News
Government of Canada Announces SICA 1540 Coordinator
July 26, 2011
The
Government of Canada has announced that it will fund a UN Security Council
Resolution (UNSCR) 1540 Coordinator in the Central American Integration System
(SICA). This announcement comes less than a year after the Stimson Center's Managing Across
Boundaries program called
for the establishment of such a position.
Stimson has worked with
governments in Central America, SICA, and the
Organization of American States for several years to find innovative ways to
deal with a range of security and development challenges - from drug trafficking
and criminal gangs, to the potential proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction. The work of SICA's 1540 Coordinator will include outreach efforts
to link UNSCR 1540 implementation to broader security and economic development
mandates of the subregional organization. This position will mirror that of the
Caribbean Community's 1540 Coordinator, O'Neil Hamilton, who is also a MAB
Visiting Fellow.
"The hiring of a SICA 1540 Coordinator is a pragmatic
step to bridge the divide between security and development in Central America,"
said Brian Finlay, Senior Associate
at the Stimson Center, and Director of
the Managing Across Boundaries program. "SICA's work in the region is of utmost
importance to regional security and development. Canada's initiative to fund a 1540
Coordinator demonstrates that the donor community increasingly views its
assistance through a wider lens - not only through the prism of security or
development, but how each will leverage the other."
Under its Beyond
Boundaries Initiative, MAB has demonstrated the viability of a new, holistic
approach to promoting more rigorous implementation of UN mandates based upon
pairing states-in-need with new streams of financial and technical assistance
from security-conscious developed states. The model simultaneously addresses
the intertwined challenges of globalization, under-development, proliferation,
and terrorism. MAB's work identifies new sources of assistance to address
endemic threats, including poverty, corruption, technology governance, border
security, rule of law, and economic underdevelopment-pressing issues that, at
present, often have a higher degree of priority in the Global South than
proliferation and terrorism. These efforts have laid the foundation for an
improved dialogue between the developed North and Global South based upon the
mutual interests relating to both security and development and their combined
role in promoting sound governance of nation-states.
"We commend the
Government of Canada for thinking outside of the box and for leveraging
increasingly scarce resources for maximum effect. Canadians should be proud of
this contribution to international peace and security," said Finlay.
The
Managing Across Boundaries program is similarly engaged in East Africa,
Southeast Asia, and the Middle
East.
For more information please visit MAB's website at: http://www.stimson.org/programs/managing-across-boundaries/