DYB2011-Part-II-web

Regional disarmament
The LAS Ministers of Foreign Affairs Council adopted Resolution
7362 (Extraordinary Session—15/5/2011), entitled “United Arab position
on practical steps to free the Middle East from nuclear weapons”, regarding
the convening of the conference in 2012 on the establishment of a zone in
the Middle East free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass
destruction. The resolution expressed concerns regarding the delays in
appointing the facilitator and the host Government for the 2012 Conference.
It also established a high-level official committee from the Arab Ministries of
Foreign Affairs and the LAS to coordinate Arab positions and to follow-up on
the preparations of the conference in 2012 on the Middle East.
The LAS Ministers of Foreign Affairs Council also adopted Resolution
7392 (Ordinary Session—13/9/2011), entitled “Threats of Israeli nuclear
weapons and other weapons of mass destruction on international peace and
Arab national security”. The resolution looked into Arab coordination at the
fifty-fifth session of the IAEA General Conference and preparations for the
conference in 2012 on the Middle East.
United Nations Development Programme
In 2011, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) sought
to ensure the linkage of small arms control to broader armed violence
reduction programmes, including establishing rule of law and building better
and stronger governance institutions. Its support included the strengthening
of institutional capacities to respond to crime and violence and tackling the
challenge of small arms proliferation.
In South Sudan, with technical support from UNDP, the Bureau for
Community Security and Small Arms Control became an active participant in
the programme of the Regional Centre on Small Arms, with which it worked
closely to define South Sudan’s State-level disarmament strategy. The Bureau
is the principal national Government body on small arms and light weapons
(SALW) control and is embedded in the Ministry of Interior. In Burundi,
UNDP assisted in the development and adoption of the National Action Plan
for 2011 to 2015 for the control and management of SALW and civilian
disarmament. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the establishment
of offices of the National Commission for Control of Small Arms and Light
Weapons and for Armed Violence Reduction in four provinces was initiated
with UNDP support. In addition, a five-year National Action Plan on the
control of SALW was officially adopted on 9 July.
In Liberia, UNDP and the United Nations Mission in Liberia supported
the efforts of the local government to collect and destroy 12 rifles, 3,708
rounds of ammunition and 156 unexploded ordnance after funding awareness
campaigns on crime and armed violence reduction. In Kenya, UNDP
strengthened the capacity of the Kenya National Focal Point on Small Arms
to coordinate weapons destruction in different regions. Additionally, 80,000
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