CTBTO Spectrum - December 2002 Issue 1 - Comprehensive ...

Notes & quotesUnited Nations Study onDisarmament and Non-Proliferation EducationThe United Nations Study onDisarmament and Non-ProliferationEducation was the subject of a roundtablediscussion attended by educators, students,non-governmental organizations,representatives of the United Nations(UN) system and government officials on9 October 2002 at United NationsHeadquarters. The UN Under-SecretaryGeneral for Disarmament Affairs,Jayantha Dhanapala, gave the openingaddress at the public launch of the study“Effective and successfuldisarmament educationrequires an active partnershipbetween governments,international organizationsand civil society.”which was later on submitted to the FirstCommittee of the 57th General Assemblyby the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairsof Mexico, Miguel Marin Bosch. Thestudy was prepared over the past twoyears by a Group of Experts, including tengovernmental experts representing diversegeographical regions of the world, underthe chair of Miguel Marin Bosch. Theprocess of producing the study broughttogether for the first time representativesof international organizations such asUNESCO, OPCW, CTBTO, Universityfor Peace, UNIDIR, non-governmentalorganizations and educational institutions.According to the Group of Experts,the overall purpose of disarmament andnon-proliferation education and trainingis “to impart knowledge and skills toempower individuals to make theircontribution, as national and worldcitizens, to the achievement of generaland complete disarmament undereffective international control.” Thestudy assessed the existing experience inthe field, examined new aspects of themultilateral disarmament debate,questions of non-proliferation as appliedto weapons of mass destruction andsmall arms, and worked out a series ofpractical recommendations for thepromotion of disarmament and nonproliferationeducation and training.Effective and successfuldisarmament education requires an activepartnership between governments,international organizations and civilsociety, as the UN Secretary-Generalnoted in his preface to the study:“Disarmament education seeks to informand empower citizens to work with theirGovernments for positive change. I hopethat Governments, the United Nationsfamily, other international organizations,disarmament-related organizations, nongovernmentalorganizations and others ina position to contribute will do their partto sustain the process of consultation andcooperation started by the Group ofExperts, so that disarmament and nonproliferationeducation becomes anintegral – and natural – part of theeducation of the next generation.”Ministerial statementA joint statement by the ForeignMinisters of 18 countries, includingRussia, France and the United Kingdom,was issued on 14 September 2002following a meeting on the margins ofthe United Nations General Assembly.The statement urges States that have notsigned or ratified the ComprehensiveNuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) to doso as soon as possible.The Ministers said at the pressbriefing during which the statement wasissued that the early entry into force ofthe Treaty was central to nucleardisarmament and non-proliferationobjectives. “The prevention of theproliferation of materials, technologiesand knowledge which can be used forweapons of mass destruction is one ofthe most important challenges the worldis facing today. Additional internationaltensions have developed since the CTBTwas negotiated, which make entry intoforce of the Treaty...even more urgenttoday. We affirm that the CTBT has anessential role to play in strengtheningglobal peace and security”.The Ministers called on all States tocontinue the moratorium on nuclearweapon test explosions and stressed theimportance of maintaining momentum inbuilding the verification regime. Theystated that they will do all they can tomake the Treaty a focus of attention atthe highest political levels.“The prevention of the proliferation ofmaterials, technologies and knowledgewhich can be used for weapons of massdestruction is one of the most importantchallenges the world is facing today.”PAGE 2CTBTO SPECTRUM 1 | WWW.CTBTO.ORG