United Nations Press Release DC/2774 23 April 2001 EXPERT GROUP PREPARING STUDY ON DISARMAMENT EDUCATION HOLDS FIRST SESSION IN NEW YORK

NEW YORK, 23 April (Department for Disarmament Affairs) -- Created by General Assembly resolution 55/33 E of 20 November 2000, a group of governmental experts preparing a study on disarmament and non-proliferation education held its first session in New York from 18 to 20 April. To gather information, the group decided to conduct a wide survey of the existing educational and training programmes, courses and curricula in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation education at all levels of education, in all regions of the world. The survey will be sent to governments, United Nations agencies, university educators, disarmament and peace-related institutes and non-governmental organizations.

In addition to the survey, the group is tasked with defining contemporary disarmament and non-proliferation education and training, taking into account the need to promote a culture of non-violence and peace. It will also recommend ways to promote such education and training at all levels of formal and informal education, in particular the training of educators, parliamentarians, municipal leaders, military officers and government officials.

The group will examine ways to utilize more fully evolving pedagogic methods, particularly the revolution in information and communications technology, including distance learning, so as to be helpful to educators in the developing world. It will also recommend ways in which organizations of the United Nations system with special competence in disarmament or education or both can harmonize and coordinate their efforts in the field. Finally, it will devise ways to introduce disarmament and non-proliferation education into post-conflict situations as a contribution to peace-building.

The report will be submitted to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session in the fall of 2002. The Chairman of the Group of Experts is Ambassador Miguel Mar’n Bosch, Under Secretary for Asia, Africa, Europe and Multilateral Affairs of the Foreign Ministry of Mexico. The 10 governmental experts come from diverse geographic, educational and social traditions (Egypt, Hungary, India, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Senegal and Sweden).

The experts also began gathering information needed for the study, with written and oral presentations by relevant United Nations offices and agencies (Department of Public Information, Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, United Nations ChildrenÕs Fund, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research and the University for Peace).

The group also heard presentations by five leading formal and informal educators in disarmament and non-proliferation from the Center for Non-proliferation Studies of the Monterey Institute of International Studies, WomenÕs International League for Peace and Freedom, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, Program for General and Complete Disarmament of the University of Maryland, and the Peace Education Program of The Hague Appeal for Peace. The group also received background information in writing on the activities of 14 civil society organizations.

The group will hold its next session from 8 to 10 August, its third session in spring 2002 and its last session to finalize the report in early July next year.

Selective presentations and other materials will soon be available at www.un.org/Depts/dda. For further information, contact: Michael Cassandra, Department for Disarmament Affairs, Room 3151A, ext. 3-7714, Cassandra@un.org

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