What were the Biennial Meetings of States and what did they achieve?
The Biennial Meetings of States (BMS) were gatherings to consider progress made in the implementation of the Programme of Action and, as their name implies, took place two and four years after the 2001 Conference. They did not entail negotiations nor did they produce recommendations. Their purpose was to serve as a forum for States, international and regional organizations, and civil society organizations to exchange information on the implementation of the PoA. The First Biennial Meeting of States was held in New York in July 2003. Delegates from 145 countries as well as representatives of 20 international and regional organizations and 172 NGOs participated in the meeting. 103 national reports submitted by Member States showed that significant progress had been made in implementing the Programme of Action, but that much more needed to be done to stop the spread of illicit small arms and light weapons. Annexed to the report of the meeting is the Chairperson’s summary of the deliberati
