Disarmament in Review
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 in Asia and the Pacific on disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation issues — with a roundtable on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1540 (2004). This roundtable, organized in partnership with the Government of Nepal and the Committee established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1540, discussed the 2016 Comprehensive Review on the status of implementation of the resolution, the role of regional cooperation, and synergies between the resolution and other disarmament and non-proliferation instruments, such as the Biological Weapons Convention.
Below are the opening remarks by the Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament, Mr. Kim Won-soo:
Text by Julia Bhattacharjee
