UN Disarmament Machinery

(Photo from http://www.un.org/ga/60/)

The First Committee of the UN General Assembly

Each fall, after the General Assembly concludes its general debate, it begins consideration of the substantive items on its agenda. The GA distributes most questions among its six Main Committees. The First Committee specifically handles items relating to disarmament and international security. It seeks, where possible, to harmonize the various approaches of States, votes on various draft resolutions, and then presents these resolutions for consideration to a plenary meeting of the GA. Each Member State has a representative on the First Committee.

• Documents of the First Committee's 60th Session meeting in 2005
• Schedule of Events for First Committee's 60th Session meeting in 2005
• UN General Assembly General Debate, September 21 - October 1, 2004: Excerpts on Disarmament, Non-Proliferation & International Security

UN Department for Disarmament Affairs (DDA)

The DDA is a department of the UN Secretariat, the UN’s executive arm. It is broken down into several branches, each of which focuses on a particular aspect of disarmament. Among other parts of its mission, the DDA provides the general public with information on disarmament and promotes outreach activities. Based in New York.

Conference on Disarmament

The CD was formed in 1979 as the world’s single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum. It is based at the UN Office in Geneva and conducts its work by consensus. Only 66 countries are members of the CD (including the five nuclear-weapons states), and their chief representatives are ambassadors on the First Committee. The CD adopts its own rules of procedure and its own agenda, although its members do take into account the recommendations of the General Assembly and the proposals of its Members. The CD must report to the GA annually. The CD and its predecessors have negotiated such multilateral arms control and disarmament agreements as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Bacteriological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) and the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). Current issues that the CD is focused on include:

• cessation of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament;
• prevention of an arms race in outer space (PAROS);
• preventing the development of new types of weapons of mass destruction and new weapons systems;
• and a comprehensive program of disarmament and transparency in armaments.

The CD meets three times a year for a period of around two months each.

Disarmament Commission

The DC is a subsidiary organ of the UN General Assembly. Its mandate is, in a given year, to consider and make in-depth recommendations on typically two issues relating to disarmament. It also is expected to follow up on decisions and recommendations of special UN sessions on disarmament. Every Member State has a representative on the Commission. The DC reports to the GA for two weeks in the spring each year. Some of its recommendations have included guidelines for confidence-building measures at the global and regional levels and principles on verification.

Preparatory Committees and Review Conferences (RevCon) of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

The States Parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty meet every five years (RevCon) to review progress towards the commitments made in the treaty, and annually during the three years leading up to each RevCon (PrepCom). Information on the most recent RevCon, held in 2005, can be found here.

UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR)

The UN General Assembly established UNIDIR in 1980 to conduct independent research, free from national bias. Its researchers issue studies on emerging problems and foreseeable consequences of disarmament.

The Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters

The Advisory Board was established in 1978 to advise the SG on matters relating to arms limitation and disarmament. The SG chooses 20 people for the Advisory Board based on geographic diversity and knowledge and experience in the field of disarmament and international security. Members serve two-year terms and meet in two sessions a year.

Non-UN Bodies:

• Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (The Hague)
• Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO, Vienna)
• International Atomic Energy Agency (Vienna)
• International Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission (WMDC) (Stockholm)