Disarmament in Review
8-9 June, Mexico City, Mexico
The Government of Mexico, in cooperation with the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004) and supported by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and the Government of Germany, organized an industrial outreach conference. Government and industry representatives discussed the value of working together to ensure that materials and technology that can be misused to produce weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) or their means of delivery do not fall into the hands of terrorists and other non-State actors.
The two-day conference brought together representatives from the Pacific Alliance States (Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru) and Brazil, together with experts from 1540 Committee, the World Customs Organization and UNODA. Experts from other Member States, including Germany, the Republic of Korea and the United States of America also participated to discuss best practices and lessons learned.
With keen awareness that preventing non-State actors, including terrorists, from acquiring weapons of mass destruction is among the most important responsibilities of the international community, regulators and industry members agreed that all measures must be taken to prevent such a nightmare scenario from happening.
Participants further agreed that industry, being at the frontlines of trade and production of potentially misuse-able material and technology, remains a key component of the international security architecture to achieve the goal of non-proliferation. Regulators and industry representatives openly discussed ideas on how to establish and implement a robust export-control mechanism in the region that is not only effective in preventing proliferation but also efficient and ensures a competitive business environment.
The conference was organized under the auspices of the so-called “Wiesbaden Process”, initiated by Germany in 2012, and was the second regional industry outreach conference after the one in the Asia Pacific region hosted by the Government of the Republic of Korea.
