** UNITED NATIONS MEDIA ALERT **  | February 13, 2009

UNU Book Launch and Panel Discussion
World Religions and Norms of War: Exploring the Links
3:30pm to 5:30pm, Thursday, 19 February 2009
Conference Room 7 (CR7), UN Headquarters, New York
2:00pm to 3:30pm, Friday, 20 February 2009
United States Institute of Peace, Washington D.C.

The United Nations University Office at the UN in New York (UNU-ONY) is organizing a book launch and panel discussion entitled “World Religions and the Norms of War” to showcase a recently published volume of the same name. Published by United Nations University (UNU) Press 2009 and edited by Vesselin Popovski, Gregory M. Reichberg, and Nicholas Turner, the book originates from a joint project conducted by UNU and the International Peace Institute, Oslo (PRIO). The event will take place in two locations. The first will be on Thursday, February 19, 2009, from 3:30pm to 5:30pm in Conference Room 7 at the UN headquarters in New York and the second on Friday, February 20, 2009 from 2:00pm to 3:30pm at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington D.C.

Recent armed conflicts - domestic and international - have drawn f resh attention to age-old questions concerning when war can be justified, and what methods and targets are permissible during war. Written by an international team of distinguished specialists in their respective traditions, the book takes the reader through the evolution of attitudes and teachings related to the ethics of war within the world's leading religious traditions, opening up new areas of discussion.

The event aims to explore fresh analyses of when and how world religions justify the use of force and its implications on the explanation of recent conflicts, as well as identify potential policy implications and areas for further research. The importance of examining such discourse arises from the fact that religions continue to be the foundations of human civilization; with their deep ethical roots and significant influence on20human thinking and actions, they are the central anchors of the human consciousness and motivation.

The three editors: Dr. Vesselin Popovski, UNU; Dr. Gregory M. Reichberg, PRIO and Mr. Nicholas Turner, UNU; as well as Dr. Henrik Syse, PRIO, will be presenting at both events. Archbishop Migliore, Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations and Dr. Walter Dorn, Royal Military College, Canada and Dr. Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director of the UNU-ONY (moderator) will be speaking at the New York event. Dr. David Smock, USIP (moderator) and Dr. Marshall Breger, Columbus School of Law; will be speaking at the event in D.C.

UNU’s objective behind this event is to focus on our mandate of generating knowledge on issues of global importance through discussions conducted by expert speakers. The UNU-New York office regularly organizes such events to promote ideas from experts from around the world on the UN platform. We hope to provide an engaging, interactive, and thoughtful experience to all in attendance.

All media are invited to attend. To register and for more information on the event please visit our website http://www.ony.unu.edu

(If you have any queries, please contact: Ms. Ranita Ragunathan on tel: 212-963-
6387 or email: [email protected])