Disarmament

On 24 May 2018, the United Nations Secretary-General published his Agenda for Disarmament, aiming to set our world on a path towards sustainable peace and security.

The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo reports that 60 community members, including 20 women and 10 ex-combatants, are benefiting from its Community Violence Reduction project in a village in North Kivu’s Masisi Territory, where they are gaining skills in the installation and maintenance of street lighting.

The United Nations is not aware of any biological weapons programmes in Ukraine, a senior disarmament affairs official told the Security Council today, as it met to consider new information submitted by the Russian Federation alleging the existence of such weapons.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has intensified the pace of its launches using ballistic missile technology, having fired more missiles in the past five months than in the prior two years combined, a senior Secretariat official told the Security Council today.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the entry into force of the Chemical Weapons Convention, today:

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Barbara Woodward (United Kingdom):

Syria’s continued failure to remedy outstanding issues prevents the international community from confirming the elimination of its chemical-weapons programme, the top United Nations disarmament official told the Security Council today as members traded allegations that the work of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is being politicized to suit national interests.

After three weeks of discussion, the Disarmament Commission concluded its 2022 substantive session today — the first since 2018 — with the approval by consensus of its draft report to the General Assembly as well as the reports of its subsidiary bodies.

The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) has launched an investigation following reports that civilians were killed during clashes last week between the national armed forces and militants in Mourrah, about 400 kilometres north-east of Bamako, the capital.

Meeting after a three-year hiatus, the Disarmament Commission opened its 2022 substantive session today amid rising geopolitical tensions and concerns over deepening mistrust between some of the world’s largest military Powers.