Concluding Session, Disarmament Commission Approves by Consensus Draft Reports to General Assembly
After three weeks of discussions, the Disarmament Commission concluded its 2025 substantive session today, with the approval of its draft report to the General Assembly, as well as the reports of its two working groups — all by consensus.
The Commission, a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly, provides a forum where all Member States can engage in in-depth, consensus-based discussions on key disarmament issues. While it does not negotiate binding agreements, the Commission focuses on developing recommendations aimed at reducing and ultimately eliminating weapons — particularly weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear arms.
Meeting annually, the Commission typically concentrates on two agenda items at a time, allowing for substantive dialogue in both plenary sessions and working groups. This year — the second of a three-year cycle — the organ continued its discussions on formulating recommendations for achieving nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, as well as fostering common understandings related to emerging technologies in the context of international security.
Akaki Dvali (Georgia), Chair of Working Group I, introduced its draft report on recommendations for achieving the objective of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons (document A/CN.10/2025/WG.I/CRP.2/Rev.1): “I hope that the Chair’s paper may serve as a good starting point for the commencement of substantive discussions next year, with the ultimate goal of achieving consensus on agenda item of the Working Group I during the current cycle. The informal compilation of views and positions may also serve as a valuable resource for the delegations as they prepare for the 2026 Session.”
Julia Rodriguez (El Salvador), Chair of Working Group II, introduced its draft report on recommendations on common understandings related to emerging technologies in the context of international security (document A/CN.10/2025/WG.II/CRP.1/Rev.1). She noted that the Working Group held seven informal meetings, hearing experts’ presentations on the report of the Secretary-General on current developments in science and technology and their potential impact on international security and disarmament efforts. Delegates also exchanged views on Member State-led initiatives related to emerging technologies in the context of international security, she reported.
The Commission adopted these two documents.
The Commission then adopted its report (document A/CN.10/2025/L.1), which was introduced by Rapporteur Syed Atif Raza (Pakistan).
Before that, the representative of the Russian Federation proposed that paragraph 5 add the entire title of the provisional agenda, paragraph 9 mention the name and nationality of the rapporteur in a separate sentence, paragraph 11 cite the Holy See before the League of Arab States, and paragraph 18 replace “eighteenth” with “eightieth”. These proposals were accepted.
The representative of Egypt questioned the absence of webcasting for the Commission’s plenary meetings, noting that such services were provided for other subsidiary bodies, but not for the Commission. He asked the Secretariat and the Bureau to continue to look into the matter to rectify the discrepancies in live coverage.
This led to the inclusion of a paragraph in the report stating: “The Commission expressed an interest in considering having the full web coverage through UN WebTV of the plenary meetings of the Commission and noted the Chair’s intention to explore the matter with the Secretariat and the Bureau in order to address the current lack of webcasting of such plenary meetings.”
In closing remarks, the representative of Mexico proposed changes to the Commission’s working methods, including shortening the substantial session from three weeks to two and shifting from a three-year to a biennial cycle. He also requested the live-streaming of the plenary meetings. The representative of Iran expressed concern that the Chair's paper and summary did not reflect the diversity of Member States’ positions, calling for action to address the issue.
José Pereira (Paraguay) served as Chair, along with Mahmud Mohammed Lawal (Nigeria), Amr Essam (Egypt) and Vivica Münkner (Germany) as Vice-Chairs.
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* The 399th through 401st Meetings were not covered.