2 March 2004 Media Statement

Hobbs to open New York disarmament conference

The threat posed by weapons of mass destruction will be one of the pressing issues to be debated at a New Zealand-sponsored disarmament conference in New York this week, Disarmament Minister Marian Hobbs said today.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has accepted an invitation to address the meeting, which will be opened by Marian Hobbs.

The conference, "Weapons of mass destruction and the United Nations", is convened by the International Peace Academy, a leading think tank on the global peace and security issues facing the United Nations.

"Weapons of mass destruction are one of the most pressing issues before the international community," Marian Hobbs said. "They are at the forefront of so many flashpoints, from the conflict in Iraq to the tensions on the Korean peninsula.

"We hope this conference will provoke debate and stimulate fresh thinking on how the international community can best respond to these challenges."

Participants in the conference will include senior UN officials, diplomats, and members of think tanks and NGOs. Discussion will be under 'Chatham House rules' to encourage free-flowing debate.

The conference will be held on Friday March 5 (Saturday morning NZ time) at the Millennium UN Plaza Hotel.

Marian Hobbs leaves for New York tomorrow afternoon and returns to New Zealand on Monday morning.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>