On 23 January, James Kearney, UNA-UK Peace and Security Programmes Manager, spoke to a large audience composed of members of the Scottish Parliament, academics, researchers, students and UNA members in the Scottish Parliament. Organised by UNA Edinburgh, the talk continued UNA-UK’s outreach and educational work in the peace and security area.
Kearney’s talk - titled ‘New Year: New Challenges for Peace and Security' - was chaired by Mr John Finnie, Member of the Scottish Parliament for Highlands and Islands, and focused on nuclear disarmament, peacekeeping and civilian protection (including the ‘responsibility to protect’ norm). Attention was drawn to UNA-UK’s recent work as part of its ‘Towards Zero’ project, including the submission of evidence to the House of Commons Defence Select Committee’s ‘Deterrence in the 21st Century’ inquiry and recent delegation visit to China to meet with UNA China and representatives of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Responding to questions on international security, the peace and security programmes manager iterated that although inter-governmental negotiations on Iran and Syria would continue to dominate the news, the world must not forget the humanitarian plight facing people in, for example, Syria, the Central African Republic and South Sudan.
For more information on UNA-UK’s Towards Zero programme, contact James Kearney, UNA-UK Peace and Security Programmes Manager, at kearney@una.org.uk or on 020 7766 3446.
