The 10th Anniversary Issue of 1540 Compass is now available and features an article on Security Council Resolution 1540 Implementation in the Asia-Pacific by UNRCPD Director Sharon Riggle.
The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in April 2013. Japan signed the ATT on June 3, 2013, the day the Treaty opened for signature, and concluded it on May 9, 2014.
Let me recognize that in its first ten years, this landmark resolution has accomplished a great deal. Resolution 1540 has helped us make important inroads against the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. The resolution has set in motion a great number of steps by Member States. Over 30,000 measures and actions by States implementing the resolution have been reported to the 1540 Committee. This of course only tells part of the story. There have also been setbacks and disappointments, including the recent use of chemical weapons in Syria. However, through vigorous diplomatic and administrative action, and by agreement, over 90 per cent of Syria’s chemical weapons have been removed even as the conflict has intensified.
A decade after the adoption of Security Council resolution 1540 (2004),Governments around the world are working hard to implement its requirements, with Member States having enacted a large number of relevant laws and deployed a wide range of appropriate measures. The resolution’s unanimous adoption, on 28 April 2004, initiated a process by which the United Nations has been addressing the threat that weapons of mass destruction pose to international peace and security. The resolution established a programme of action to prevent non-State actors, terrorists in particular, from proliferating nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and their means of delivery.
Japan donated US$ 13.3 million to the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Action at the end of February, US$ 3.6 million of which will support mine action in Afghanistan. Maintaining its strong support for humanitarian demining, Japan is the leading donor to the United Nations efforts to eradicate landmines and Explosive Remnants of War
On this annual Day of Remembrance, we pay tribute to the victims of chemical warfare. The horrific use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic in 2013 casts a shadow over this year’s commemoration. I cannot forget the deeply shocking images I saw. The use of chemical weapons in Syria was a deplorable offense against humanity. The multinational effort to rid Syria of its chemical weapons programme shows what can be done when the international community comes together. Although there is still more to do, 90 per cent of Syria’s chemical weapons have now been either removed or destroyed.
The mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki met with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday to hand over about 210,000 signatures of citizens calling for negotiations on a treaty to ban nuclear weapons.
This commemoration provides an opportunity to pay tribute to the victims of chemical warfare, as well as to reaffirm the commitment of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to the elimination of the threat of chemical weapons, thereby promoting the goals of peace, security, and multilateralism. The Third Review Conference of States Parties to the Chemical Convention held 8-19 April 2013 in the Hague, the Netherlands, adopted by consensus a political declaration that confirms the “unequivocal commitment” of the States Parties to the global chemical weapons ban, and a comprehensive review of CWC implementation since the last Review Conference in 2008, which also maps out the OPCW’s priorities for the coming five years.
Ten years after the United Nations Security Council took “bold action” to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for intensified efforts to remove the threat posed by these weapons and to prevent terrorists from acquiring them.
Secretary-General addresses the world in a video message on the 10th anniversary of United Nations Security Council resolution 1540 against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to non-State actors. Watch the video
Written for high school and early-college students, Action for Disarmament offers practical steps to help young people mobilize, act and promote the UN’s disarmament ideals throughout their schools, communities and beyond. “This book is a call to action, to create a world where people of goodwill and instruments of peace prevail over weapons of war,” said Mr. Douglas, an Academy Award winning actor and producer, who launched the book at UN Headquarters in New York alongside High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Angela Kane, and the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, Ahmad Alhendawi. Young people worldwide have a critical role to play in raising awareness and developing new strategies to reduce the threats of weapons of mass destruction and small arms and light weapons.
Marking the Global Day of Action on Military Spending, the United Nations independent expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order called on all governments to boost transparency and cuts in military expenditures, and increase investments in nutrition, health, environmental protection and other major sustainable development challenges.
The year 2014 marks the tenth anniversary of the adoption of Security Council resolution 1540 (2004), which stipulates that all States shall refrain from providing any form of support to non-State actors attempting to acquire or use weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery. To promote international and regional cooperation in the implementation of resolution 1540 (2004), the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) has organized, jointly with the Conflict Prevention Centre of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Secretariat, a series of meetings from 7 to 11 April in Vienna. Staff and experts from the secretariats of more than 20 international and regional organizations will discuss how to enhance cooperation and information-sharing, and to identify synergies that can be exploited on issues of implementing resolution 1540 (2004) for the benefit of their respective Member States. UNODA has been promoting value-added cooperation among international and regional organizations in areas within the scope of resolution 1540 (2004) since 2010, a platform that enables organizations to identify and share their best practices and lessons learned in relation to the implementation of resolution 1540 (2004). The meetings are supported by voluntary contributions from the Governments of Norway and the United States as well as the European Union.
The UN's disarmanent head, who lead the difficult and tense negotiations on the ground in Syria over the country's use of chemical weapons. Listen to the newscast here.
I call for greater measures to involve more women at higher levels in mine action. Governments should do more to address gender in their mine action programmes and through their implementation of the Anti-personnel Mine Ban Convention. Fifteen years after it entered into force, I am encouraged that 161 States are now bound by this Convention and I call on all others to follow suit. In this effort, we can take inspiration from the rapid pace of new States that are joining the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and other international instruments aimed at the elimination of threats caused by explosive remnants of war. The United Nations has a proud record of helping millions of people in mine-affected countries. On this International Day, let us resolve to mobilize the resources, partners and resolve we need to further advance our vision of a planet free from mines.
The Secretary-General notes that one year ago today, the General Assembly adopted the landmark Arms Trade Treaty, which for the first time sets global standards for the transfer of weapons and efforts to prevent their diversion. The Secretary-General is heartened that 118 States have signed the Treaty. He welcomes the deposit today of instruments of ratification by 18 Member States, which brings the number of deposited ratifications to 31. This will generate further momentum towards the 50 ratifications needed for the Treaty’s entry into force. The Secretary-General calls on all States that have not yet done so to sign and/or ratify the ATT without delay.
On 2 April 2014, eighteen Member States of the United Nations will jointly deposit their instruments of ratification to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, as Depositary of the Treaty.
In an attempt to prevent and reduce armed violence, a number of national and regional Governments and local communities have established gun-free zones (GFZs). Obviously, such a measure cannot be taken in a vacuum; the root causes for the frequent carrying of guns in an unregulated setting must be addressed as well. But if embedded in a set of measures to reduce violence in a limited area, the establishment of GFZs may indeed contribute to improved perceptions of safety. The aim of this paper is to bring together information and experiences from practitioners and policymakers and analyze the impact of GFZs in order to determine when and where GFZs can be a valuable measure to prevent and reduce armed violence.
Compiles the resolutions and decisions of the sixty-eighth session of the General Assembly, the voting patterns in the General Assembly and the First Committee report and dates of their adoption. Contains a snapshot of votes by thematic cluster of resolution numbers, titles and votes in the sixty-eighth session of the General Assembly and in the First Committee.
