Disarmament in Review
Bangkok, 20-22 March 2019 – As part of its region-wide initiative to support States with the safe and secure management of conventional ammunition, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) organized the Southeast Asia Regional Outreach Seminar on Trade and Trafficking of Illicit Conventional Ammunition, in Bangkok, Thailand, on 20-22 March 2019.
In response to the challenges posed by unsecured or poorly managed national ammunition stockpiles, the Seminar continued the Centre’s efforts to foster regional dialogue between Southeast Asian States on matters of conventional ammunition. By providing a forum to share practices and engage with experts on how to address these challenges the Seminar aimed to realize the “Saving lives” pillar of the Secretary‑General’s agenda for disarmament — Securing Our Common Future — specifically action 22 on securing excessive and poorly maintained stockpiles, as well as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly Goal 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions.
Government experts from across Southeast Asia, working in the field of ammunition management, took part in vibrant discussions, both with each other, and with representatives from the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), UNRCPD, the Ammunition Management Advisory Team (AMAT), and non‑governmental organizations, particularly Nonviolence International and the Golden West Humanitarian Foundation. Working together to identify urgent issues pertaining to the accumulation of ammunition surpluses and the means to effectively address this matter in order to reduce the dual risk of unintended explosions and diversion to illicit markets, the group also benefited from expert sensitization to tools like the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATG) and the UN SaferGuard platform, and examined regional trends and implications for safety and security, as well as possible joint responses and synergies between global frameworks and instruments.
Made possible with financial support from the Government of Germany, the Seminar allocated its entire third day to roundtable consultations in support of the work of a United Nations group of governmental experts on problems arising from the accumulation of conventional ammunition in surplus, to be convened in 2020 in accordance with UN General Assembly resolution 72/55.
For further information, please contact Yuriy Kryvonos, Director of the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific, via e-mail at info@unrcpd.org
