Disarmament

The Department for Disarmament Affairs, renamed United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs in 2007 (UNODA) Occasional Papers is a series of ad hoc publications presenting, in edited form, papers or statements made at meetings, symposiums, seminars, workshops or lectures that deal with topical issues in the field of arms limitation, disarmament and international security. They are intended primarily for those concerned with these matters in Government, civil society and in the academic community. South Africa emerged as a shining example to the struggle for a nuclear-weapons-free world. With the voluntary dismantling of its nuclear weapons capacity, South Africa took its place in history as the first country to take such a step. This publication presents a discussion on South Africa's position and what it should mean to other countries with nuclear weapons capacity.

The United Nations Disarmament Yearbook, volume 36 (Part II): 2011, with a foreword by the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, summarizes developments and trends in 2011 on key issues of multilateral consideration at the international and regional levels; reviews the activity of the General Assembly, the Conference on Disarmament and the Disarmament Commission; and contains a handy timeline of highlights of multilateral disarmament in 2011.

The United Nations Disarmament Yearbook has been a rich source of historical knowledge on developments, trends and achievements of multilateral disarmament for more than 30 years. In early spring of each year, Part I of the Yearbook is published containing an annual compilation of text and statistics on disarmament-related resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly. In early autumn, Part II is published presenting the main topics of multilateral consideration during the year, along with a convenient issues-oriented timeline. This year, volume 38 (Part II): 2013, with a foreword by the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, summarizes developments and trends in 2013 on key issues of multilateral consideration at the international and regional levels; reviews the activity of the General Assembly, the Conference on Disarmament and the Disarmament Commission; and contains a handy timeline of highlights of multilateral disarmament in 2013.

The Yearbook contains documentary materials of a legal character concerning the United Nations and related intergovernmental organizations (IGOs). The present volume covers activities in 2015 and contains: legislative texts and treaties, or provisions thereof, concerning the legal status of the UN and related IGOs; a general overview of the legal activities of the UN and related IGOs; selected treaties concerning international law concluded under the auspices of the organizations concerned; selected decisions of administrative tribunals of the UN and related IGOs; selected legal opinions of the UN and related IGOs; a list of judgments, advisory opinions and selected decisions rendered by international tribunals; selected decisions of national tribunals relating to the work of the UN and related IGOs.

This publication provides a historic overview of the efforts within the United Nations to reduce military spending. It examines how the discussions on reducing military budgets have evolved in disarmament forums over the last decades. This includes early efforts to pursue the reduction of military spending throughout the Cold War period as a distinct objective of general and complete disarmament, the emergence of efforts related to promoting transparency on military matters, and the various workstreams carried out under the banner of the relationship between disarmament and development.

Au fil des pages qui suivent, vous allez vous familiariser avec les principes fondamentaux du désarmement, ainsi qu’avec les actions menées par l’ONU, les gouvernements et les groupes de la société civile pour réduire le nombre de ces armes qui ont causé angoisse et souffrance à un trop grand nombre de personnes et pour les abolir.

Le 24 mai 2018, le Secrétaire général a annoncé son Agenda pour le désarmement, qui énonce un ensemble de mesures pratiques concernant toutes les questions de désarmement, y compris les armes de destruction massive, les armes classiques et les futures technologies d’armement. Elle cherche à générer de nouvelles perspectives et à explorer des domaines dans lesquels un dialogue sérieux est nécessaire pour ramener le désarmement au cœur de nos efforts communs en faveur de la paix et de la sécurité.

The United Nations Disarmament Yearbook, volume 42 (Part II): 2017, with a foreword by the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, summarizes developments and trends in 2017 on key issues of multilateral consideration at the international and regional levels; reviews the activity of the General Assembly, the Conference on Disarmament and the Disarmament Commission; and contains a handy timeline of highlights of multilateral disarmament in 2017.

The initial years of the new millennium have seen little substantive progress in nuclear arms control and indeed many setbacks. Despite these discouraging developments, however, there is still considerable need, and potential, for progress to be made in nuclear arms control at a regional level, namely through of the consolidation and expansion of nuclear-weapon-free zones (NWFZs). The present study discusses the status and benefits of existing and proposed NWFZs.

This edition of Civil Society and Disarmament explores recent work by the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) in support of legal instruments on the misuse, diversion, and illicit proliferation of small arms, light weapons, and their ammunition. IANSA, a global civil society network comprising hundreds of member organizations, has advocated both for effective implementation of these instruments and for their development as living – not static – documents.

This edition of the Occasional Paper, published by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, celebrates the fifteenth anniversary of the United Nations Study on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education, which was presented to the United Nations General Assembly in 2002 (A/57/124). It contains contributions from experts from around the world, which showcase fresh perspectives, new ideas and innovations in disarmament and non-proliferation education.

This publication addresses the issue of military spending from various angles by examining the impact of military expenditures on security; the relationship between military spending and the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; the importance of gender perspectives in rethinking unconstrained military spending; and lessons learned from economic conversion movements. It has been published in support of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Secretary-General’s Agenda for Disarmament to encourage renewed research and analysis on the relationship between military spending and economic and social development.

International peace and security - and therefore disarmament - stand at the core of the UN mandate. This publication is designed to inform, educate and generate public understanding of the importance of multilateral action, and to rally support for it, in the field of arms limitation and disarmament. Intended primarily for the general reader, this basic guide may also be useful for the disarmament educator or trainer. It is published by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs in collaboration with the NGO (non-governmental organizations) Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security pursuant to the purposes of the United Nations Disarmament Information Programme.

This is the annual report submitted to the General Assembly by the Disarmament Commission for 2018.

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms, the Office for Disarmament Affairs is publishing this special edition of the Disarmament Study Series. This volume contains a newly written overview of the Register for reference by governments and the interested public, original material to guide national points of contact in preparing and submitting reports for the Register, and the report of the 2016 Group of Governmental Experts on the continuing operation of the Register. The United Nations Register of Conventional Arms is an annual reporting mechanism through which governments can share information on weapons they transferred the previous year. Member States reporting to it provide information on the build-up and volume of the conventional arsenals which it deems essential to maintain a credible defence and perform effective peacekeeping tasks.

International peace and security - and therefore disarmament - stand at the core of the UN mandate. This publication is designed to inform, educate and generate public understanding of the importance of multilateral action, and to rally support for it, in the field of arms limitation and disarmament. Intended primarily for the general reader, this basic guide may also be useful for the disarmament educator or trainer. It is published by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs in collaboration with the NGO (non-governmental organizations) Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security pursuant to the purposes of the United Nations Disarmament Information Programme.

L’Annuaire des Nations Unies sur le désarmement, sous forme imprimée ou électronique, a pour but d’être un ouvrage de référence succinct à l’intention des diplomates, des chercheurs, des étudiants et du public; il porte sur les questions de désarmement, de non-prolifération et de maîtrise des armements examinées par la communauté internationale. La première partie de l’Annuaire de 2011 contient toutes les résolutions et décisions relatives au désarmement adoptées à la session précédente de l’Assemblée générale. La seconde partie est divisée entre les principales questions multilatérales examinées pendant l’année. Elle décrit les faits nouveaux et les tendances concernant ces questions; elle contient un calendrier thématique pratique; des résumés succincts des votes sur les résolutions et décisions à la Première Commission et à l’Assemblée générale; le texte intégral des principaux accords multilatéraux adoptés pendant l’année et les déclarations adoptées par les Conférences d’examen des traités.

The United Nations Disarmament Yearbook, volume 42 (Part II): 2017, with a foreword by the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, summarizes developments and trends in 2017 on key issues of multilateral consideration at the international and regional levels; reviews the activity of the General Assembly, the Conference on Disarmament and the Disarmament Commission; and contains a handy timeline of highlights of multilateral disarmament in 2017.

This publication contains the statements by representatives of civil society organizations which were delivered on 7 May 2010 during the Non-Governmental Organization segment of the 2010 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.