Peggy Mason of Canada, the Chairperson of the Group of Governmental Experts appointed by the Secretary-General to carry out a study on the feasibility of restricting the manufacture and trade of small arms and light weapons, briefed correspondents this afternoon at Headquarters on the Groups aims. The 20-member Group is holding the first of three sessions from 15 to 19 May at Headquarters.
Having successfully implemented its mandate, the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT) had come to a close after seven years of United Nations involvement there, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Tajikistan, Ivo Petrov, told correspondents at a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon.
The United Nations "had not been unprepared" for recent events in Sierra Leone, and had tried to cope with the situation by using the resources and equipment it had, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Bernard Miyet, told correspondents at a Headquarters briefing today.
The issues and negotiations surrounding the Treaty on the Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) were still very complex, since there were very strong positions in the field of nuclear disarmament, Abdallah Baali, Permanent Representative of Algeria and President of the 2000 NPT Review Conference, told correspondents today at a Headquarters press conference.
A draft Charter for the public service in Africa, including a code of conduct for public service employees, is to be adopted early next year, a Headquarters press conference was told this afternoon.
Civil wars and internal conflicts were not just about human suffering and costs, but were also about profit and gain for certain parties, Mats Berdal, director of studies of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, told journalists at a press conference at United Nations Headquarters today.
