Disarmament

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at New York University on the future of multilateral disarmament, in New York today:

The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific is finalizing preparations to resume operations from its headquarters in Kathmandu, following a temporary relocation after the devastating earthquakes that hit Nepal in 2015.

The fifteenth United Nations–Republic of Korea Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non‑proliferation Issues will take place on Jeju Island, Republic of Korea, from 17 to 18 November.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s video message to the opening of the Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention, in Geneva today:

The Government of Chile hosted a training course for the national Points of Contact of States in the Latin American and the Caribbean region from 24 to 28 October.

NEW YORK, 27 October (Joint Investigative Mechanism) — The Security Council considered the fourth report (document S/2016/888) of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)–United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism, pursuant to resolution 2235 (2015), which mandated the Mechanism to identify to the greatest extent feasible those involved in the use of chemicals as weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic where the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission determined that a specific incident involved or likely involved the use of chemicals as weapons.

The United Nations Trust Facility Supporting Cooperation on Arms Regulation is seeing an increase in donors, beneficiaries, applications received and projects implemented.

NEW YORK, 18 October (Office for Disarmament Affairs) — On 20 October, the United Nations will mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA) — one of the most significant global transparency instruments.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Vitaly Churkin (Russian Federation):

NEW YORK, 10 October (Office for Disarmament Affairs) — The annual United Nations Disarmament Fellowship Programme will commence its final segment today at United Nations Headquarters in New York.