Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

UN SECURITY COUNCIL ON MASS-DESTRUCTION WEAPONS PROLIFERATION

RIA Novosti

NEW YORK, APRIL 26, (RIA Novosti's Andrei Loshchilin) - The UN Security Council said April 25 that it was seriously concerned because mass-destruction weapons and their delivery vehicles could fall into the hands of the so-called non-state entities, terrorists, first and foremost.

China's Ambassador to the UN Wang Guangya, who presides in the UNSC this April, made a statement on behalf of all UNSC members. Terrorism is one of the most serious threats facing global peace and security, he stressed. The document praises the approval of a convention to fight acts of nuclear terrorism (on Russia's initiative) by the UN General Assembly on April 13.

Any terrorist acts are crimes and cannot be justified, regardless of their motives, locations and perpetrators, the statement notes.

This statement was passed after a UNSC session heard reports by chairmen of the UNSC's three specialized committees, i.e. the counter-terrorist committee, the committee for sanctions against Al-Qaida and the Taliban, as well as the committee for the non-proliferation of mass-destruction weapons.

The document advocates more active cooperation between these bodies and their experts for the sake of monitoring compliance with UNSC resolutions.

Russia's ten-month UNSC presidency ended on March 31. The counter-terrorist committee was overhauled considerably during that period. Its executive directorate began to work, asserting itself as an efficient body. The so-called visiting sessions also began. "The results of the committee's March 14-21 Moroccan visiting session are currently being analyzed," Russia's Ambassador to the UN Andrei Denisov told RIA Novosti. "We are also completing preparations for three other trips -- to Albania, Kenya and Thailand, due to take place this summer," he added.