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Statement by HE Gary Quinlan, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations Security Council Committee regarding the comprehensive review of the status of implementation of Resolution 1540 on Thursday 1 October 2009

Mr Chairman

The proliferation of WMD remains one of the greatest threats to international peace and security and Resolution 1540 was a timely and bold step in preventing the spread of WMD to non-state actors. The continued existence of this threat emphasises the urgency of Member States implementing their Resolution 1540 obligations. The Resolution’s reporting requirements are an important element of that goal. It is only when all UN states comply with those reporting requirements that we can determine what gaps still exist in domestic export controls, and where countries need assistance to better respond to the changing security environment.

The more countries that publicise their compliance with Resolution 1540, the stronger the signal to terrorists and terrorist supporters that there are fewer and fewer places available to them to use in obtaining or transferring the materials and technology necessary for weapons of mass destruction.

Mr Chairman

Implementation of the Resolution must effectively build on and complement a country’s counter-proliferation, counter-terrorism and broader national security efforts.

Australia strives to strengthen its own national measures to counter WMD proliferation and terrorism, and to assist regional countries to implement their Resolution 1540 obligations. We also work assiduously to strengthen the international disarmament and non-proliferation architecture.

We have recently put in place enhanced national arrangements to secure chemicals. We have promoted such measures regionally and hosted in June an Asia-Pacific seminar on strengthening the safety, security and storage of hazardous chemicals. We have also engaged regional countries on implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention through participation in national seminars and workshops. Australia facilitates the OPCW’s Open-Ended
Working Group on Terrorism and, in this role, we strongly promote the effective implementation of all provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention as a contribution to global counter-terrorism efforts.

We provide other support for capacity-building, including strengthening regional border protection and counter-terrorism capabilities in the Asia-Pacific. Australia also assists with the provision of legal and legislative assistance. Relevant to the Resolution’s provisions on proliferation financing, Australia assists regional countries to develop anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures and is a member of the project team established by the Financial Action Task Force.

Mr Chairman

Australia is an active member of all the international export control regimes. We permanently chair the Australia Group and currently chair the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). The work of these regimes, and the practical counter-proliferation measures of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), underpin the international disarmament and non-proliferation architecture. They also further reinforce the implementation of UN obligations including Resolution 1540, and the Security Council resolutions that have applied sanctions to Iran and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. We note, in this regard, the strong support for Resolution 1540 implementation at the regional PSI counter-proliferation workshop that Australia recently hosted together with the United States in Sydney.

Mr Chairman

Australia commends the 1540 Committee’s efforts in engaging with regional bodies such as the ARF, ASEAN and the Pacific Islands Forum, of which Australia is currently the Chair, on implementation of the Resolution. Australia was pleased to contribute to those efforts, including by participating in the Pacific regional 1540 workshop held recently in Vanuatu. Those efforts have succeeded in further promoting the goals of Resolution 1540 in the Asia-Pacific, and of non-proliferation and disarmament more generally.

Mr Chairman

Looking ahead, the Committee has built a strong foundation on which to pursue practical, concrete measures to enhance the implementation of Resolution 1540. To this end, we would encourage the Committee’s further engagement with regional bodies. We believe that working within existing regional frameworks and arrangements provides the Committee with one of the best opportunities of achieving the objective of the new phase of its future work. In Australia’s experience, the Pacific is an area that continues to benefit from strategic engagement with the Committee.

Mr Chairman

Australia has also actively encouraged the Committee’s engagement with the export control regimes, and we recognise the Committee’s efforts, including with the Australia Group and MTCR. However, we wish to register our regret that the Committee has not been able to engage directly with the Australia Group and MTCR as part of its review of the Resolution, consistent with elements in the Committee’s report on developing “methodologies to improve the effectiveness of cooperation with … multilateral arrangements dealing with export controls”.

Australia notes that in December 2007, the 1540 Committee agreed to receive information from a number of international, regional and sub-regional organisations and other entities. This agreed list included the Australia Group and the MTCR, as well as the other major export control regimes. The Chair of the 1540 Committee wrote to the Chairs of both regimes seeking their assistance regarding the implementation of the Resolution. Both regimes have sought to provide this assistance, and both have established a relationship with the Committee. Such contact and cooperation is logical and necessary given shared aims to reduce threats to global peace and security. Both regimes are key international instruments in their particular areas of export controls and it is disappointing that they have not been able to contribute directly to your review.

Mr Chairman

Australia welcomes the Committee’s review, and reiterates our strong support for the Committee’s efforts to encourage and promote full implementation of the Resolution. Realising the goals of the Resolution will contribute, and must contribute, significantly to countering the WMD threat to international peace and security.