MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMI- NARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORK- SHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PA- PERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA UNODA Occasional Papers WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS No. 37, December 2020 PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS United Nations Programme PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGSof Fellowships PRESENTATIONS on Disarmament PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIAat 40 WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS ISBN 978-92-1-139193-0 PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS20 15562 STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA WORKSHOPS MEETINGS PRESENTATIONS PAPERS SEMINARS STATEMENTS SYMPOSIA UNODA Occasional Papers No. 37, December 2020 United Nations Programme of Fellowships on Disarmament at 40 The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) publishes the UNODA Occasional Papers series to feature, in edited form, papers or statements made at meetings, symposiums, seminars, workshops or lectures that deal with topical issues in the field of arms limitation, disarmament and international security. They are intended primarily for those concerned with these matters in Government, civil society and in the academic community. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations or its Member States. Material in UNODA Occasional Papers may be reprinted without permission, provided the credit line reads “Reprinted from UNODA Occasional Papers” and specifies the number of the Occasional Paper concerned. Notification to the following e-mail address would be highly appreciated: [email protected]. Symbols of United Nations documents are composed of capital letters combined with figures. These documents are available in the official languages of the United Nations at http://ods.un.org. Specific disarmament-related documents can also be accessed through the disarmament reference collection at www.un.org/disarmament/publications/library. This publication is available from www.un.org/disarmament UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATION Sales No. E.20.IX.8 ISBN 978-92-1-139193-0 eISBN 978-92-1-100527-8 Copyright © United Nations, 2020 All rights reserved Printed at the United Nations, New York Contents Foreword v Acknowledgements xi My experience as a United Nations Disarmament Fellow 1 Tejaswinee Burumdoyal 2017 Disarmament Fellow (Mauritius) A programme with high professional value: A booster for excellence of young multilateral disarmament diplomats 7 Radoslav Deyanov 1979 Disarmament Fellow (Bulgaria) Every quest needs a fellowship 15 Amandeep S. Gill 1999 Disarmament Fellow (India) Memories of a United Nations Disarmament Fellow 21 Rafael Mariano Grossi 1986 Disarmament Fellow (Argentina) Bridging divides and building friendships 25 Chris King 2007 Disarmament Fellow (Australia) In commemoration of the fortieth anniversary of the United Nations Programme of Fellowships on Disarmament 32 Shorna-Kay Richards 2005 Disarmament Fellow (Jamaica) The Fellowship of 1980 and my encounter with the Salle du Conseil of the Palais des Nations in Geneva 42 Tibor Tóth 1980 Disarmament Fellow (Hungary) Appendix United Nations Disarmament Fellows listed by year 54 iii Foreword As the coordinator of the United Nations Programme of Fellowships on Disarmament since 2014, I have never been a Fellow myself—and, sadly, I no longer meet all the criteria to qualify. But my connection to the Programme dates back to the start of my diplomatic career in the mid-1980s, when two former Fellows who shared my office gave me some early insight into what makes this annual training so remarkable. Back then, I was working in an area of multilateral diplomacy completely unrelated to disarmament. Nonetheless, as my office’s most junior recruit, I was assigned in 1985 to co-organize a programme study visit to my country. The Programme of Fellowships on Disarmament was still young at that time, having convened its first “class” in 1980, just one year after its establishment, at the initiative of Nigeria, by the first special session of the United Nations General Assembly devoted to disarmament. Yet, despite its short history, the Programme was already an institution. In fact, one of “my” Fellows would later describe it as “legendary”. Its main goal was, and remains, “to promote expertise in disarmament in more Member States, particularly in developing countries”. Its curriculum provides training in negotiation and multilateral diplomacy, honing the ability of Fellows to bridge divides on disarmament issues through innovative thinking, proactive dialogue and effective coordination with international colleagues. Participants gain a nuanced understanding of the complex factors that can foster or undermine disarmament efforts, and they develop critical thinking skills that enable them to leverage their deepened knowledge into effective multilateral action. In this process, Fellows also develop subject-matter v expertise and witness, through in-person study visits, the impacts of weapons use on the environment, on international security and on individual lives. The Fellowship Programme incorporates educational lectures, round tables and panel discussions with senior diplomats and representatives of international organizations, academia and civil society. Fellows take part in practical exercises like tests, simulation exercises and seminars, while also interacting directly with hibakusha and visiting disarmament-related sites around the world. Finally, each participant develops a research paper and presents it to peers. The Programme is usually organized in three parts. It begins in Geneva with a curriculum focused mostly on the work of the Conference on Disarmament and on several disarmament and arms control treaty regimes. This segment also provides a basic introduction to various legal frameworks, weapon types and organs of the multilateral disarmament machinery. Its second component comprises study visits to relevant intergovernmental organizations and Member States, at their invitation. Typical hosts have included the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials, as well as China, Germany, Japan, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland and European Union institutions. Other hosts of these visits have included Bulgaria, the former Czechoslovakia, Finland, France, the former German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Romania, Sweden, the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America. The third part of the Programme, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York, is centred on the First Committee of the General Assembly, as well as other United Nations disarmament and arms control-related mechanisms. Fellows vi also finalize and present their research papers during this segment. In the 40 years since its establishment, the annual Programme has trained 1,033 Fellows from 170 countries (see appendix). But while these facts and statistics provide an accurate description of the Fellowship Programme, they hardly convey what makes it so unique, so celebrated, so “legendary”. The reader will hopefully find some answers in this Occasional Paper, which presents the thoughts and memories of seven former Disarmament Fellows representing several generations. First, though, allow me to share my perspective as a coordinator of an experience that many Fellows have described as a “once-in-a-lifetime”