A three-day open meeting taking place at Headquarters from 30 September would assess the evolution of risks and threats to implementation of Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004), which sought to prevent mass destruction weapons ‑‑ nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and their means of delivery -- from falling into the hands of non-State actors, correspondents were told today.

“The world is witnessing a new wave of interest in advancing disarmament goals,” the United Nations Secretary-General’s High Representative for Disarmament Affairs said today during his press conference at Headquarters providing an overview of last week’s historic Security Council summit on nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament, as well as other related events.

The Secretary-General has decided to recall Mr. Peter Galbraith from Afghanistan and to end his appointment as the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for UNAMA. He expresses his thanks to Mr. Galbraith for his hard work and professional dedication. The Secretary-General recognizes Mr. Galbraith’s important contributions to the work of the Mission.

Members of the Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) -- a three-year-old organization seeking an observer status with the United Nations -‑ updated correspondents on the organization’s work and spoke about their meetings with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and senior United Nations officials, at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon.

Iran was open to continuing international dialogue, even at the summit level, on a range of issues, including security and economic matters, Manouchehr Mottaki, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iran, said as he answered correspondents’ questions this morning.

United Nations teams have now arrived in Indonesia and Samoa to help those countries cope with recent devastating natural disasters. Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) says it is rapidly expanding its relief operation in the Philippines in the aftermath of last Saturday’s crippling tropical storm.

Nature’s destructive power was on full display in the Asia-Pacific Region, where the Philippines, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga were reeling from successive devastating disasters, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes said at a Headquarters press conference today.

During the month of October, the Security Council would hold two open debates in which non-Council Member States could participate, respectively, on “women, peace and security” and on the situation in the Middle East, Council President Le Luong Minh, the Permanent Representative of Viet Nam, said today.

The Security Council this morning adopted its programme of work for October, in its first consultations under the Vietnamese presidency of the Security Council.

At UN Headquarters this morning, the Deputy Secretary-General held a town hall meeting to update UN staff on the outbreak caused by the influenza A (H1N1) virus, as it is called now.