Disarmament
UNODA Occasional Papers No. 39
The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs is publishing this paper on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms. It aims to provide guidance in support of Member State participation in the Register. The text includes an overview of the Register for reference by Governments and the interested public as well as original material to guide national points of contact in preparing and submitting reports for the Register. The second part of the paper contains the report of the 2022 Group of Governmental Experts on the continuing operation of the Register.
Preface
On the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA) the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) is pleased to provide guidance in support of Member State participation in the Register.
Firearms Trafficking in the Sahel
Firearms Trafficking in the Sahel is part of a series of transnational organized crime threat assessment reports on the Sahel. The report explores firearms trafficking in the Sahel by looking at the nature of the market trafficking flows the main actors involved as well as the enablers and impact of this form of trafficking on the region. While there is evidence of long-range firearms trafficking to the Sahel including by air from France and from Turkey via Nigeria it appears that the vast majority of firearms trafficked in the region are procured within Africa. Since 2019 Libya has become a source of supply for newly manufactured weapons. Apparently newly produced AK-pattern assault rifles sourced from Libya are available on the black market in Gao Timbuktu and Ménaka regions of northern Mali.
Civil society leaders weigh disarmament strategies for a better world
On 14 September 2020 the United Nations Youth Champions for Disarmament attended a meeting between the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs and civil society advocates working on many of the same issues.
A Woman, a Latin American—and a future force of change
As a Colombian I grew up in a nation marked by violence and armed conflict. These matters seized my interest from a very young age; learning about them felt vital to understanding my country and the factors that drive conflicts around the world.
Civil Society and Disarmament 2022
Launched in 2019 the #Youth4Disarmament (Y4D) initiative of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) seeks to engage educate and empower young people to facilitate their meaningful contribution to disarmament efforts. The “Spotlight Stories” section of the Y4D community website (https://www.youth4disarmament.org/youth_spotlight) offers a space for young people to share – in their own voices and from their own perspectives – why the work of disarmament is critical to building peace and how they are helping push the field forward. This compilation of stories reveals the hope for a better future shared by members of the largest generation in history and it shows some of the diverse ways they are finding to pursue peace through disarmament in the twenty-first century.
Youth Champions for Disarmament discuss weapons of mass destruction with United Nations staff
The United Nations Youth Champions for Disarmament recently had an opportunity to learn from two members of UNODA’s Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Branch. They reminded us that we could reshape the world if we worked together to free it from nuclear biological and chemical weapons.
Keeping youth in the loop on “killer robots”
I took a deep breath and began reading my speech starting with its first sentence
#75Words heard across the world
This year has shifted many of our lives into virtual reality. Handshakes have been replaced with emails friendly catch-ups with cyber get-togethers and traditional in-person exchanges with a procession of online activities.
How can action on conventional weapons help us achieve the Sustainable Development Goals?
After watching a United Nations ceremony commemorating the International Day Against Nuclear Tests the United Nations Youth Champions for Disarmament had a valuable opportunity to learn from two UNODA staff members about the twenty-first-century challenges and implications of conventional weapons including their relationship with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The end of the training, but the beginning of so much more!
During the training Mr. Takuma Haga an Associate Political Affairs Officer at UNODA and Mr. John Ennis UNODA’s Head of Information and Outreach discussed the work of regional disarmament the different elements of the UNODA outreach strategy and their own professional experiences.
Young people in Seoul host disarmament education event with former top United Nations official
How can we make more young people aware of the importance of disarmament? This became a defining question for me as I led an education project for the Northeast Asia Youth Steering Committee a group supported by UNODA and the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs.
Foreword
The world is now home to the largest youth generation in history: more than one in every three people today is under the age of 25.
Introduction
The #Youth4Disarmament initiative of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) seeks to engage with educate and empower young people to facilitate their meaningful contribution to disarmament efforts.
Nukes, trumpets and the “ultimate goal”—United Nations Youth Champions fireside chat with Dr. Randy Rydell
It is not every day that one gets to talk to a retired Senior Political Affairs Officer at the United Nations who is also the main trumpet in the United Nations Symphony Orchestra! Therefore we Youth Champions for Disarmament were looking forward to the fireside chat with Dr. Randy Rydell. Having spent his professional life engaged in disarmament affairs in academia think tanks and Government institutions he was able to provide diverse perspectives and introduce us to some terminological pitfalls young people could find in the field of disarmament. For example disarmament meaning the elimination of agreed classes of weapons is not the same as arms control which denotes the regulation of armament in terms of numbers range lethality etc.