14th Republic of Korea-United Nations Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-proliferation Issues

14th Republic of Korea-United Nations Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-proliferation Issues

“Unfinished Business of Building a More Secure World”

The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), through its Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD), and in cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Korea, organized the 14^th Republic of Korea-United Nations Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-proliferation Issues, in Seoul, Republic of Korea, on 7-8 December 2015.

An unprecedented number of more than 100 representatives from Governments and intergovernmental organizations as well as policy institutes, non-governmental organizations and academia participated in the Conference. The UN Acting High Representative for Disarmament Affairs and the Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs of the Republic of Korea opened the Conference.

Under the theme of “Unfinished Business of Building a More Secure World”, the 2015 Conference focused on the following three relevant and critical non-proliferation issues:

• Regional Issues
  Regional issues in the context of the implications of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with the Islamic Republic of Iran, and practical suggestions to revive denuclearization talks with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea;

• Space Security
  Outer space activities and recent debates regarding space security, along with efforts to establish new norms, including an international code of conduct for outer space activities;

• Nuclear Security
  The issue of nuclear security were addressed in relation to the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit, particularly the challenges and tasks ahead, as well as building an enduring nuclear security architecture following the Summit.

Hosted annually by the Republic of Korea since 2002, the Conference has become an important forum characterized by candid and constructive exchange of views among Government officials, as well as independent experts, scholars, researchers and other civil society representatives, on the challenges and solutions to key disarmament, arms-control and security issues. It moreover addresses particular disarmament and non-proliferation concerns in Asia and the Pacific.

The Conference is financed through voluntary contributions made to the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs by the Government of the Republic of Korea, which also hosts the event.