Revamped Disarmament Yearbook Highlights Progress, Challenges in Turbulent 2022

NEW YORK, 24 July (Office for Disarmament Affairs) — The United Nations Disarmament Yearbook, a comprehensive reference guide on global disarmament, non-proliferation and arms-control efforts, is now available in a new, graphically enhanced preview edition.

Developed to share key findings from the Yearbook in a concise and accessible format, the updated publication provides a succinct exploration of disarmament-related developments and trends from 2022, highlighting achievements and challenges amid the ongoing war in Ukraine and other threats to international peace and security.

The Disarmament Yearbook will now be made available in its entirety on its dedicated website (https://yearbook.unoda.org).  That website will become home to the publication’s complete, in-depth review of 2022 when it is released later in 2023.

“In 2022, the war in Ukraine posed a grave threat not only to regional peace and security, but also to the global disarmament, non-proliferation and arms-control regime,” said Izumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs.  “The large-scale influx of weapons to the conflict zone, nuclear threats and the lack of transparency and accountability in arms transfers all undermine the norms and principles that have been established to prevent the spread and use of weapons of mass destruction and conventional weapons.”

Now in its forty-seventh year of publication, the Disarmament Yearbook documents the efforts of the international community to address such issues and advance the disarmament agenda. 

“In 2022, we witnessed both setbacks and rays of hope in the field of disarmament,” Ms. Nakamitsu said.  “On the one hand, we saw record levels of military spending and division within important arms-control frameworks, including the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.  On the other hand, we also saw the first-ever Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, as well as the adoption of the new Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Humanitarian Consequences Arising from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas.”

The disarmament resolutions, decisions and voting patterns of the General Assembly — previously featured in “Part I” of the Disarmament Yearbook — are now available through the revamped Disarmament Resolutions and Decisions Database (https://resolutions.unoda.org).  Likewise, the latest details on current disarmament treaties and agreements can be found in the redesigned Disarmament Treaties Database (https://treaties.unoda.org).

Prepared annually at the request of the General Assembly since 1977, the United Nations Disarmament Yearbook provides a comprehensive overview of multilateral disarmament activities undertaken by Member States, United Nations entities and civil-society organizations.  It covers developments in nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control; chemical and biological weapons; conventional weapons; regional disarmament; confidence-building measures; disarmament education; disarmament machinery; and other relevant topics.

For more information, please visit the Disarmament Yearbook website at:  https://yearbook.unoda.org/2022.

Contact:  Diane Barnes, Editor-in-Chief, email:  diane.barnes@un.org.