The General Assembly is the main deliberative organ of the United Nations in the field of disarmament, and it has the mandate to consider and make recommendations on all international security and disarmament questions. The First Committee of the General Assembly consists of representatives of all Member States and, since the 1978 special session on disarmament, it deals exclusively with disarmament and related international security issues. (First Committee press releases) The United Nations Disarmament Commission provides a forum for discussion of disarmament issues when the General Assembly is not in session. It thus meets in New York, usually in April/May, for a period of approximately four weeks. (Disarmament Commission press releases) Multilateral disarmament negotiations take place in the Conference on Disarmament (CD), which meets in Geneva for approximately six months each year. The Conference negotiated the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) which was adopted by the General Assembly in September 1996. (CD press releases)
Official texts of disarmament treaties are available on-line through the Fletcher Program in International Studies at Tufts University. These include: