2008 UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME OF FELLOWSHIPS ON DISARMAMENT STARTS IN GENEVA

The 2008 United Nations Programme of Fellowships on Disarmament starts today at the United Nations Office at Geneva with the participation of young diplomats from 25 Member States of the United Nations. The programme will last for a period of nine weeks.

Diplomats from the following 25 Member States will be participating in the 2008 Disarmament Fellowship Programme: Algeria, Belarus, Benin, Bulgaria, Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Japan, Kenya, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Madagascar, Mexico, Morocco, Niger, Pakistan, Paraguay, Romania, Serbia, South Africa, Thailand and Togo.

The 2008 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 Office for Disarmament Affairs and members of the academic community. In Geneva, the Fellows will also have the opportunity to observe sessions of the Conference on Disarmament and participate in a study visit organized by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland. In New York, the Fellows will follow the proceedings of the First Committee of the General Assembly as well as a seminar organized by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies of the Monterey Institute of International Studies. The Fellowship Programme will also 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 and Japan will also be hosted by those 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 in the developing countries. Implemented by the Office for Disarmament Affairs, the Programme has trained, in the thirty years of its existence, some 759 public officials from 159 Member States, a large number of whom are now in positions of responsibility in the field of disarmament within their own Governments.

The Programme will conclude at United Nations Headquarters on 24 October. The Fellows will be awarded certificates of participation by the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Mr. Sergio Duarte.