CHALLENGE OF TERRORISM FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY, DISARMAMENT: GLOBAL AND REGIONAL IMPACT ASIA-PACIFIC REGIONAL MEETING

CHALLENGE OF TERRORISM FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY, DISARMAMENT:

GLOBAL AND REGIONAL IMPACT ASIA-PACIFIC REGIONAL MEETING

Kyoto, 7-9 August

NEW YORK, 1 August (Department for Disarmament Affairs) -- The fifth United Nations Conference on Disarmament issues will take place from 7 to 9 August 2002 in Kyoto, Japan, to address the impact of terrorism on international and regional security and disarmament.  Organized by the Department for Disarmament Affairs through its Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific, the Conference will have Sadako Ogata, former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, as its keynote speaker.

The Conference will examine the impact of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on disarmament and security from various aspects, including, inter alia, asymmetric warfare, cyber terrorism, new technologies, the risk of use of weapons of mass destruction by terrorists, and consolidation of existing norms.

The Conference will also focus on responses to this new security challenge by the United Nations and its specialized agencies, regional organizations and States.  Dialogue among different civilizations, preventive diplomacy and the culture of peace will be also discussed.

Approximately 40 representatives from governments, academic and research institutes and non-governmental organizations, mainly from the Asian and Pacific region, will attend the Conference in their personal capacity.

The Conference is financed by contributions from the Government of Japan and the city of Kyoto.

For further information, contact:  The Director of the Regional Centre, Tsutomo Ishiguri, 2 UN Plaza (Room DC2-0560), New York, NY 10017;

tel. (212) 963-7272; fax. (212) 963-4989; e-mail: www.un.org/Depts/dda/RCPD.

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