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UNODA’s regional centre in Lima and OAS provide regional platform for States in Latin America and the Caribbean to engage in open debate on preventing WMD proliferation to non-State actors
The United Nations Common House in Lima, Peru, was the site of a regional event to discuss preventing and combating the spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) to non-State actors from a Latin American and Caribbean perspective from 25 to 26 April 2017. Twenty-two States from the region and six partner organizations[1] joined in this open debate organized by the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) and the Organization of American States (OAS) through the Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism (CICTE…
UN Disarmament Commission adopts by consensus “Practical confidence-building measures in the field of conventional weapons”
UN Photo/Loey Felipe For the first time since 1999, the United Nations Disarmament Commission adopted consensus recommendations for transmittal to the General Assembly. The final report of the 2017 Commission contains recommendations on practical confidence-building measures in the field of conventional arms. The 2017 substantive session of the Commission was chaired by Gabriela Martinic (Argentina). The adoption of substantive recommendations marks a significant achievement for the Disarmament Commission, which is deliberative in nature and universal in its membership. Against…
United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs and European Union Delegation in Geneva co-host a Workshop in Support of the Biological Weapons Convention Extended Assistance Programmes
In Geneva on 29 March 2017, the Geneva Branch of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva co-hosted the “Workshop in Support of the Biological Weapons Convention Extended Assistance Programmes”. Held at the offices of the European Union (EU) Permanent Delegation in Geneva, the workshop brought together just over 40 participants, including experts nominated by EU Member States and representatives of international organisations and non-governmental…
Former President of Costa Rica opens UNODA Women Scholarship for Peace training course
Women Scholarship for Peace recipients for Latin American and the Caribbean On 13 March 2017, Ms. Laura Chinchilla, former President of Costa Rica, opened the fourth training course of the Women Scholarship for Peace (WSP) at the University for Peace in San José (Costa Rica). An initiative of the Office for Disarmament Affairs, through its Vienna Office, the scholarship provides in-person and on-line training modules on disarmament and non-proliferation (DNP) and related topics, including development issues. The training modules are developed by scholarship partners, thus…
Technical and Legal Assistance Project to Support the Philippines in the Implementation of the UN PoA and the ATT
The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) successfully concluded a two-month project to strengthen the national capacity of the Philippines to control transfers of small arms and light weapons (SALW), including other conventional arms, and to prevent their illicit trade and diversion. Developed at the request of the Government of the Philippines, the project was implemented between January and March 2017. It provided the Government with technical and legal assistance to facilitate the implementation of the UN Programme of Action on…
United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific resumes its operations from Kathmandu, Nepal
On 7 February 2017, the UN Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) resumed its operations from Kathmandu, Nepal. High Representative Mr. Kim Won-soo and Foreign Minister of Nepal, Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat After strong earthquakes damaged the UNRCPD office premises in Nepal, and in order to ensure the continuity of its planned programmes and services to the countries in Asia and the Pacific, the Regional Centre was temporarily relocated to Bangkok in May 2015. Since the temporary relocation, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA…
67th Session of the Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters Discusses the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on International Security
In Geneva, from 25 to 27 January 2017, the members of the Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters discussed three topics given to them by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, where one of the key issues before them was Artificial Intelligence (AI) on international security. The Board welcomed the addition of this new topic, a “frontier” technology issue that is confronting the international community and which may have a revolutionary effect on international security. AI can be of enormous benefit for international security, as well as a threat. The Board expressed the view…
15th Anniversary of the Jeju Process
The Republic of Korea-United Nations Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Issues, also known as the “Jeju Process”, is now one of the longest continuous annual disarmament conference series that the UN has with any member state. Since 2002, the Conference – organised by the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in the Asia-Pacific and the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs – has been a forum for candid and constructive exchanges of views between Government officials, independent experts, scholars and civil society representatives from…
Armed private security in Latin America and the Caribbean: Oversight and accountability in an evolving context
Regional study about armed private security in Latin America and the Caribbean On 27 October, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) and the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) organized a side event on armed private security in Latin America and the Caribbean, in the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Mr. Christoph Anton, Counsellor from the Permanent Mission of Germany moderated the panel. In his opening remarks, he highlighted the important role of private security…
High Representative Commemorates UNRCPD’s Resumption of Operations in Kathmandu and Re-launches the “Kathmandu Process”
The unveiling of the commemorative plaque On 21 November, the Foreign Minister of Nepal, Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat, and the Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Mr. Kim Won-soo, unveiled a plaque commemorating the resumption of operations of the Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) in its new premises in Kathmandu, following its temporary relocation after the 2015 devastating earthquakes in Nepal. On this occasion, the Regional Centre also re-launched the “Kathmandu Process” — a dialogue among States…