Last week, the Managing Across Boundaries Program (MAB) co-organized a conference in Bogota, Colombia with the Government of Colombia and the Stanley Foundation, focusing on building broader security and economic capacity building in Andean region states under the auspices of implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1540 (UNSCR 1540), a nonproliferation measure. Following this meeting, several states in the region are now taking pragmatic action to this end. Most significantly, the Government of Canada announced its interest in responding to a technical assistance request submitted in 2011 by the Government of Colombia related to the training of police and specialized security personnel. Other participating countries demonstrated an interest further engaging the 1540 Committee’s Group of Experts in national visits, which are key to the implementation process.
These positive next steps demonstrate another success story for MAB’s “dual benefit” model. As such, they will not only further the implementation of Resolution 1540 in the Americas, but also build capacity in a variety of softer security and economic development areas, including against small arms and drug trafficking, that are higher priority challenges for the Andean region states.
The meeting’s agenda featured senior Colombian government officials, representatives from Bolivia, Equator, Peru, Ambassador Albert Ramdin, Assistant Secretary General, Organization of American States, and a statement prepared by Ambassador Baso Sangqu, the UNSCR 1540 Committee Chairman. Representatives of the Governments of Canada, Finland, Japan and the United States, as well as several multilateral and sub-regional organizations, civil society groups, and private industry firms also participated in the meeting. To view the agenda and presentations, please click here.
MAB’s Andean region engagement is part of the program’s effort to bridge the security/development divide worldwide. The “dual benefit” focuses on national and/or regional needs in developing and emerging economics and identifies linkages by which to connect them to novel streams of assistance through international mandates and private public partnerships for mutual benefit.