2011 United Nations Programme of Fellowships on Disarmament

 

Starts Third Segment Today in New York

 

NEW YORK, 3 October (Office for Disarmament Affairs) — The 2011 Disarmament Fellowship Programme will commence its third and final segment today at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Diplomats from the following 25 Member States are participating in the 2011 Disarmament Fellowship Programme:  Belarus, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Germany, Honduras, Hungary, Iraq, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Russian Federation, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Togo, United Republic of Tanzania, United States and Uzbekistan.

The New York segment is meant primarily to expose the participating Fellows to the work of the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) of the General Assembly.  Members of delegations to the First Committee and United Nations officials, including the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, will brief participants on items on the Committee’s agenda, and attend the body’s meetings.  In addition, the Fellows will be engaged in practical exercises, including drafting, introducing and taking action on draft resolutions as carried out in the First Committee; round table discussions on various security- and disarmament-related issues; and a nuclear simulation exercise organized by the Center for Non-Proliferation Studies, Monterey, California.  They will also be finalizing the individual research papers that they are required to prepare in the course of the Programme, on a topic of their choice relating to disarmament and international security.

The New York segment follows an initial two-week segment in Geneva which began on 22 August and is aimed particularly at exposing the Fellows to issues on the agenda of the Conference on Disarmament.  It also includes a traditional study visit to Bern organized by Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.  The initial segment was followed by study visits to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization in Vienna and to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague.  Subsequently, the Fellows visited Germany, China and Japan, at the invitation of the respective Government.

Launched in 1978 by the United Nations Programme of Fellowships on Disarmament with the aim of promoting expertise in disarmament in more Member States, particularly developing countries, the Programme is implemented by the Office for Disarmament Affairs.  Since its inception, it has trained some 833 public officials from 163 Member States, 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 non-proliferation goals.

The 2011 Fellows will conclude the nine-week New York Programme on 21 October and will be awarded certificates of participation by Sergio Duarte, the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs.

For further information, please contact the Coordinator of the Programme, Valère Mantels, c/o Jenny Fuchs, Office for Disarmament Affairs, Room DN-2507, tel:  +1 212 963 2386.

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For information media • not an official record