Disarmament

International, regional and subregional organizations will participate in a meeting on cooperation in promoting the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1540 (2004) at the Hofburg Congress Centre in Vienna, Austria, from 15 to 16 December.

Saudi Arabia will host a “Workshop on Security Council resolution 1540 (2004) concerning preventing terrorists from gaining access to weapons of mass destruction” in Riyadh on 11-12 December.

The Inter Institutional Training Course on Combating Illicit Firearms Trafficking (IITC) of the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UN-LiREC) has won recognition for “Best Practice” in the category of Regional Arms Control Initiatives.

The Ninth United Nations-Republic of Korea Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Issues will take place on Jeju Island, Republic of Korea, from 2 to 3 December. The annual event is organized jointly by the Office for Disarmament Affairs through its Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific and the Government of the Republic of Korea.

The 2010 Disarmament Fellowship Programme will commence its third and final segment at United Nations Headquarters, today, in New York.

A regional United Nations workshop on implementing United Nations Security Council resolution 1540 (2004) will be held from 28 September to 1 October 2010 in Hanoi, Viet Nam.

Unblocking the long fallow Conference on Disarmament was the subject of a ministerial meeting convened today by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who urged delegations to recall that body’s status as the “undisputed home of international arms control efforts”, which even in the complex political and security context of the cold war had managed to conclude far-reaching and forward-looking treaties.

The Twenty-Second United Nations Conference on Disarmament Issues will be held in Saitama, Japan, from 25 to 27 August. Hosted by the Government of Japan and the City of Saitama, the Conference is organized by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs through its Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific.

The Fourth Biennial Meeting of States to consider the implementation of the 2001 Programme of Action aimed at eradicating the illicit small arms trade today adopted by consensus its outcome document, as it concluded its week-long session. Sergio Duarte, United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, praised all delegates and organizers for a successful session and for reaching a consensus on the important outcome.

Weapons-tracing data was currently often scattered, unreliable and fragmented, hindering the effectiveness of the world’s attack on the illegal small arms trade, many delegates told the Fourth Biennial Meeting on combating the trade today, as States also began consideration of its final document by agreeing on the annex covering the international tracing instrument.