Disarmament
A valuable platform for dialogue amidst multilateral deadlocks
The ABDM fulfils a unique role in the disarmament machinery.
“The task is to find a way to move nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation forward” – the advisory board on disarmament matters in a changing international context
It is a privilege to have been part of the disarmament community throughout my career working for the noble cause of a nuclear-weapon-free world. It allowed me to meet and work with wonderfully smart capable and determined people. I myself have always endeavoured to make a positive contribution for a better and safer world in all the positions I have held both as an ambassador representing my country Japan home to the Hibakusha – the survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – and as the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs in the early 2000s.
Foreword
It gives me great pleasure to introduce this preview edition of the 2022 United Nations Disarmament Yearbook. Since 1976 the Yearbook has provided diplomats and other interested readers with comprehensive and objective insight into the year’s developments in the field of multilateral disarmament non-proliferation and arms control.
Acknowledgements
Volume 47 of the United Nations Disarmament Yearbook like previous editions was a collaborative effort to which the staff of the Office for Disarmament Affairs devoted considerable time and effort. It was prepared under the overall direction of the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu and the Director of the Office Adedeji Ebo. We sincerely thank all colleagues who contributed to this publication on behalf of other funds programmes entities and organizations.
Information and outreach
In 2022 the General Assembly renewed two key resolutions mandating United Nations information and outreach activities in the area of disarmament: “United Nations Disarmament Information Programme” (77/87); and “United Nations study on disarmament and nonproliferation education” (77/52). Those resolutions enable the Office for Disarmament Affairs and other United Nations entities to provide Member States the diplomatic community non-governmental organizations and the public at large with unbiased up-todate and relevant information on multilateral disarmament non-proliferation and arms control.
Emerging, cross-cutting and other issues
In the 2022 sessions of various United Nations bodies the international community continued to make progress in addressing several emerging challenges related to developments in science and technology and their implications for international peace and security.
Guide to the user
The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs publishes the United Nations Disarmament Yearbook as a concise reference tool for diplomats researchers students and the general public on disarmament non-proliferation and arms control issues under consideration by the international community.
Gender and disarmament
In 2022 the cascading impact of the war in Ukraine and increasingly antagonistic relations between nuclear-armed States contributed to global and regional tensions while exacerbating humanitarian and human rights challenges. Global military spending which hit an alltime high brought disruptive implications for attaining the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development particularly its targets related to women’s empowerment and gender equality.
Conventional weapons
Throughout 2022 the world continued to suffer from the illicit transfer destabilizing accumulation and misuse of small arms light weapons and ammunition. In various settings armed violence continued to be driven by the ongoing movement of weapons to and between non-State actors including in the context of organized crime and terrorism.
Nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation
The year 2022 began on a high note when on 3 January the nuclear-weapon States1 of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) issued a joint statement affirming that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. The joint statement also reaffirmed those States’ commitments under the Treaty including those related to nuclear disarmament.
Disarmament machinery
The year saw mixed levels of progress across the various components of the multilateral disarmament machinery. The United Nations Disarmament Commission resumed substantive work and submitted its first substantive report to the General Assembly since 2018. In the seventy-seventh session of the General Assembly’s First Committee States demonstrated their engagement on disarmament-related issues through record-high numbers of interventions resolutions and decisions. The Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters convened for two sessions in 2022 tackling a new two-year programme of work on the pressing matter of global military spending. Meanwhile the Conference on Disarmament generated further frustration and discontent as it continued to be deadlocked. It could not even agree to its traditional annual report instead adopting a one-page report containing only meeting dates for 2023. Furthermore the General Assembly resolution entitled “Report of the Conference on Disarmament” was adopted by a vote for the first time.
Regional disarmament
In 2022 many regional organizations navigated the continued albeit lessened impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and increased tensions resulting from the war in Ukraine to tackle a wide range of concerns related to weapons of mass destruction and conventional arms in particular the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. While public health restrictions were gradually eased across regions allowing a range of in-person activities to resume virtual meeting technologies continued to provide valuable support in taking forward a range of projects and initiatives. The United Nations maintained regular engagement with regional and subregional organizations through regular policy dialogues long-term projects and exchanges.
Biological and chemical weapons
In 2022 the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) continued to deliver on its mandate and commitment to ensuring the full and effective implementation of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development Production Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction (Chemical Weapons Convention). OPCW also marked a major milestone with the twenty-fifth anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention on 29 April.