The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a resolution Friday urging stepped up efforts to keep weapons of mass destruction out of the hands of terrorists and black marketeers, according to The Associated Press. It calls on all states to fully implement a council resolution adopted in April 2004 requiring all 192 U.N. member states to adopt laws to prevent «non-state actors» from acquiring nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. It notes that some countries _ which were not named _ haven't filed a report on their efforts that was due in October 2004. The new resolution stresses the need to enhance coordination of national, regional and international efforts «to strengthen a global response to this serious challenge and threat to international security.» The April 2004 resolution was adopted to close a loophole in global efforts to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. While international treaties targeted weapons proliferation by governments, until Resolution 1540 was adopted in 2004 there was no legal instrument to prevent terrorists, crooked scientists, black marketeers and other «non-state actors» from obtaining such weapons. Resolution 1540 requires all countries to adopt laws to prevent «non-state actors» from manufacturing, acquiring or trafficking in nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, the materials to make them, and the missiles and other systems to deliver them. It requires all countries to take measures to account for, and secure these weapons as well as missiles and weapons material. It also demands that countries develop border controls and step up law enforcement efforts «to detect, deter, prevent and combat ... the illicit trafficking and brokering in such items.» All countries were required to submit a report within six months to a Security Council committee monitoring implementation of the resolution. The resolution adopted Friday extends the committee's mandate until April 25, 2011 and «again calls upon all states that have not yet presented a first report on steps they have taken or intent to take to implement Resolution 1540 to submit such a report to the 1540 committee without delay.» It «emphasizes the importance for all states to implement fully that resolution.» It also calls on the committee «to continue to intensify its efforts to promote the full implementation by all states» by reaching out to countries, facilitating technical assistance, and promoting «the sharing of experience and lessons learned.» The council noted «that not all states have presented to the 1540 committee their national reports on implementation ... and that the full implementation of Resolution 1540 by all states, including the adoption of national laws and measures to ensure implementation of these laws, is a long-term task that will require continuous efforts at national, regional and international levels.» South Africa's U.N. Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, the current council president, said many developing countries find the reporting requirements for this and other resolutions onerous when they are trying to provide food, health care and jobs for their people.
