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UNLIREC assists Suriname to strengthen capacity in combatting illicit firearms trafficking
UNLIREC’s IITC course From 7 to 18 October 2013, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) – in close collaboration with the Ministry of Defense of Suriname – conducted a 10-day training course at the Ministry of Defense in Paramaribo on combatting illicit firearms trafficking for Surinamese security and justice sector officials. This inter-institutional course – the first of its kind carried out in Suriname – resulted in the training of 44 law enforcement officers including police, customs and…
Deflating the icon Illustrious panel talks dreadnoughts, chariots, strengthening nuclear nonproliferation
The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs sponsored the panel event which featured Ward Wilson, Barry Blechman, and the UN’s High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Angela Kane. Some States may seek nuclear weapons as icons of power. Hence, to strengthen efforts against their spread, States should deflate the symbolic value of nuclear weapons. A crucial step would be to de-emphasize their military significance. – Ward Wilson, Senior Fellow at the British American Security Information Council (BASIC), made this argument at a panel event held at the UN Headquarters in New York…
Cyber Threats: Information as a Weapon?
Recent UNIDIR publication entitled “The Cyber Index: International Security Trends and Realities” ILOVEYOU was a computer worm that started spreading in the Philippines and then attacked tens of millions of Windows personal computers in 2000. This step back in history reminds us that information and communications technology (ICT) security threats have changed dramatically in just a decade. It is in this context that, on 9 October 2013, the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) convened an informal meeting at the United Nations Headquarters entitled “Cyber…
Hope for a future world without nuclear weapons Twenty years ago, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine renounced their nuclear arsenals
Office for Disarmament Affairs Director Virginia Gamba represented Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the event. Two decades after having renounced their nuclear weapons arsenals, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine called upon the international community to redouble efforts towards eliminating all nuclear weapons. Abolishing all nuclear weapons is “the most ardent aspiration of mankind. … A nuclear free world is achievable,” Kazakhstan’s Barlybay Sardykov said at a First Committee Side Event held at UN Headquarters in New York on 10 October. The roundtable discussion, sponsored by the…
High Representative Kane receives delegation from the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs (Gensuikyo)
Representative Kane with delegation from Gensuikyo On Thursday, 10 October, High Representative Kane met with a delegation from Gensuikyo, also known as the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs. The delegation was in New York at UN headquarters to speak to delegates of Member States on the margins of the General Assembly’s First Committee. Gensuikyo is one of Japan’s largest anti-nuclear and peace movement organizations. It was established in 1965 with a call for a total ban on nuclear weapons and support for radiation victims. The organization has been nominated for…
New Initiative for CTBT to Enter into Force Launched: Group of Eminent Persons convenes at UN to advance Treaty ratification
CTBTO’s of Group of Eminent Persons (GEM) On Thursday 26 September 2013, the eve of the Eighth Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), a new initiative to advance the CTBT’s entry into force was launched. GEM, the Group of Eminent Persons, comprises no less than seventeen global leaders, senior political figures and high-ranking diplomats. Personalities like Hans Blix, Kevin Rudd, Nobuyasu Abe and Jayantha Dhanapala gathered at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to support and complement efforts to…
Heads of State, Heads of Government, Foreign Ministers gather at High-level Meeting on Nuclear Disarmament
<!-- wp:columns --><div class="wp-block-columns"><!-- wp:column {"width":"66.66%","lock":{"move":true,"remove":true}} --><div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:66.66%"><div id="content"> <div class="widePicture"><img decoding="async" style="width: 580px;" src="/sites/default/files/2013-09/hlm_ga_nd.png" alt></div> <p> </p> <p>Heads of State, Heads of Government, and Foreign Ministers…
Student Observance of the International Day of Peace in New York highlights disarmament education in Nepal: “Learning Peace”
<!-- wp:columns --><div class="wp-block-columns"><!-- wp:column {"width":"66.66%","lock":{"move":true,"remove":true}} --><div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:66.66%"><div id="content">Fear and empty classes is what Subita recalls from her first year at school: “One of our teachers was killed during the conflict that is why school was closed for a long time and it affected our studies very much”. A decade of conflict in Nepal left over 13,000 people dead and a…
General Assembly holds interactive panel discussion on “The Path to Zero: The Role of the United Nations in Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation”
<!-- wp:columns --><div class="wp-block-columns"><!-- wp:column {"width":"66.66%","lock":{"move":true,"remove":true}} --><div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:66.66%"><div id="content">The General Assembly convened on 5 September 2013 an informal meeting to mark the International Day against Nuclear Tests. In acclaiming Kazakhstan’s steps to outlaw nuclear weapons testing and advance global nuclear disarmament, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and…
High Representative Kane’s remarks at the opening of the “Looking for Peace” art exhibition hosted by the Government of Kazakhstan
<!-- wp:columns --><div class="wp-block-columns"><!-- wp:column {"width":"66.66%","lock":{"move":true,"remove":true}} --><div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:66.66%"><div id="content">Minister Bozhko, Ambassador Aitimova, excellencies, distinguished guests and friends—welcome all of you to this inauguration of this deeply moving exhibition, “Looking for Peace”.</div> <div></div> <div> <div class="rightPicture" style="margin…