20 October 2017
October 19th, Izumi Nakamitsu Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs at the United Nations gave a lecture at MGIMO entitled «From words to deeds. Disarmament in the UN agenda».
The University’s Vice-Rector for Graduate and International Programs Andrey Baykov welcomed the guest of honor and underlined the fact that it is essential within the University not only to make sure students acquire a theoretical understanding of International Relations but also gain practical experience. The Vice-Rector noted that cooperation between MGIMO and the UN is long-running and that in 2018 the University and UNITAR are opening a joint program on Multilateral Diplomacy.
In her talk, Izumi Nakamitsu dealt with some key issues the UN is facing today: disarmament, the different approaches to ensuring the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, North Korea’s nuclear program, the situation in Iran and the threats posed by chemical weapons in Syria. Her speech aroused the interest of the audience and provoked a lively discussion.
Prior to this year’s appointment, Izumi Nakamitsu was Assistant Administrator of the Crisis Response Unit at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). During her career she also served as Special Adviser Ad Interim on Follow-up to the Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants and as Director of the Asia and the Middle East Division of the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations.
— See the MGIMO web-site for more photos and russian version
