On 24 July 2017, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) co-hosted a UNSCR 1540 National Roundtable Workshop with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Antigua and Barbuda.
The event brought together representatives from a broad range of national authorities including the Ministries of Foreign Affairs; Legal Affairs; Trade and Commerce, Office of National Drug and Money Laundering Control Policy; Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Board; Analytical Services; Customs; and the Antigua and Barbuda Police and Defence Forces. Additionally, the workshop was attended by VERTIC, Stimson Centre and CARICOM’s 1540 Regional Implementation Coordinator.
The roundtable provided a forum for delivery of the findings and recommendations of UNLIREC’s National Legal Study of Antigua and Barbuda’s domestic legislative framework, as well as to introduce the national action plan concept within the Antiguan context. Dialogue exchanges were fruitful, lively and demonstrative of the strong commitment and will of the agencies and institutions around the table to continue strengthening measures and adopting effective mechanisms to combat WMD proliferation.
UNLIREC look forward to returning to St John’s in the near future to continue working with national authorities in the identification of national priorities associated with the implementation of UNSCR 1540. This collaborative event is financed in its entirety by the Government of Canada and forms part of a wider UNLIREC Programme aimed at supporting State implementation of UNSCR 1540 (2004).