Updates

The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs organised a meeting to promote the implementation of the UN Programme of Action (PoA) for Asian countries in Bali, Indonesia, on 5-6 March 2012. The meeting, jointly organised by the UNODA and the Government of Indonesia, brought together states from the Asian region to review and advance implementation of the Programme of Action at the regional level, and to contribute to the broader consultation process of the second United Nations Conference to Review Progress Made so far in the Implementation of the PoA, to be held in August 2012…

The Tenth United Nations-Republic of Korea Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-proliferation Issues took place in Jeju, Republic of Korea, on 7 and 8 November 2011. The event was organized jointly by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs through its Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific and the Government of the Republic of Korea.

The annual Conference has been jointly organised by the United Nations and the Republic of Korea since 2002. Known as the “Jeju Process”, it is well-known for providing an informal setting for frank and…

UNRCPD organised a five-day national training course in Kathmandu in September 2011 on combating the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. A total of 25 mid-level law enforcement officers from the Nepal Police, the Armed Police Force and Customs of Nepal participated in the training aimed at enhancing the capacity of law enforcement officers in key issues related to combating the illicit trade in small arms. The course was conducted by both international and national trainers, including instructors from the OSCE, the World Customs Organization and INTERPOL. The various…

All over the world, and especially in Nepal with its prolonged peace process, peace building requires public support for peace, and youth have a significant role to play. Peace and disarmament education is an essential instrument in promoting a culture of non-violence and conflict prevention in the minds of young people. With this in mind, UNRCPD and its partners organised an outreach project in the Kathmandu Valley throughout autumn 2011. The scheme included educating volunteer youth trainers, conducting workshops at six public schools in Kathmandu, as well as organising short story…

In the effort to endorse the role of civil society and enhance cooperation between local governments and the United Nations in promoting disarmament and non-proliferation education, 40 Japanese high school students came together in Saitama, Japan, to exchange views on concrete steps to achieving disarmament goals. Students presented and discussed their proposals with a panel consisting of senior representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and non-governmental organizations. Also UNRCPD Director Mr. Taijiro Kimura was in the panel and had the opportunity to provide the…

UNRCPD, together with members of the Nepal Working Group on Small Arms and Other Portable Lethal Weapons, organized outreach activities in Kathmandu in June2011 to promote the “Global Week of Action Against Gun Violence”, initiated by the International Action Network on Small Arms. The activities included an awareness-raising and capacity-building workshop on combating gun violence in Nepal. The workshop was attended by parliamentarians, political leaders and the media. It featured testimonies from the survivors of gun violence, the United Nations Programme of Action on small arms…

In cooperation with the Government of Nepal, UNDP, and the secretariat of the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development, UNRCPD organised the ‘Regional Best and Promising Practices seminar on Armed Violence Reduction and Prevention for South and Southeast Asia’ in Kathmandu. Representatives of 17 States from South and Southeast Asia, as well as various civil society organisations, participated in the seminar to examine specific topics related to armed violence, including youth, gender and urban and rural violence. The aim of the seminar was also to provide an opportunity…

The media plays an important role connecting government to people, as well as raising awareness about disarmament issues. With the goal of strengthening the regional media’s capacity to report on complex international disarmament-related issues, the UNRCPD invited international experts to give presentations on major disarmament and non-proliferation themes to 50 media representatives. Coming from 11 East and Southeast Asian countries, the workshop allowed participants to discuss various disarmament and arms control-related topics and initiatives, such as steps towards a nuclear-…