8th meeting of CRMC on UNSC resolutions held

ISLAMABAD: The 8th meeting of the Committee for Coordination, Review and Monitoring (CRMC) for implementation of United Nations Security Council resolutions on counter-proliferation was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here on Tuesday.

“The committee decided to pursue a strategic approach in line with the national policy and CRMC strategy to consolidate gains and sustain the efforts to mitigate potential risks,” announced the Foreign Office. The CRMC was established in 2018 and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs acts as its chairman and secretary. It was set up after UNSC resolutions relating to the prevention, suppression and disruption of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and its financing which require, inter alia, freezing without delay the funds or other assets of, and to ensure that no funds and other assets are made available, directly or indirectly, to or for the benefit of, any person or entity designated by, or under the authority of, the UNSC.

Tuesday’s meeting was chaired by Dr Zafar Ali, director general, SECDIV, and attended by ex-officio members of CRMC representative ministries and departments. “The committee reviewed the status of implementation of UNSC resolutions and national CPF regime and discussed measures for strengthening coordination, outreach, integration of efforts and continuous compliance monitoring,” said the Foreign Office.

The members apprised the committee on steps taken by respective departments. The CRMC coordinates, reviews and monitors the implementation and enforcement of the measures specified by the federal government from time to time in compliance with UNSC resolutions on countering proliferation; (ii) issues guidelines or operational procedures to be followed by all concerned for effective implementation and enforcement of the decisions of the federal government taken in compliance with UNSC resolutions on countering proliferation; (iii) exchanges information amongst its members on regular basis in order to perform its functions under this order; (iv) to seek assistance from or coordinate with any person within or outside Pakistan with respect to the performance of its functions under this order; (v) conducts outreach to stakeholders for awareness and performance of its functions under this order; and (vi) to do all acts incidental and ancillary to the performance of functions and exercise of its powers under this order.

Meanwhile, a two-day Commodity Identification Training (CIT) was conducted for Customs officials by a team of the Strategic Export Control Division (SECDIV). “Over the two days, lectures, demonstration and discussions were held on various aspects of strategic export controls, identification of sensitive commodities and implementation of UNSC sanctions,” said the Foreign Office in a statement. The training was held at the Model Custom Collectorate, Islamabad. SECDIV outreach activities are aimed at enhancing competence and technical know-how for the implementation of export control on goods, technologies, material and equipment related to Nuclear and Biological Weapons and their Delivery Systems Act-2004 (SECA-2004), and enrich awareness on the UNSC sanctions regime with focus on the tools and methods for effective national counter proliferation efforts. The training event was part of SECDIV routine Annual Outreach and Capacity Building Plan.