Young Diplomats from 25 Countries Expected to Participate as 2013 United Nations

Disarmament Fellowships Programme Begins in Geneva Today

 

NEW YORK/GENEVA, 26 August (Office for Disarmament Affairs) — The 2013 United Nations Programme of Fellowships on Disarmament starts today in Geneva with the participation of young diplomats from 25 Member States, and will last nine weeks.

Diplomats from the following Member States will be participating:  Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Egypt, Finland, Hungary, Iran, Japan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mexico, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine, United States and Uruguay.

The 2013 Programme will include exchanges with representatives of States members of the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, delegations to the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, staff members of the Office for Disarmament Affairs and members of the academic community.

In Geneva, the Fellows will have the opportunity to attend sessions of the Conference on Disarmament and participate in a study visit to Berne, organized by Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.  In New York, they will follow the proceedings of the First Committee.

The Programme will also include study visits to the Organization on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization in Vienna, as well as country-specific study visits hosted by the Governments of China, Germany, Japan and Kazakhstan.

Launched by the General Assembly in 1978 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.  In its 34 years of existence, it has trained about 900 public officials from nearly 160 Member States, a large number of whom now hold positions of responsibility in the disarmament field within their own Governments.

The Programme will conclude at United Nations Headquarters in New York on 24 October, when Angela Kane, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, will present the Fellows with certificates of participation.

For more Information, please contact Ewen Buchanan, Office for Disarmament Affairs, at tel.:  +1 212 963 3022, e-mail:  buchanane@un.org, or visit http://www.un.org/disarmament/fellowship/.

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For information media • not an official record