1540 Committee Chair Briefs 

(Note: The final summary of this meeting will be available at a later time.)

Ahead of the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of a resolution aiming to prevent non-State actors from acquiring weapons of mass destruction, the head of the Security Council Committee tasked with its implementation today briefed the organ on the work of that subsidiary body over the past year.

On 28 April 2004, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1540 (2004) under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, affirming that the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and their means of delivery constitutes a threat to international peace and security.  The resolution obliges States, inter alia, to refrain from supporting non-State actors from developing, acquiring, manufacturing, possessing, transporting, transferring or using such weapons and their means of delivery.

At the outset of the meeting, a procedural vote on the meeting’s provisional agenda was requested by the representative of the Russian Federation.  Having received the requisite number of votes in favour, the Council adopted the agenda and proceeded with the meeting.

José Javier de la Gasca (Ecuador), Chair of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004), briefing the Council on the Committee’s work since 23 March 2023, stated that the Council’s recognition of the severe threat posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to international peace and security was a “pivotal moment” in the international community’s response to prevent it. “States have continued to make efforts towards the full implementation of the resolution, which remains a long-term task,” he reported.

Noting that the Committee held seven formal and one informal meeting in 2023 and has held three formal meetings to date in 2024, he acknowledged that Member States are in the best position to identify effective national practices.  To that end, he recognized the need to promote the sharing of experience, including through voluntary peer reviews and other means, to evaluate and reinforce effective practices. 

Alongside detailing other facets of its activities, he said that the Committee approved the appointment of five candidates to its Group of Experts in February 2024, which will allow the Group to be better resourced to assist the Committee in its work.  “The Committee will continue discussing the issue of the remaining vacancy in the spirit of cooperation,” he added, also informing the Council of the Committee’s intention to hold an open briefing this year in accordance with resolution 2663 (2022) on the status of implementation of resolution 1540 (2004).



https://press.un.org/en/2024/sc15644.doc.htm