Insights on the 1540 Committee
South Africa, as Chair of the Council’s Committee on resolution 1540 (on weapons of mass destruction and terrorism), has informed the Council that the Committee has delayed release of its three-year report from 24 April to 24 May. The Committee was required by resolution 1810 (2008), which renewed the 1540 Committee for a further three years, to produce a report on compliance of resolution 1540 at the end of its mandate.
It is understood that this delay is owing to the length and technical nature of the report (drawn from the report of the panel of experts to the Committee), rather than due to any particular difficulty in the negotiations. It seems Committee members have been negotiating line by line for weeks over the lengthy report (the 2008 report on implementation was over 70 pages long). The Committee had been simultaneously negotiating this report and the resolution to renew its mandate (adopted on 20 April as resolution 1977) and Committee members seem to feel that a short break to allow members to reflect upon the renewal and the contents of the report will be beneficial.
In line with resolution 1977, the Committee is also due to submit its annual programme of work to the Council by the end of May.
