With UNRCPD’s support, Nepal is implementing a new model of delivering Peace and Disarmament education to meet post-conflict challenges – a model UNRCPD aims to bring to other countries in Asia and the Pacific in the future. To mark the beginning of the Peace and Disarmament education in Nepal, UNRCPD is premiering its new video, Learning Peace, at the commemoration for the 2013 International Day of Peace at the United Nations in New York City. With the theme of Education for Peace, the 2013 International Day of Peace will focus on the importance of education for achieving a Culture of Peace.
Tajik government officials, United Nations’ and other international experts are meeting at a European Union sponsored workshop to set priorities for Tajikistan to comply with its mine clearance obligation acquired under the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, or Ottawa Convention.
Australia’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, His Excellency Mr. Gary Quinlan, has assumed the Presidency of the United Nations Security Council for the month of September. The President is responsible for convening and chairing Security Council meetings, managing the agenda, and facilitating the work of the Council. The Programme of Work for the month was adopted on 4 September and will review UN operations in Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Sudan and South Sudan, and the Golan Heights. Building upon the momentum of the Arms Trade Treaty, Australia will convene a high-level meeting on small arms and light weapons, marking the first time in 5 year that SALW will be considered in-depth at the Security Council.
UNRCPD is honored to be a part of the Regional Workshop on National Implementation of the Biological Weapons Convention in South and South-East Asia, organized by the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), through the European Union funded Action in Support of the BWC (BWC Action) and hosted by the Government of Malaysia from 3-4 September 2013. UNRCPD will present on ‘Activities of the UN Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific’ during the Regional Initiatives and Activities in Support of BWC Implementation session on the second and final day of the Workshop.
Since nuclear weapons testing began in the mid-twentieth century, with the first test on 16 July 1945, nearly 2,000 have taken place. There has been little consideration of the devastating effects of testing on human life, let alone the understanding of nuclear fallout from atmospheric tests. Early on, having nuclear weapons was a measure of scientific sophistication or military might. Hindsight and history have shown us the terrifying and tragic effects of nuclear weapons testing, especially when controlled conditions go awry, and in light of today’s nuclear weapons which are far more powerful and destructive Subsequent incidents world-wide have provided compelling reasons for the need to observe the International Day against Nuclear Tests – a day in which educational events, activities and messages aim to capture the world’s attention and underscore the need for a unified attempt in preventing further nuclear weapons testing.
