U.N. extends WMD mandate for 10 years

UNITED NATIONS, April 21 (UPI) -- The U.N. Security Council announced the unanimous approval of a 10-year extension of a mandate on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

The Security Council called on U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to set up a consulting committee consisting of eight experts who would assist in carrying out the non-proliferation mandate spelled out in Security Council Resolution 1540.

The committee also called for a review of the 1540 mandate to recommend adjustments to the resolution before December 2016.

The United Nations stressed that the 1540 committee won't act as a policing body but instead would work in overseeing a legal framework to deter the proliferation of sensitive materials.

Resolution 1540 was adopted unanimously in 2004. It calls on member states to criminalize the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by non-state actors and recognizes their actions as a threat to international peace.