A/RES/58/241 illicit small arms and light weapons, prepared by the Group of Governmental Experts established pursuant to resolution 56/24 V, 4 Conscious of its decision to convene a conference, no later than 2006, to review progress made in the implementation of the Programme of Action, the date and venue to be decided by the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth session, 1. Decides to convene a United Nations conference to review progress made in the implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects1 in New York for a period of two weeks between June and July 2006; 2. Also decides that a session of the preparatory committee for the conference is to be held in New York for a period of two weeks in January 2006, and that, if necessary, a subsequent session may be held; 3. Further decides to convene in 2005 the second biennial meeting of States as stipulated in the Programme of Action to consider the national, regional and global implementation of the Programme of Action; Determines that it is feasible to develop an international instrument to 4. enable States to identify and trace, in a timely and reliable manner, illicit small arms and light weapons; Notes that the character of the international instrument will be 5. determined in the course of negotiations; 6. Also notes that the international instrument should be complementary to, and not inconsistent with, the existing commitments of States under relevant international instruments; Further notes that the international instrument should take into account 7. the national security and legal interests of States; 8. Decides to establish an open-ended working group, to meet in three sessions of two weeks each, to negotiate an international instrument to enable States to identify and trace, in a timely and reliable manner, illicit small arms and light weapons; Also decides that the open-ended working group shall hold an 9. organizational session in New York on 3 and 4 February 2004 in order to set the dates for its substantive sessions; 10. Requests the Secretary-General to provide the open-ended working group with the assistance and services that may be required for the discharge of its tasks; 11. Also requests the Secretary-General to hold broad-based consultations, within available financial resources and with any other assistance provided by Member States in a position to do so, with all Member States, interested regional and subregional organizations, international agencies and experts in the field, on further steps to enhance international cooperation in preventing, combating and eradicating illicit brokering in small arms and light weapons, taking into consideration the views of States provided to the Secretary-General, and requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session on the outcome of his consultations; _______________ 4 2 See A/58/138.