Overview
Biennial Meetings of States have the mandate to consider the national, regional and global implementation of the Programme of Action (PoA) to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects and its International Tracing Instrument (ITI).
The Sixth Biennial Meeting of States on the Programme of Action was held from 6 to 10 June 2016 in New York.

Secretariat Contact: conventionalarms-unoda@un.org
Background
In 2001, countries adopted the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (PoA). In it, governments agreed to improve national small arms regulations, to strengthen stockpile management, to ensure that weapons are properly and reliably marked, to improve cooperation in weapons tracing, and to engage in regional and international cooperation and assistance.
Marking, record-keeping, and tracing
In 2005, the General Assembly adopted the International Tracing Instrument (ITI), which specifically provides a framework for cooperation in weapons tracing – thus fulfilling one of the commitments governments made in the PoA.
International Tracing Instrument [A] [C] [E] [F] [R] [S]
Improving weapons tracing is also part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Meetings and national reports on PoA and ITI are always combined.
Periodic review of implementation
A conference to review the progress made in the implementation of the PoA is convened every six years. Between review conferences, Biennial Meetings of States (BMS) are held. Additionally, States have held Meetings of Governmental Experts (MGE) to benefit from the knowledge of technical specialists on matters pertaining to small arms and light weapons control.
Timeline PoA process and meetings

Officers

Ambassador Courtenay Rattray
Ambassador Courtenay Rattray is the Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations, a post to which he was appointed on 1st June 2013. Prior to this appointment, he served as Jamaica’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, from December 2008 until May 2013.
He was appointed as Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiations on UN Security Council Reform in November 2014. He also served as the Chair of the 69th Session of the UN Committee on Disarmament and International Security (First Committee) and Chair of the Permanent Memorial Committee for the UN’s project to erect a memorial in honour of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. He was the Co-Facilitator of the UN consultation process on the modalities and outcome document for the comprehensive review and assessment of progress achieved in the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases, from May-July 2014.
During his public service career, Ambassador Rattray served as Director for Bilateral Relations in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, as well Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Jamaica in Washington DC. Prior to this, he was Special Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and previously the Special Advisor to the Minister of Industry and Investment.
Before joining the public service, Ambassador Rattray was the Executive Director of the Jamaica Marketing Company Ltd., a trading company based in the UK owned by the Government of Jamaica. He has also served as Jamaica’s Trade Commissioner in London.
Ambassador Rattray holds a BA in International Studies from West Virginia Wesleyan College, a MSc. in International Business from South Bank University in London, and a MA (Global Master of Arts Program) from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Boston, where he gave the Commencement Address to the GMAP Graduating Class of 2015.
He is married to Tanya and has four children.
Contact: jamaica@un.int
Segments
Letters from the Chairperson-designate:
- 3 June 2016
- 27 May 2016
- 13 May 2016
- 20 April 2016
- 07 March 2016
- 26 February 2016
- 10 February 2016
- 18 December 2015
- 8 December 2015
Member States, International and Regional Organizations, and UN entities at the United Nations Headquarters on the occasion of the Sixth Biennial Meeting of States to Consider the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects
New York, 6-10 June 2016