Disarmament

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The twenty-first iteration of the Republic of Korea–United Nations Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Issues will take place in Seoul on 3 and 4 November.

In Chad, the United Nations and partners have assisted some 250,000 people affected by flooding; however, only one quarter of the $70 million needed to help 8000,000 people has been received. The water rise has stabilized in the capital but is forecasted to move upstream to the already crisis-impacted Lac region.

With concerns growing about the weaponization of the heavens, speakers renewed calls today for a multilaterally negotiated and legally binding instrument to prevent an arms race in outer space, during a joint ad hoc meeting of the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) and Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization).

Speakers in the Security Council warned today against using disarmament and non-proliferation instruments to undermine multilateral cooperation, as the Russian Federation accused Ukraine and the United States of conducting biological weapons programmes and demanded an investigation.

With concerns growing about the weaponization of the heavens, speakers renewed calls today for a multilaterally negotiated and legally binding instrument to prevent an arms race in outer space, during a joint ad hoc meeting of the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) and Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization).

Syria must respond urgently to complete all outstanding issues on the elimination of its chemical weapons programme in line with international law, the United Nations disarmament chief told the Security Council today, citing the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Technical Secretariat’s evaluation that the country’s declarations still have not advanced.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message for the Conference of Mayors for Peace:  “Creating a Peaceful, Nuclear-Weapon-Free World:  Cultivating a Culture of Peace in Civil Society”, in Hiroshima, today:

Nearly a hundred experts from Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda gather in Mombasa, Kenya, from 18 to 19 October for a two-day regional workshop to identify concrete ways to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention in Eastern African countries.

The Office for Disarmament Affairs today launched the latest volume of the United Nations Disarmament Yearbook.