Purpose & Function

For more than thirty years, the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security has provided services and facilities to hundreds of citizens' groups concerned with the peace and disarmament activities of the United Nations. Because of its distinguished efforts as conference organizer, network clearing house, newpaper publisher, and year-round UN liaison, the NGO Committee is viewed as a primary ally of the international movement for arms control, peace and disarmament, and the continuing body designated to serve this worldwide constituency. The Committee has a crucial and expanding responsibility to inform NGOs worldwide of the status of negotiation, country positions, major obstacles and opportunities, and to help NGOs transmit their expertise and creative proposals to the appropriate decision-making fora.

To fulfill these important responsibilities, the Committee has several major program areas:

NGO COORDINATION: Our Committee facilitates the participation of NGOs in formal disarmament meetings at the UN, such as the General Assembly debates and review meetings of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). This is a central function of the NGO Committee, as the main liaison between the NGO community and the UN Secretariat, and active partner of both. The Committee assists the UN Secretariat with NGO accreditation, conducts orientation and citizen diplomacy training, organizes briefings with key delegates and journalists, and arranges NGO presentations and special events within and outside the UN. We also advocate for a broader NGO role in the UN system. No one can doubt the importance of the formal participation of civil society in disarmament negotiations: witness NGOs' precedent-setting role in obtaining a convention banning anti-personnel land mines.

DISARMAMENT TIMES: In order to pressure their governments to take constructive action, NGOs require timely and nuanced information. Ours is the only publication providing full and timely coverage of UN disarmament news. Distributed free at UN headquarters in New York and Geneva and mailed to other decision-makers, it offers primary information of use to lobbyists, legislators, researchers, NGOs and the interested public. Many delegations use Disarmament Times as a key source for reporting to their capitals.

FORA AND PROGRAMS: The NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security holds panel discussion on arms control and disarmament issues particularly during the time the First Committee, the Disarmament and Security Committee, is in session in the fall and also in the spring when the Disarmament Commission meets. These for a provide a way in which NGO proposals and NGO expert advice can be introduced into the discussion that takes place at the UN. Most panels have both NGO experts and delegates as participants. Increasingly, throughout the year, the Committee is also holding discussions on initiatives to resolve conflicts in the Middle East, in South Asia, and elsewhere. We welcome suggestions from NGOs working in conflict areas for future programming.

DISARMAMENT EDUCATION: In 2001, the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security, along with a communications professor at Fordham University, co-sponsored a graduate seminar on disarmament policy at the UN. UN diplomats, staff members form the UN Department for Disarmament Affairs, UN correspondents, and NGO representatives spoke with the students about different aspects of disarmament.

INTERNATIONAL NETWORKING: The majority of NGOs interested in peace and disarmament never visit the UN headquarters, but the success of their work and their influence with governments are greatly enhanced by knowing what goes on here. The Committee participates in electronic networks and online correspondence with hundreds of NGOs worldwide. It maintains a Web site (http://disarm.igc.org), which provides la great deal of information on disarmament issues and also has inks to hundreds of organizations concerned with disarmament and peace issues.

NETWORKING WITH NGOS INVOLVED IN RESOLVING CONFLICTS: There is often little reportage in the press of the efforts of NGOs in conflict areas to resolve those conflicts. Few know that there are NGOs in India and Pakistan in contact with each other who are endeavoring to improve relations between their countries. Or that there are Israeli and Palestinian NGOs working together to achieve peace in the Middle East. We believe it is imperative to support such groups. Please contact us with information about other NGOs that are doing similar work. We will publicize their activities on our web site.