(Peru, 12 Dec. 2013) – For the first time, UNLIREC and the Peruvian Ministry of Defence joined forces to expand the capacity of the defence sector (joint command, army, armed forces and police) on a wide gamut of issues related to disarmament and non-proliferation. This intense one-day seminar dealt with themes ranging from the disarmament-related clauses found in the UN Charter to prominent UN figures dedicated to advancing the international security agenda and from the international normative framework surrounding the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to the new Arms Trade Treaty aimed at regulating the conventional arms trade.
This disarmament advocacy initiative forms part of a wider UNLIREC Programme designed to increase the capacity of States to implement international disarmament agreements with a view to strengthening the implementation and reporting on these instruments. With this purpose in mind, great emphasis is placed on promoting the submission of UN transparency reports, including the UN Report on Military expenditures (http://www.un.org/disarmament/convarms/Milex/) and the UN Register of Conventional Arms (http://www.un.org/disarmament/convarms/Register/). Both reports – available on-line – serve the indispensable objective of building confidence among States and helping to avoid conflict and an unnecessary rise in tensions.
UNLIREC’s Disarmament and Non-proliferation Seminar is also available to the wider diplomatic community from all 33 Latin American and Caribbean States. Those governmental institutions interested in benefitting from this programme are invited to write to [information@unlirec.org].
UNLIREC, as the regional organ of the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, seeks to advance the cause of practical disarmament in Latin America and the Caribbean as part of its commitment to support Member States in their implementation of international disarmament and non-proliferation instruments, in particular, the UN 2001 Programme of Action on Small Arms.
For more information about UNLIREC, visit its web page [www.unlirec.com]. For any questions, contact Amanda Cowl, Political Affairs Officer, at [cowl@unlirec.org].