Eleventh United Nations-Republic of Korea Joint Conference Will Tackle Pressing

 

Issues on Disarmament, Non-Proliferation in Jeju Island, 3-4 December

New York, 30 November 2012 (Office for Disarmament Affairs) — The eleventh United Nations-Republic of Korea Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Issues will take place in Jeju Island, Republic of Korea, from 3 to 4 December 2012.

This annual event is organized jointly by the Office for Disarmament Affairs, through its Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific, and the Government of the Republic of Korea.  The High Representative for Disarmament Affairs and senior officials from the Republic of Korea will address the opening session.  Over 40 representatives from Governments and international organizations as well as policy institutes, academia and other civil society organizations will participate in the Conference.

This year’s Conference, with the theme of “Disarmament and Non-proliferation in Asia and Beyond:  Conventional Weapons and Missiles” will address challenges facing the international community in the areas of conventional arms, including the negotiation and conclusion of an Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), missile proliferation and control regimes; and illicit trade in conventional arms. 

Participants will also discuss the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1540 (2004) on preventing non-State actors from acquiring weapons of mass destruction, including illicit brokering and proliferation financing aspects.  Regional conventional arms control and its implications for regional and global security is also on the Conference’s agenda.

The annual Conference, hosted by the Republic of Korea since 2002, has become an important forum characterized by a candid and constructive exchange of views among Government officials, independent experts and researchers and civil society representatives on the challenges and solutions to current disarmament and security issues.  It also addresses particular disarmament and non-proliferation concerns in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Conference is financed through voluntary contributions made to the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs by the Government of the Republic of Korea.

For further information, please contact Ms. Sharon Riggle, Director, United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD)at tel.:  +977 1 501 0257, fax:  +977 1 501 0223, e-mail:  info@unrcpd.org.np.

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For information media • not an official record