CEREMONY TO AWARD CERTIFICATES TO 2000 DISARMAMENT FELLOWS IS HELD IN FIRST COMMITTEE

Press Release
DC/2728

CEREMONY TO AWARD CERTIFICATES TO 2000 DISARMAMENT FELLOWS IS HELD IN FIRST COMMITTEE

NEW YORK, 3 November (Department for Disarmament Affairs) -- A ceremony was held on Wednesday, 1 November, in the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) of the General Assembly to award certificates to the 28 participants in the 2000 United Nations Programme of Fellowships on Disarmament. The ceremony was presided over by the Chairman of the First Committee, Mya Than of Myanmar, who also presented the certificates to the Fellows. Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs Jayantha Dhanapala was also present at the occasion.

Officials from the following 28 Member States participating in the 2000 Programme received certificates: Algeria, Armenia, Benin, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cuba, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Iraq, Jamaica, Latvia, Lebanon, Mauritius, Mexico, Namibia, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tunisia, United States and Zambia.

In his remarks, Mr. Than noted that this year's Programme included a number of representatives of Member States which had never before participated in the Programme or which had been absent from it for many years, a development which he considered very positive as it "reflects the increased interest of Member States in the work of the international community in the field of arms limitation and disarmament". Addressing himself directly to the Fellows, the Chairman further stated that "if you want to distinguish yourself in the field of disarmament, you need to be dedicated, patient and persevering".

Mr. Dhanapala also had some special words for the Fellows. He pointed out that one of the important messages that the Disarmament Fellowship Programme seeks to convey every year to its participants is that it is the combination of visionary idealism, pragmatic realism and dogged persistence that help to make effective actors in the day-to-day practice of disarmament. Mr. Dhanapala added: "disarmament is not just about arms. It must be mainstreamed into the daily life of people because disarmament is about people -- the needs, the interests, the hopes and the rights of individual human beings".

The United Nations Disarmament Fellowship Programme was launched by the General Assembly in 1978 and aims at: the training and specialization in the field of disarmament of national officials in more Member States, particularly in the developing countries; and enabling them to participate more effectively in international deliberating and negotiating forums. Implemented by the Department

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for Disarmament Affairs, the Programme has trained, in the 22 years of its existence, over 525 officials from more than 150 countries, a large number of whom are now in positions of responsibility in the field of disarmament within their own governments.

The Programme has enabled former Fellows to participate more effectively in regional and global efforts in the field of disarmament and, by creating an informal network spanning the various regions of the world, to work cooperatively and constructively in the pursuance of disarmament and arms limitation goals.

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