New York, 29 January 2013 (Office for Disarmament Affairs) – The 24th United Nations Conference on Disarmament Issues will take place in Shizuoka City, Japan, from 30 January to 1 February 2013. This annual event is organized by the Office for Disarmament Affairs, through its Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific, in cooperation with the Government of Japan, and this year’s host city of Shizuoka.

The Conference will be attended by representatives of States, local governments, the United Nations and other inter-governmental organizations, academic institutions, NGOs and other civil society organizations, the media and university students. With the overarching theme of “Creating a Peaceful and Safe Future: Pressing Issues and Potential Solutions”, the Conference will address a number of important issues, including: humanitarian dimensions of nuclear weapons, nuclear-weapon-free zones, current situation and challenges to the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime, nuclear safety and security, small arms and light weapons control, the role of civil society in promoting disarmament, and disarmament and non-proliferation education.

The Conference, an annual event held in Japan since 1989, is recognized as an important forum for frank dialogue and an exchange of views on current pressing security and disarmament-related challenges facing the international community. It also addresses particular regional disarmament and non-proliferation concerns, including those in the Asia-Pacific region.

The annual conference is financed through voluntary contributions made to the Office for Disarmament Affairs by the Government of Japan and in-kind contributions by the host city in Japan.

For further information, please contact Ms. Sharon Riggle, Director, United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD): Tel.: +977 1 501-0257; Fax:+977 1 501-0223; e-mail: info@unrcpd.org.np

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