Disarmament

Saying “it is all too easy for warlords, terrorists, criminal syndicates and all sorts of human right abusers to get sophisticated weapons”, United Nations Messenger of Peace Michael Douglas today delivered a short video message expressing his support for the Arms Trade Treaty.

The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, through its Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa, jointly with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, will donate a small arms and light weapons marking machine to both Burkina Faso and Niger to fight small arms proliferation.

The landmark of 50 ratifications of the Arms Trade Treaty was reached this morning at a joint ceremony held in the framework of the 2014 Treaty Event. Today, eight States deposited their instruments of ratification with the Secretary-General, and two States signed the Treaty.

A delegation of the Security Council’s 1540 Committee has concluded a four-day visit to Malawi, conducted upon invitation by the Government.

Concluding its week-long session today, the Fifth Biennial Meeting of States on small arms and light weapons adopted by consensus an outcome document that highlighted the international community’s renewed commitment to preventing, combating and eradicating the illicit trade.

Representatives of international, regional and non-governmental groups discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the United Nations small arms action plan, with many urging States to fully implement the 2001 instrument and others cautioning against infringing legitimate business and personal rights, as the Fifth Biennial Meeting of States continued its session today.

International cooperation and assistance in capacity-building and technology transfer were key to the implementation of the United Nations Programme of Action to counter the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, delegates concurred as the fifth Biennial Meeting of States moved into day three of its session.

New weapon design and production methods — including the use of “3D” printing and non-traditional materials, such as polymers — had the potential to profoundly influence how weapons were marked and traced, and records kept, delegates heard today as the Fifth Biennial Meeting of States to combat the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons moved into day two of its session.

Against a backdrop of fragile security, illegal guns, grenades and rocket launchers had ripped communities apart while fuelling terrorism, and would require strong collective efforts to halt their spread, delegates heard today as the fifth Biennial Meeting of States to combat the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons opened its 2014 session.

An advanced training course for experts who were nominated by Member States to the roster of the Secretary-General’s Mechanism for Investigation of Alleged Use of Chemical and Biological Weapons will be held from 9 to 14 June, in Umeå, Sweden.