UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT ISSUES TO BE HELD FROM 22 - 25 AUGUST IN AKITA, JAPAN

Press Release
DC/2721

UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT ISSUES TO BE HELD FROM 22 - 25 AUGUST IN AKITA, JAPAN

NEW YORK, 15 August (Department for Disarmament Affairs) –- “Disarmament and the United Nations in the Twenty-first Century: Strategy and Action” is the theme of a United Nations conference to be held in Akita, Japan from 22 to 25 August.

To promote peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia and Pacific region at the dawn of the new millennium, the conference in Akita will provide the Asia- Pacific community an opportunity to hold a dialogue on key issues in the field of security and disarmament.

The Akita Conference will consider, among other issues, strategies for peace and security in Asia and the Pacific, the role of the United Nations in the region, the regional approach to disarmament and peace, the Korean peninsula, the 2000 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference results and follow-up, including its impact on the Conference on Disarmament, the role of the nuclear- weapon-States, the START process and peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The Conference will also examine conventional weapons.

The Conference is organized by the United Nations Department for Disarmament Affairs through its Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (Kathmandu, Nepal) in close cooperation with the Government of Japan. The conference is being entirely financed through voluntary contributions from the Government of Japan and the City of Akita.

Approximately 70 participants from governments, academic and research institutes, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), elected representatives and the media will attend in their personal capacity. Participants are mainly from within the Asia-Pacific region.

For further information, contact: Tsutomo Ishiguri, Director, United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific, Tel: (212) 963-5580

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