Ban Ki-moon reiterated United Nations support to the Peruvian initiative to reduce arms expenditures in the region   (Lima, February- 2011) – During the official visit to Peru last February, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, congratulated the Peruvian government's initiative for a "Protocol of Peace, Security and Cooperation" linked to regional disarmament and showed the support of the United Nations, in particular of the Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) to meet that goal. The UN Secretary-General regretted that in many countries military expenditures are "excessive” and expressed that he would like UN Member States to share among themselves their military expenditures in a transparent manner so that these funds may be used for “better purposes". Ban Ki-moon, who was received with honors by President Alan García Pérez at the Governmental Palace, noted that the Peruvian initiative coincides with the peace and disarmament goals of the United Nations and stressed the need to cut costs for weapons and spend these budgets on social projects. To this end, the Secretary-General highlighted the work being carried out in pursuit of disarmament, peace and security by UNLIREC, based in Lima, which provides technical assistance to States to support their disarmament efforts. The initiative "Protocol of Peace, Security and Cooperation" was presented by President Alan Garcia at the Special Summit of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) in August 2009 and is being analyzed by the UNASUR Defense Council. In the Declaration of Bariloche, the South American leaders expressed, among other things, their desire to "strengthen the South American zone of peace, promising to establish a mutual trust mechanism in defense and security (...)", thus rejecting the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity of another UNASUR Member State. Ban Ki-moon held a meeting with United Nations staff in Peru where he highlighted the work being done in support of development. Moreover, he spoke of the need for greater female participation in the higher echelons of the world organization and noted the efforts made by his administration in this regard. For further information: Bárbara Ortiz +51.1.625.91.13 - ortiz@unlirec.org