Disarmament

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.

The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs through its Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa will convene a workshop on 5 and 6 June in Lomé, Togo, to assist Portuguese-speaking States in preparing their initial reports pursuant to Security Council resolution 1540 (2004) on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by non-State actors.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, and the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, through its Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific, are jointly organizing an international workshop on information and cybersecurity in Beijing, on 5 and 6 June.

On 3 June 2013, the Arms Trade Treaty was opened for signature in New York. Since then, 118 States have signed this historic treaty that sets common international standards for the regulation of the global arms trade.

The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific is cooperating with the Government of Myanmar to organize a two-day workshop in Nay Pyi Taw on 15 and 16 May to assist Government agencies involved in small arms and light weapons control, in order to effectively implement the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons.

The Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons will hold discussions on lethal autonomous weapons systems from 13 to 16 May at the United Nations in Geneva, with the record attendance expected from representatives of States, United Nations entities, the International Committee of the Red Cross and non-governmental organizations.