09/329

UnitedNations / / NationsUnies

headquarters • siege new york, ny 10017

TEL.: 1 (212) 963.1234 • FAX: 1 (212) 963.4879

reference: / ODA/37-2009/SALW-BMS

The Office for Disarmament Affairs of the United Nations presents its compliments to the Permanent Mission of... to the United Nations and has the honour to refer to operative paragraphs10, 11,12, and13 of General Assembly resolution 64/38 entitled “The illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all itsaspects”.

Pursuant to the aforementioned resolution, States are encouraged to submit theirnational reports on the implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All ItsAspects (Programme of Action) and on the implementation of the International Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace, in a Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons (International Tracing Instrument).

In order to facilitate preparations for the Fourth Biennial Meeting of States, to be held in New York, from 14 to 18 June 2010, the Office for Disarmament Affairs would be grateful if one integrated national report could be submitted, containing information on the implementation of the Programme of Action and on the implementation of the International Tracing Instrument.

For the part of the report on the Programme of Action, States may wish to usethe reporting template and the guidelines for reporting, which are available on States are particularly invited to include in their report information regarding the implementation of those measures highlighted in theoutcome report of the Third Biennial Meeting of States. In this respect, Statescouldrefer to the sections of the report entitled “The Way Forward” (A/CONF/192/BMS/2008/3, Chapter IV, paragraphs 7, 16 and 27), accessible at

For the part of the report on the International Tracing Instrument, States may wish to refer to the Guidelines on the Implementation of the International Tracing Instrument ( States are particularly invited to include in their report information regarding those measures highlighted in paragraph9 ofthereport on the International Tracing Instrument which is annexed to the abovementioned outcome report of the Third Biennial Meeting of States and can be accessed at

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States are also advised to make use of their national reports as a tool for communicating their assistance needs[1] or to provide information on the resources and mechanisms available to address such needs, in order for the Office for Disarmament Affairs to undertake the appropriate follow-up action.

Moreover, in accordance with the outcome report of the Third Biennial Meetingof States, States have convened, in close collaboration with the Office for Disarmament Affairs, regional meetings to consider and advance the implementation of the Programmeof Action at the regional level.[2] States which took part in regional meetings or participated in other regional processes on small arms may also include information on the implementation of their sub-regional programmes in their nationalreport.

To facilitate timely preparations for the Fourth Biennial Meeting of States and the issuance of the report of the Secretary-General for consideration by the General Assembly, it is essential that the Office for Disarmament Affairs receives the national report from the Permanent Mission’s Government no later than 31 January 2010. The national reports should be sent to the following address: Office for Disarmament Affairs, room DN-2501, fax: (+1-212) 963-4066. The Office for Disarmament Affairs would be grateful, if an electronic copy of the national report be sent by e-mail to the following address: . States are invited to use this e-mail address if they have any queries regarding their national reports.

11 December 2009

T. C. H.

[1]Member States have underlined that “… the value of assistance proposals would be enhanced if they were formulated as concrete projects…” (A/CONF/192/BMS/2008/3 para IV.I.3).

[2]