NEW DISARMAMENT EXHIBIT OPENS AT HEADQUARTERS 23 OCTOBER

A new exhibit on disarmament will be opened on Monday, 23 October at 3 p.m. at the exhibit’s location on the third floor of the General Assembly Building. Michael Douglas, one of the United Nations “Messengers of Peace”, together with the Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Kensaku Hogen, and the Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, Jayantha Dhanapala, will participate in the opening ceremony. The ceremony takes place as the international community concludes this year’s observance of Disarmament Week.

Mr. Douglas, the American actor and producer, is being honoured by Secretary-General Kofi Annan along with other United Nations Messengers of Peace and Goodwill Ambassadors in a day-long programme at United Nations Headquarters. He has been a Messenger of Peace since 1998, and brings to this event his special interest in nuclear disarmament and the need to curb the spread of small arms. In addition to disarmament, he has chosen the related issue of human rights as a focus of his efforts to draw attention to the work of the United Nations around the world.

The exhibit’s location in the corridor leading to the General Assembly Hall is particularly fitting, as disarmament was the subject of the first resolution adopted by the General Assembly and remains one of the most important items on that body’s agenda. A feature of the guided tour, it will be seen by over half a million people who visit United Nations Headquarters every year. Conducted by young men and women from over 30 different countries, the guided tour is available in as many as 20 different languages. Nearly half of those who take the tour each year are students at all grade levels.

As a concern that has been at the forefront of the United Nations since its inception, disarmament continues to command the attention of the international community. In his report to the Millennium Assembly this year, the Secretary-General noted that “the need for a more human-centred approach to security is reinforced by the continuing dangers that weapons of mass destruction, most notably, nuclear weapons, still pose to humanity.” In September, the Millennium Summit endorsed that view by declaring its resolve “to strive for the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons”.

- 1 - Note No. 5637 20 October 2000

The exhibit is intended to educate the visiting public about disarmament, providing a concise yet comprehensive look at the issue. It presents its historical aspects from the use of the atomic bomb to the subsequent nuclear arms race to emerging concerns in a post-cold war world. It also covers the threat posed by other weapons of mass destruction, such as chemical and biological weapons, as well as the continuing proliferation of small arms, landmines and other conventional weapons. It provides comparisons of military expenditures with expenditures on social services, such as health and education. Finally, it portrays the role of the United Nations and others in this key area, citing the treaties, conventions and other international agreements which have been negotiated and adopted over the years.

Using photographs, graphic illustrations and artifacts, the exhibit presents the issue in a compelling and accessible way, reinforcing the information provided to visitors by the United Nations tour guides. Among the new objects on display are landmines and other weapons. Also on view are items which had been part of the previous exhibit on disarmament; remnants from the atomic blasts over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan in 1945, which include melted coins, clothing and a statue of St. Agnes which had been standing before a Catholic church in Nagasaki. While the church was completely destroyed in the explosion, the statue, weighing 1.5 tons, suffered only the loss of its right arm and burns over the back.

The exhibit was produced by the Department of Public Information and the Department for Disarmament Affairs. For more information, please contact Mr. Michael Cassandra of the Department for Disarmament Affairs, tel. (212) 963- 7714; e-mail: [email protected], or Ms. Helene Hoedl of DPI, tel. (212) 963- 3242; e-mail: [email protected]. Further information on disarmament can be found at http://www.un.org/Depts/dda and on visiting United Nations Headquarters at http://www.un.org/MoreInfo/pubsvs.

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