United Nations Disarmament Conference to Discuss Actions towards Nuclear-Weapon-Free

World, in Saitama, Japan, 25-27 August

 

NEW YORK, 23 August (Office for Disarmament Affairs) — The Twenty-Second United Nations Conference on Disarmament Issues will be held in Saitama, Japan, from 25 to 27 August.  Hosted by the Government of Japan and the City of Saitama, the Conference is organized by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs through its Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific.

Sergio Duarte, United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs,will open the Conference by delivering the keynote speech. Hayato Shimizu, Mayor of Saitama City, senior officials from the Government of Japan and Hiroshima City will also address participants at the opening session.  Approximately 60 participants from Governments, academia and think tanks, international and non-governmental organizations, as well as the media will attend the Conference.  The Conference is open to the public as a way to raise awareness of and support for disarmament and non-proliferation.

The Conference will assess the outcome of the 2010 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and address ways to make progress in achieving nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, and promoting the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.  Taking concrete actions towards a nuclear-weapon-free world, as well as enhancing nuclear safety and security is also high on the Conference’s agenda.  Regional disarmament and non-proliferation challenges will be addressed, as well.  Furthermore, the Conference will discussthe role of civil society and peace and disarmament education in advancing disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation.

This annual United Nations Conference, which has been hosted by Japan since 1989, is recognized as an important forum for frank dialogue and an exchange of views on pressing security and disarmament-related issues facing the international community.  It also addresses particular regional disarmament and non-proliferation concerns, including those in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Conference is financed from voluntary contributions made to the Office for Disarmament Affairs by the Government of Japan.

For further information, please contact Taijiro Kimura, Director, United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific, tel.:  +977 1 5010257; fax:  +977 1 5010223; e-mail:  info@unrcpd.org.np.

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For information media • not an official record