Disarmament

The Eighth United Nations-Republic of Korea Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-proliferation Issues will take place in Jeju Island, Republic of Korea, from 16 to 18 November.

The third segment of the 2009 Disarmament Fellowship Programme starts today at United Nations Headquarters, for a period of three and a half weeks, with the participation of young diplomats from 24 Member States.

A special event entitled “Resolution 1540: At the Crossroads” will be held at United Nations Headquarters on 1 October. Sponsored by the Office for Disarmament Affairs, the event is organized in connection with the comprehensive review of the status of implementation of resolution 1540 (2004).

Highlighting the importance of verification in “giving teeth” to disarmament and non-proliferation agreements, speakers today praised the effectiveness demonstrated by the nuclear test-ban Treaty’s International Monitoring System (IMS), as they concluded their conference aimed at promoting the Treaty’s entry into force.

Small arms experts from West African nations gathered in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, from 14 to 18 September to participate in a capacity-building workshop focusing on implementation of the International Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace, in a Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons.

A United Nations workshop on implementing United Nations Security Council resolution 1540 (2004) will be held from 8 to 10 September 2009 in San José, Costa Rica.

The twenty-first United Nations Conference on Disarmament Issues will be held in Niigata, Japan, from 26 to 28 August. Hosted by the Government of Japan and the City of Niigata, 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.

To mark the start of the second half of the Secretary-General’s 100-day “WMD-We Must Disarm” countdown campaign to the International Day of Peace on 21 September, the United Nations has launched a competition to find the best short film on the issue of nuclear disarmament and/or non-proliferation.

A regional workshop on implementation of Security Council resolution 1540 (2004) will be held on 23-25 June in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The workshop is jointly organized by Sri Lanka and the United States, in cooperation with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs.

A United Nations meeting on the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects for States of the Pacific region will be held on 22 and 23 June in Sydney, Australia.