Nobuaki Tanaka, UN under-secretary- general for Disarmament Affairs, on Thursday promised the UN's commitment to assist African states to deal with the problem of small arms proliferation, the Ghana News Agency reported.

He noted that added to the possible challenge of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) that could face Africa, the continent was plagued with the proliferation of small arms.

"The UN will do its utmost to help African countries to overcome the problem," he said.

Tanaka made the promise at the opening of a two-day seminar on the implementation of the United Nations Security Council resolution 1540 (2004), which seeks to impose binding obligations on all states to take measures to prevent the proliferation of WMDs.

The seminar is organized by the Security Council's Department of Disarmament Affairs through its Regional Center for Peace and Disarmament in Africa and sponsored by the European Union and the government of Norway.

It is being attended by at least 50 participants from governmental sectors and representatives of international, regional and sub-regional organizations mainly from Africa.

Source: Xinhua