2006 UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME OF FELLOWSHIPS ON DISARMAMENT STARTS IN GENEVA
The 2006 United Nations Programme of Fellowships on Disarmament begins today at the United Nations Office at Geneva with the participation of young diplomats from 30 Member States of the United Nations. The programme will last for a period of almost ten weeks.
Diplomats from the following 30 Member States will be participating in the 2006 Disarmament Fellowship Programme: Argentina, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Chile, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Georgia, Guinea, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Latvia, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal, Russian Federation, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, United States of America and Zimbabwe.
The 2006 Disarmament Fellowship Programme will include lectures by senior representatives of States members of the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva and delegations to the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, staff members of the Department for Disarmament Affairs, and members of the academic community. In Geneva, the Fellows will have the opportunity to observe sessions of the Conference on Disarmament. In New York, the Fellows will also follow the proceedings of the First Committee of the General Assembly, as well as a seminar organized by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies of the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Further, the Fellowship Programme will include study visits to the Organization on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization in Vienna. As in previous years, study visits to Germany, the People’s Republic of China, and Japan will also be hosted by the respective governments.
The United Nations Programme of Fellowships on Disarmament was launched by the General Assembly in 1978 with the aim of promoting expertise in disarmament in more Member States, particularly among the developing countries. Implemented by the Department for Disarmament Affairs, the Programme has trained, in the twenty-seven years of its existence, some 704 public officials from 155 Member States, a large number of whom are now in positions of responsibility in the area of disarmament within their own Governments.
The Programme will conclude at United Nations Headquarters on 1 November. The Fellows will be awarded certificates of participation by the Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, Mr. Nobuaki Tanaka.
For use of the information media; not an official record
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