Disarmament in Review
From 23 to 25 April, the Government of Cambodia partnered with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) to host a workshop on strengthening the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1540 (2004). The event in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, brought together over 60 representatives from various ministries and agencies, as well as partner States, and international and regional organizations, to develop what could become the first voluntary National Implementation Action Plan for resolution 1540 (2004) to be adopted in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.
Cambodia also began preparing a report on its latest steps to implement the resolution, contributing towards efforts by the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004) (1540 Committee) to compile such updates for the resolution’s next comprehensive review in 2027.
Adopted unanimously by the United Nations Security Council in April 2004, resolution 1540 (2004) places obligations on States to prevent non-State actors from attempting to develop, acquire, manufacture, possess, transport, transfer or use nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons and their means of delivery. Subsequent resolutions encourage Member States, on a voluntary basis, to prepare a National Implementation Action Plan which maps out their priorities and plans to implement the resolution, and also to provide additional, updated information on steps they have taken or will take in a form of National Report.
Over three days, participants underlined the importance of cooperation among national authorities and relevant stakeholders for the full and effective implementation of resolution 1540 (2004). On the first day, theydeepened their understanding of synergies between the resolution and other international instruments, while national authorities presented their respective policies and mandates on nuclear, chemical and biological safety and security.
Over the following days, participants exchanged opinions to develop a voluntary National Implementation Action Plan. Based on advice from international experts and lessons learned from other States’ practices, as well as considerations given to domestic processes, coordination, and implementation, the group discussed and presented their priorities and timelines, conferred on relevant stakeholders to be included in the plan, and identified steps to draft and finalize it. Over the course of this workshop, a variety of international and regional organizations, partner entities, and civil society organizations — including the Biological Weapons Convention Implementation Support Unit (BWC-ISU), the European Union Partner-to-Partner (EU P2P) Export Control Programme, and the United States External Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) Program — described available assistance and shared their respective expertise to support Cambodia’s full and effective implementation of resolution 1540 (2004). In addition, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), the EU CBRN Centres of Excellence (CoE), the Verification Research, Training, and Information Centre (VERTIC), and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) delivered presentations remotely from locations across the globe.
Following the event, UNODA, in collaboration with other international and regional organizations, will continue to assist Cambodia’s national efforts to finalize its voluntary National Implementation Action Plan. This workshop has served as a platform to facilitate these concrete steps, and once completed, the plan will be submitted to the 1540 Committee.
The workshop was made possible through the generous contributions of the European Union to the United Nations Trust Fund for Regional and Global Disarmament Activities.
For more information, please contact the UNODA 1540 Support Unit at unoda-1540-unhq@un.org
