India to host conference aimed at checking proliferation of WMDs

India will next week host a global conference aimed at helping nations to implement a UN resolution that seeks to check proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons to terrorists and other non-state actors, the External Affairs Ministry said today.

The ministry, in cooperation with Germany and the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), will host the India-Wiesbaden Conference 2018 from April 16-17, 2018, at the Federation House here.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) will be the industry partner for the event titled Securing Global Supply Chains through Government-Industry Partnerships towards Effective Implementation of UNSC Resolution 1540'.

Representatives from the government and Industry of 39 countries, as well as experts from the UNSC 1540 Committee and UN Office for Disarmament Affairs in New York, will be participating in the two-day conference, the MEA said.

The Conference provides an opportunity to participants to share experiences on their export control systems and to identify legal and technical assistance, action plans and challenges in national implementation of UNSC 1540, it said.

The UN Security Council Resolution 1540 of 2004 establishes legally binding obligations on all states to adopt and enforce appropriate and effective measures to prevent the proliferation to non-state actors of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and their delivery systems.

It requires, therefore that states implement appropriate and effective measures to prevent non-state actors such as terrorists, from obtaining access to weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

The Wiesbaden Process was initiated by Germany in 2012 to strengthen the implementation of UNSC 1540 through government-industry partnerships.

India, with its long standing commitment to international non-proliferation, has established a legally backed robust export control system to implement UNSC 1540, the ministry said.

The conference is being held amid reports of an alleged chemical attack in Douma, Syria.