President, allow me to make three brief points.
Firstly, resolution 1540 (2004) is a cornerstone of the international non-proliferation architecture.
Since its adoption, however, the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction has not diminished. Instead, new challenges have emerged.
Against this backdrop, the United Kingdom reiterates its call for all States to implement their obligations under this resolution in full.
Secondly, the United Kingdom remains committed to assisting States in improving their national implementation, including through offering legal and regulatory expertise to help strengthen controls over chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear materials.
In parallel, however, and underpinning the full implementation of resolution 1540, is the need for the 1540 Committee and Group of Experts to be able to function properly.
Therefore, we call on all members to engage constructively to agree a robust and forward-looking Programme of Work.
This will help enable the committee to take forward resolution 1540’s ambitions, in a full and in timely manner.
Thirdly and finally, President, we also note with concern that unwarranted objections from some committee members have prevented the Group of Experts from attending outreach events to focus on specific thematic and regional issues related to implementation.
Such activity is critical for the Group of Experts to execute its functions, including to provide insight and technical support to Member States in their implementation of 1540.
The UK, therefore, calls for the immediate reversal of any such action which might hinder this committee’s vital work.
