNODA, at email:  nora.allgaier@un.org; or Ida Scarpino, UNRCPD, at email:  ida.scarpino@un.org.