‘THE UNITED NATIONS AFTER SIX DECADES AND RENEWED EFFORTS FOR THE PROMOTION

OF DISARMAMENT’, KYOTO , JAPAN , 17-19 AUGUST

NEW YORK, 11 August (Department for Disarmament Affairs) -- A United Nations conference on disarmament issues will be held in Kyoto, Japan, from 17 to 19 August.  The conference will address reform of the United Nations and challenges in the field of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation on the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations.  Organized by the Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific of the Department for Disarmament Affairs, the conference is hosted by the Government of Japan and Kyoto City.

Sixty participants from governments, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations and the press will attend the conference in their personal capacity.

The conference will devote one session to the United Nations Secretary-General’s report “In larger freedom:  towards development, security and human rights for all”.  It will address the various issues raised at the 2005 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), such as the role of International Atomic Energy Agency, the issue of compliance, the nuclear fuel cycle, institutional improvements for the NPT and its review process, and withdrawal from the Treaty.  The Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty and regional nuclear issues will also be addressed.  The conference will deal with the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons (SALW), including the outcome of the Second Biennial Meeting on the Programme of Action on SALW, and with the issue of disarmament and non-proliferation education.

The conference is entirely financed from voluntary contributions made to the Regional Centre by the Government of Japan, Kyoto City and Kyoto Prefecture.

For further information, contact:  Tsutomu Ishiguri, Director, Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific, tel:  917 367 4130, fax:  212 963 1121.

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For information media • not an official record