Inaugural Training Courses of International Ammunition Technical Guidelines Held in United Arab Emirates

NEW YORK, 22 December, (Office for Disarmament Affairs) — The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, under the UN SaferGuard Programme, has collaborated with the United Arab Emirates on conventional ammunition stockpile management using the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATG).

For the first time, two back-to-back training courses — tailored to the needs of national authorities — were organized during the second and third week of December in coordination with the United Arab Emirates Tawazun Training Centre in Abu Dhabi.  Training was provided to military and police officials, as well as industry representatives, on key issues such as ammunition risk management, introduction to explosive limit licences and the inspection of explosive facilities.  The training courses culminated in interactive exercises to plan safe and secure ammunition sites and a visit to an ammunition depot to enable trainees to put their newly acquired knowledge to use in real-life situations.

In 2008, the General Assembly mandated the United Nations to develop the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines to assist States in improving the safety and security of their ammunition stockpiles.  The completion of the Guidelines and the establishment of the UN SaferGuard Programme for their implementation were welcomed in General Assembly resolution 66/42.