Global Security Newswire

A U.N. Security Council measure adopted without dissent on Wednesday presses governments to comply with a 2004 resolution demanding domestic efforts to prevent "nonstate actors" from obtaining weapons of mass destruction, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, April 1).

All 192 U.N. member nations should meet the requirements of Resolution 1540, and governments that have not submitted a declaration on their efforts to comply with measure should take the step "without delay," the Security Council stated. The body did not specify the number of nations that have prepared declarations or name countries that have yet to submit a document.

The 2004 resolution requires U.N. states to enact domestic measures to prevent rogue actors from producing, obtaining, or moving weapons of mass destruction, associated goods and their delivery systems.

The Wednesday declaration renews for one decade the authorization for the Security Council panel charged with overseeing execution of Resolution 1540; the mandate, originally scheduled to lapse on Monday, is now set to remain in effect through April 25, 2021. This week's measure provides the panel with additional support, including a call for U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to select a team of specialists to assist the body (Edith Lederer, Associated Press/Winnipeg Free Press, April 20).

Ban should "establish, in consultation with the 1540 Committee, a group of up to eight experts … acting under the direction and purview of the committee, composed of individuals with the appropriate experience and knowledge to provide the committee with expertise, to assist the committee in carrying out its mandate,” a U.N. press release quoted the Security Council as saying.

The committee should carry out a thorough assessment of progress in implementing the 2004 resolution after five years and ahead of a possible additional extension of its authorization, the measure says (U.N. release, April 20).

Wednesday's Resolution 1977 "sharpens the tools" of the 1540 implementation panel, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said in remarks reported by AP. The body aids governments in preparing relevant legislation, overseeing security for potential WMD ingredients and guarding against their transfer to other states, and bolstering police measures and protective efforts at border crossings.

The White House praised the Wednesday resolution and noted a $3 million Obama administration pledge to support committee activities. "The continuation and enhancement of the (committee's) work is an important element of the United States' nonproliferation objectives," the White House said in a statement (Lederer, Associated Press).