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UN Regional Disarmament Centre Supports Myanmar to Build Capacity in Small Arms Control
Group photo of workshop attendees In cooperation with the Government of Myanmar, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) has just completed a two-day workshop on 15, 16 May 2014 to assist government agencies involved in small arms and light weapons control to effectively implement the UN Programme of Action (UN PoA) to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons. The workshop, which took place in Nay Pyi Taw, gathered around 50 government officials across the security sector to discuss the…
World Military Spending: Trends and Implications
Ms. Virginia Gamba delivers remarks at the event On Monday 14 April 2014, the Global Day of Action on Military Spending, an event titled “world military spending: trends and implications” took place at UN headquarters in New York. This event was co-organized by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), with the sponsorship of the Permanent Mission of Japan. Ms. Virginia Gamba, the Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, welcomed the participants and opened the event, noting that “this initiative…
UNLIREC and Peru intensify collaboration in arms control through stockpile management training
Workshop attendees on best practices and international standards in stockpile management The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in cooperation with the National Regulatory Entity for Security Services, Firearms, Ammunition and Explosives for Civil Use (SUCAMEC) of Peru, undertook a workshop on best practices and international standards in stockpile management from 21-23 April 2014 in Lima. With the objective of installing permanent technical capacities among operational personnel of the SUCAMEC and…
Advanced Training Course for States of the East African and Southern African sub-regions on conventional ammunition management utilizing the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATG)
Getting ready for the training course Stockpiled ammunition can become unsafe if it is not properly stored and secured. Unintended explosions of ammunition depots have affected over 60 countries worldwide, leading to thousands of casualties over the past 15 years. Moreover, when depots are not well managed, they can become an unremitting source for diversion of ammunition to armed groups and criminals, thus sustaining conflicts and armed criminal activity. In order to address these urgent issues, all 193 countries of the United Nations have requested the development of the…
South Africa hosts workshop on reporting under Security Council Resolution 1540
Attendees of the Security Council Resolution 1540 workshop in South Africa The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, as well as their means of delivery, constitutes a threat to international peace and security. Acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1540 in April 2004, obliging all States to refrain from providing any form of support to non-State actors that attempt to develop, acquire, manufacture, possess, transport, transfer or use weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery. Under the resolution, all…
Law Imperative: A World Free of Nuclear Weapons
Ms. Virginia Gamba delivers remarks at the Education Forum of the Lawyers Committee for Nuclear Policy On Wednesday 2 April 2014, The City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law and the Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy (LCNP) organized an educational forum “Law’s Imperative: A World Free of Nuclear Weapons” which gave the New York City audience multilateral perspectives for a world without nuclear weapons. The forum brought together guests from the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), academic institutions, and civil society as well as distinguished experts in…
Ceremony at UN Raises Total Number of Ratifications to the Arms Trade Treaty to 31
First Anniversary of the adoption of the Arms Trade Treaty The 2nd of April 2014 marked the first year anniversary of the adoption of the historic Arms Trade Treaty by the UN General Assembly. For the occasion, a ceremony was held at the UN Headquarters in New York, where 18 countries also jointly deposited their instruments of ratification to the Treaty. Moderated by the Office of Disarmament affairs, The Deputy Secretary- General, Jan Eliasson, made a short statement at the ceremony in which he lauded how the ATT is proof that change can come, and how the…
Kazakhstan hosted an international workshop on the tenth anniversary of UN Security Council resolution 1540 (2004)
Kazakhstan Flag On the occasion of the 10th year anniversary of the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 1540 (2004), the Government of Kazakhstan hosted, in cooperation with UNODA, an international workshop entitled “The Contribution of UN Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004) to Regional and Global Disarmament and Non-Proliferation” on 11-12 March in Astana. The Security Council, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, unanimously adopted resolution 1540 (2004) on 28 April 2004 obliging all States to refrain from providing any form of support to non-…
West African workshop on the implementation of the International Tracing Instrument (ITI)
The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), through its Regional Centre for Peace and the Disarmament in Africa (UNREC), and with financial support of the European Union, organized a sub-regional workshop on the International Tracing Instrument (known as the ITI) from 18 to 19 March 2014 in Lomé, Togo focusing on the marking, recordkeeping and tracing of illicit small arms and light weapons (SALW). The workshop brought together government representatives and members of SALW national commissions from Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea…
UN Office for Disarmament Affairs Meets Youth Representatives of Soka Gakkai Japan and of SGI-USA Engaged in Disarmament Issues
Staff of UNODA with youth representatives of Soka Gakkai Japan and of SGI-USA (New York) On Tuesday 18 March 2014, staff of the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) met with youth representatives of Soka Gakkai Japan and of SGI-USA working in the field of nuclear disarmament. Ten youth representatives from Japan and seven from the United States visited the UNODA for the first time to engage in a dialogue about nuclear disarmament. Soka Gakkai International (SGI), a lay Buddhist organization with 12 million members in 192 countries and territories, has been in…