CNS Conducts Workshop on Implementing UNSC Resolution 1540 in Uzbekistan

On February 10-11, 2009, the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, conducted a training workshop in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 (UNSCR 1540) in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The U.S. Department of State provided financial support for the event.

Uzbekistan UNSC Resolution 1540 Workshop attendees.

UNSCR 1540, supplemented by Resolution 1673 (2006) and Resolution 1810 (2008), recognizes that national governments are responsible for establishing effective domestic controls to prevent trafficking of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and related materials and requires all states to put in place and enforce effective accounting, security, and physical protection measures, as well as border and export controls. In 2006, the UN Security Council emphasized the need for member states and international, regional, and sub-regional organizations to share experiences and lessons learned in the areas covered by UNSCR 1540. According to the Resolution, the Security Council also recognized that some states may require assistance in implementing its provisions within their territories, and invited states in a position to do so to provide assistance in the legal and regulatory area, infrastructure development, and other aspects of implementing UNSCR 1540.

In its national report submitted to the UN 1540 Committee, Uzbekistan expressed an interest in receiving additional assistance to implement UNSCR 1540. As the report stated, Uzbekistan "understands the seriousness and importance of the Security Council resolution and, in order for it to implement the provisions of the resolution, there is an acute need for highly qualified specialists. It therefore wishes to take this opportunity to train its national personnel in accordance with international standards (customs agencies, border troops, national guard, and monitoring and control bodies)." Thus, the main objectives of the Tashkent workshop were: 1) to increase relevant Uzbek government officials and experts' awareness of 1540 issues, particularly implementation requirements; 2) to provide comparative examples of other states' successful implementation of UNSCR 1540 obligations; 3) to assist in the identification of country-specific needs and to acquaint the Uzbek government with resources available to fully implement the requirements of UNSCR 1540.

The workshop opened with welcome remarks from Farkhad Khamraev of the Uzbek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Duane Butcher of the U.S. Department of State, and Amy Smithson, senior fellow at CNS. The workshop agenda, comprising seven sessions, featured presentations on the following:

• existing nuclear, chemical, and biological proliferation threats, including threats specific to Central Asia and WMD proliferation networks;
• UNSCR 1540 requirements and resulting obligations for national governments;
• UN 1540 Committee activities and its matrix developed to review national reports, country-specific needs and related issues, such as implementation strategies, mechanisms, and activities;
• development of national action plans and requests for assistance to fully implement UNSCR 1540;
• multilateral supplier regimes and international initiatives to limit or prevent proliferation;
• essential components of an effective export control system, including the development of a legal system and a licensing procedure, catch-all controls, intangible technology controls, end-use/user controls, red flags, industry compliance etc.;
• ways to address gaps in the legislative area, export controls, customs, and border controls and in securing nuclear, biological, and chemical materials;
• Uzbekistan's needs in implementing UNSCR 1540 with a particular focus on specific steps the country should take to make its export control system fully functional; and
• cooperative assistance programs in Uzbekistan and Central Asia.

The workshop concluded with a general discussion on needs, challenges, opportunities, and mechanisms for implementation of measures related to UNSCR 1540 and ways to provide assistance to Uzbekistan.

More than 30 representatives participated in the workshop, from Uzbekistan's Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis (parliament); ministries and government agencies, including the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Health and the State Customs Committee; and the Institute of Nuclear Physics and Scientific Research Institute of Veterinary Science. In addition to CNS staff, the pool of experts included export control officials, nonproliferation experts, and industry representatives from the UN 1540 Committee, UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Germany, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and the Verification Research, Training and Information Center (VERTIC). Representatives of the European Union's BOMCA/CADAP program and Office of the OSCE Project Coordinator in Uzbekistan also attended the workshop.

The workshop has become another example of the CNS' active involvement in facilitating the process of implementing UNSCR 1540. In October 2006, the Center organized a regional workshop on implementing UNSCR 1540 in Central Asia and the Caucasus in Almaty, Kazakhstan. As a result of recommendations adopted by the Almaty workshop, in October, 2007, CNS conducted a similar workshop on implementing UNSCR 1540 in the Kyrgyz Republic in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.