Division 2.1 Implementing Agency – the Organization of American States (OAS)

The OAS has been actively supporting Member States’ non-proliferation efforts in the Americas since 2005. In 2010 the CICTE Secretariat was given a specific mandate to develop a programme to assist in the implementation of UNSCR 1540 (2004). Consequently, a strategic partnership was formed between the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), the 1540 Committee Group of Experts, and the OAS/CICTE Secretariat to implement a technical assistance and capacity building pilot project in the Americas to facilitate Member States’ efforts to implement the different areas covered by UNSCR 1540 (2004).

One of OAS/CICTE’s main objectives has been to work with countries whose governments are fully engaged in the physical protection and accounting of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence (‘CBRN’) materials as part of those states’ non-proliferation efforts. Another objective has been to seek to help the beneficiary states implement UNSCR 1540 (2004) by identifying specific needs and challenges in order to tailor legislative assistance and specialised capacity-building activities aimed at strengthening Member States’ preventive framework against the use of CBRN materials by non-state actors.

The regional framework provided by OAS carries a comparative advantage due to the transnational nature of the threats, which necessarily entail cooperation between neighbouring countries in order to meet those challenges. CICTE’s regional approach to these issues will ensure consistency so that efforts are not duplicated and it can maximise efficiency. In this regard, the OAS, as the premier regional organisation in the Americas, is in a unique position in the hemisphere to demonstrate effectiveness due to its existing network of national points of contact, its extensive presence throughout the region and its ability to work in the field with the proposed beneficiary countries.

More generally, OAS/CICTE has worked closely with the governments of numerous OAS Member States and achieved important results in the biosafety and biosecurity area. For example, OAS/CICTE has assisted Member States in various ways, such as:

• drafting 1540 national action plans and strengthening legal and regulatory frameworks;

• building capacity to prevent and combat nuclear, radiological, chemical and biological material trafficking and smuggling;

• promoting the exchange of effective practices through the use of the peer review methodology; and

• facilitating coordination at the political level to identify areas for regional and sub‐regional cooperation.