United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/69/74

Sixty-ninth session

Agenda item 97 (g)

The General Assembly,

Mindful of the provisions of Article 11, paragraph 1, of the Charter of the United Nations, in which it is stipulated that a function of the General Assembly is to consider the general principles of cooperation in the maintenance of international peace and security, including the principles governing disarmament and arms limitation,

Recalling its resolutions 40/151 G of 16 December 1985, 41/60 D of 3 December 1986, 42/39 J of 30 November 1987 and 43/76 D of 7 December 1988 on the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa and its resolutions 46/36 F of 6 December 1991 and 47/52 G of 9 December 1992 on regional disarmament, including confidence-building measures,

Recalling also its subsequent resolutions on the Regional Centre, the most recent of which is resolution 68/61 of 5 December 2013,

Recalling further its resolution 67/48 of 3 December 2012, in which the General Assembly recognized the role of women in disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control,

Reaffirming the role of the Regional Centre in promoting disarmament, peace and security at the regional level,

Welcoming the continuing and deepening cooperation between the Regional Centre, the African Union and African subregional organizations, in particular their institutions in the fields of disarmament, peace and security, as well as between the Centre and relevant United Nations bodies and programmes in Africa, and considering the communiqué adopted by the Peace and Security Council of the African Union at its 200th meeting, held in Addis Ababa on 21 August 2009,

Recalling the decision taken by the Executive Council of the African Union at its eighth ordinary session, held in Khartoum from 16 to 21 January 2006, in which the Council called upon member States to make voluntary contributions to the Regional Centre to maintain its operations,

Recalling also the call by the Secretary-General for continued financial and in kind support from Member States, which would enable the Regional Centre to discharge its mandate in full and to respond more effectively to requests for assistance from African States,

1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General;

2. Welcomes the continental dimension of the activities of the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa in response to the evolving needs of African Member States and the region’s new and emerging challenges in the areas of disarmament, peace and security, including maritime security;

3. Also welcomes the undertaking by the Regional Centre to provide capacity-building, technical assistance programmes and advisory services to the African Union Commission, subregional organizations and African Member States on the control of small arms and light weapons, including on stockpile management and destruction, the Arms Trade Treaty and issues related to weapons of mass destruction, as detailed in the report of the Secretary-General;

4. Further welcomes the contribution of the Regional Centre to continental disarmament, peace and security, in particular its assistance to the African Union Commission in the elaboration and implementation of the African Union Strategy on the Control of Illicit Proliferation, Circulation and Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons and the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Strategy and in the elaboration of the African Union Common Position on an Arms Trade Treaty, as well as its assistance to the African Commission on Nuclear Energy in its implementation of the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Pelindaba);

5. Welcomes efforts by the Regional Centre to promote the role and representation of women in disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control activities;

6. Notes with appreciation the tangible achievements of the Regional Centre and the impact of the assistance that it provided to Central African States in the elaboration and implementation of the Central African Convention for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, Their Ammunition and All Parts and Components That Can Be Used for Their Manufacture, Repair and Assembly (Kinshasa Convention), as well as the substantive support provided by the Centre to the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa, to Central and West African States in the elaboration of their respective common positions on the Arms Trade Treaty, to West Africa on the implementation of the Economic Community of West African States Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, Their Ammunition and Other Related Materials and on security sector reform initiatives, to East Africa on programmes to control brokering of small arms and light weapons and to African Member States in the implementation of Security Council resolution 1540 (2004) of 28 April 2004 and of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction;

7. Commends the Regional Centre for the support and assistance that it provided to African States, upon request, on the Arms Trade Treaty, including through the organization of subregional and regional seminars and workshops;

8. Urges all States, as well as international governmental and non governmental organizations and foundations, to make voluntary contributions to enable the Regional Centre to carry out its programmes and activities and meet the needs of the African States;

9. Urges, in particular, States members of the African Union to make voluntary contributions to the Trust Fund for the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa in conformity with the decision taken by the Executive Council of the African Union in Khartoum in January 2006;

10. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to facilitate close cooperation between the Regional Centre and the African Union, in particular in the areas of disarmament, peace and security;

11. Also requests the Secretary-General to continue to provide the Regional Centre with the support necessary for greater achievements and results;

12. Further requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its seventieth session on the implementation of the present resolution;

13. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventieth session, under the item entitled “Review and implementation of the Concluding Document of the Twelfth Special Session of the General Assembly”, the sub-item entitled “United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa”.

62nd plenary meeting 2 December 2014