United Nations Security Council Resolution 1977

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1977, adopted unanimously on April 20, 2011, after recalling resolutions 1540 (2004), 1673 (2006) and 1810 (2008) concerning non-proliferation, the Council extended the mandate of the committee established in Resolution 1540 to monitor efforts to prevent weapons of mass destruction from being acquired by terrorists or other non-state actors.

Observations
In the preamble of the resolution, the Security Council expressed concern at the risk of the misacquisition of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, and reminded all Member States to comply with obligations relating to disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation. In this regard, international co-operation was essential. The Council stressed that controls on the export of technologies and information that could be used for weapons of mass destruction should be further strengthened.

Meanwhile, the resolution recognised progress had been made with regards to the implementation of Resolution 1540, though noted that countries had taken few measures in some of its areas, nor reported to the 1540 Committee on measures taken to implement the resolution. At the same time, the Council recognised that some states required assistance in implementing Resolution 1540.

Acts
Acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, the mandate of 1540 Committee was further extended for a period of 10 years, until April 25, 2021. The Committee was instructed to undertake a comprehensive review five and ten years prior to the renewal of its mandate on the implementation of Resolution 1540, and to submit an annual work plan by May 31, 2011 to the Council. Furthermore, the Committee was to receive assistance from eight experts. The resolution then addressed the following issues relating to the Committee:


 * Implementation of Resolution 1540
 * All countries that had not reported to the Committee on their efforts to implement Resolution 1540 were requested to do so as soon as possible.


 * Assistance
 * Countries that required assistance were instructed to notify the Committee, while other countries were asked to provide assistance to the Committee.


 * Co-operation with international, regional and subregional organisations
 * International, regional and subregional organisations were called upon to provide a point of contact with the Committee for the implementation of Resolution 1540, and to engage in the sharing of information.


 * Transparency and outreach
 * The 1540 Committee had to continue to act in a transparent manner, making the fullest use of its website and to organise and participate in outreach events.


 * Administration and resources
 * The Council recognised that the Committee required sustained support and resources to fulfill its mandate.