The UNU/IC programme is designed for postgraduate students and professionals from Japan and abroad who are seeking positions in international fields, including the United Nations system, national foreign-service agencies, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Forty-nine participants from 34 countries throughout the world will take part in this year's UNU/IC programme, each taking either one or two courses. Participants who successfully complete a course will receive a UNU certificate of completion.

The four courses being offered this year are: Armed Conflict and Peace-Keeping, Environment Institutions and Governance, Human Rights: Concepts and Issues, and International Trade and Dispute Settlement.

UNU/IC instructors include UNU academic programme staff and scholars engaged in UNU research projects, representatives of various UN agencies and other international organizations, and eminent university professors and professionals from around the world. Among the more than 30 international scholars teaching in this year's UNU/IC programme are Lt. General John Sanderson (Australia), Former Military Component Commander, United Nations Transition Authority in Cambodia; Dr. Michael Stocking, Professor of Natural Resource Development, University of East Anglia (UK); Ms. Stephanie Kleine-Albrandt, Human Rights Officer, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Dr. Sirilaksana Khoman, Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Thammasat University (Thailand); and Dr. Mitsuo Matsushita, Professor of Law, Seikei University (Japan).

This is the second year of the UNU/IC programme, following a pilot session conducted last year (February-March 1999). It is intended that the UNU/IC programme will become an integral part of the UNU's training and capacity-building activities. For additional details about the UNU/IC, see http://archive.unu.edu/ic/index.htm.

Media representatives are cordially invited to attend the 15 May opening ceremony, which will include a buffet lunch reception. A copy of the programme is attached.