Search ODA Publications

In line with its 2021-2025 Strategic Plan, UNODA raised awareness about UNSCR 1540, organized national capacity building activities, facilitated inter-agency dialogue and planning, and fostered discussion and cooperation on a range of thematic topics. UNODA’s outreach and support efforts in 2023 built on the notable progress made by States in previous years as documented in the 2022 comprehensive review of the status of the implementation of UNSCR 1540, conducted by the 1540 Committee. …

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement ushers in a new phase of the continent’s integration and development agenda. It seeks to create a single liberalized market of goods and services and promote industrial development through diversification and regional value chain development. This policy brief explores the interplay between United Nations Security Council resolution 1540 (2004) and the AfCFTA Agreement. It overviews the regional trends propelling growth in trade and industry that will in turn increase the demand for advanced, and potentially dual-use technologies, materials, and equipment from a range of sectors including energy, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and extractive industries. The policy brief highlights the importance of ensuring that the benefits to be reaped from removing barriers to trade are not overshadowed by the risk of illicit transfers of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons and related materials by and to non-State actors. It identifies …

At the second Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the Scientific Advisory Group presented its report on the status and developments regarding nuclear weapons, nuclear weapon risks, the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, nuclear disarmament and related issues. This enhanced layout of the report includes maps and infographics not published in the parliamentary version. …

Dear Colleagues, We are very pleased to share with you the sixth issue of our newsletter. The focus of this issue is on two of the recently completed training activities for experts on the UNSGM roster – an advanced skill training course in Biological Crime Scene Management organized in February with support from INTERPOL and Canada, and another Basic Training Course organized in June with support from South Africa. We are also very pleased to report that additional training courses are planned for the remainder of 2023, and the calendar for 2024 is already starting to fill up. As always, you can find more information on upcoming activities in the final section of the newsletter.  As can be seen by all these activities, the increased investment of time, energy and resources is starting to pay off and UNODA sees increasing interest from partners in coordinating with UNODA on in-person training activities for the UNSGM. As such, we have also included a short update on the improvements …

This report encapsulates the outcomes of the two-day conference entitled ‘Scientific and Technological Developments: Benefits and Risks for the Biological Weapons Convention’ held in October 2022 in New Delhi, India. It was organised by the UNODA in partnership with the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA). The Conference’s primary objective was to review developments in science and technology relevant to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and to prepare for the Ninth BWC Review Conference. The Conference report provides expert insights on the evolving science and technology landscape in the context of the BWC, including in the fields of synthetic biology, public health responses, neurotechnology and …

The Guide to Implementing the Biological Weapons Convention has been developed by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), with the support of the European Union and Norway and the contributions of a wide range of BWC experts, to assist States Parties in their efforts to implement the Convention at the national level. The Guide is primarily intended to provide an overview of the national implementation process and obligations stemming from the BWC. Its primary audience is States Parties initiating or already engaged in the BWC implementation process or States Parties interested in assessing their implementing framework. The Guide outlines the types of legislative, regulatory and other measures that States Parties may consider developing and adopting in order to effectively implement the BWC. The Guide is available in all 6 UN official languages. Furthermore, in response to requests from Lusophone countries, the Guide is also available in …

Dear Colleagues, We are very pleased to share with you the fifth issue of our newsletter. This issue focuses on the Capstone exercise, which was held in Berlin in September 2022, after several years of COVID-related delays. We are very grateful to our colleagues at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for their perseverance in organizing this exercise through the challenging circumstances of the past few years. They hosted an excellent exercise, and also graciously provided a short interview on their experience as organizers for this newsletter. We are also very pleased to include an interview with Una Jakob and Filippa Lentzos, who both participated in the exercise as observers.  As we look ahead to plans for 2023, we are excited to see growing support for inperson training activities for nominated experts over the course of the year, in addition to the ongoing exercises for nominated laboratories. As always, plans for upcoming activities are outlined in the final section of this …