NEW YORK- The United Nations biennial meeting of states began July 16 in New York. The group met
to discuss implementing the UN Program of Action to Prevent, Combat and
Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons Program.
Lithuania's
Permanent Representative to the UN Dalius ÄŒekuolis chaired the meeting. This
meeting will continue until July 18.
During the meeting of states, four key topics will be discussed: international
cooperation and assistance in solving problems related to small arms;
management of stockpiles; illicit arms brokering and marking and
identification. The meeting should also project future objectives for the UN
small arms process.
Since 2004, Lithuania has
allotted more than half a million Litas to various disarmament projects in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan,
Belarus, Georgia, Moldova
and Ukraine.
Lithuania
funds mine-clearing operations and chairs the Standing Committee on Mine
Clearance of the Mine Ban Convention and the international conference of the
Protocol on Explosive Remnants of War of the Convention on Certain Conventional
Weapons.
