Heightened awareness about weapons of mass destruction, Security Council told

The committee tasked with monitoring the Security Council resolution about the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction has substantially raised awareness about the dangers posed by the links between such weapons and non-State groups since it was formed, its chairman said today.

Ambassador Jorge Urbina of Costa Rica, chairman of the so-called 1540 Committee, which is named after the relevant Council resolution from 2004, told a Council meeting that the threat from non-State actors remains significant and the international community must therefore act with vigilance to combat it.

Many United Nations Member States had taken specific measures to implement the resolution, such as adopting new laws and enforcement programmes, creating assistance schemes and executing new policies, Mr. Urbina said.

But he added that some Member States need to step up their efforts, especially in trying to overcome potential or real links between weapons of mass destruction and non-State actors, such as terrorist groups and black marketeers.

Mr. Urbina made his briefing as the Committee presented its latest report on the resolution to the Council.