Austria to donate €100,000 to UN’s anti-small arms centre in Asia-Pacific

Austria will contribute €100,000 to a United Nations project to curb the illicit flows of small arms and light weapons in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the world body’s Office for Disarmament Affairs.

The funds, pledged by Austria on 5 May, will go towards the UN Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific, which requires $2.2 million for its projects and to bolster its institutional capacity.

This Centre, which was established by the General Assembly in 1987, will relocate to Kathmandu, Nepal, this July and covers 43 countries.

It relies on voluntary contributions for its staffing needs, operations, activities and initiatives. Since the start of this year, it has received contributions from Member States, including Turkey, the Republic of Korea, Pakistan and Thailand.

To combat the illicit brokering of small arms and light weapons in Asia and the Pacific, the Centre seeks to hold three sub-regional workshops to boost the capacities of the region’s countries to tackle the challenge by strengthening legislation and administrative procedures; improving national licensing control systems; and promoting information-sharing and judicial cooperation among States.