Search ODA Publications

Dear Colleagues, We are very pleased to share with you the fourth issue of our newsletter. The focus of this issue is on the training for experts on the UNSGM roster, with a spotlight on the basic training course recently conducted in South Africa. The course was an excellent experience, and we are extremely grateful for the hosts in South Africa, especially the experts from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) who organized such an informative and engaging programme for the participants.  In this issue, you will also find more information about other recently completed activities, such as the second iteration of the virtual Onboarding Sessions for newly nominated experts and outreach activities targeting regions under-represented on the roster.  As you will see, in-person activities in support of the UNSGM have started to resume after many months of delays due to COVID-19. As we head into the second half of 2022, we hope that this will remain possible as we look …

Dear Colleagues, We hope that the New Year finds you all happy and healthy. 2021 was a challenging year for many as the world grappled with the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As we take stock of what we were able to accomplish last year, UNODA is proud to report that efforts to strengthen the UNSGM continued despite these challenging circumstances. We would like to emphasize that we could not have made such progress without the strong support of our partners and friends. We remain extremely grateful for our training partners that adapted events and activities to virtual formats when feasible; the experts across many time zones that woke up early or stayed up late to join virtual table-top exercises and workshops; and our donors for their support and flexibility as in-person events remained on hold. In this issue, we’ve highlighted a few of last year’s activities in particular — UNODA’s briefing for Member States and virtual workshops for nominated expert consultants and …

UNODA’s Gender Policy 2021-2025 provides an overarching framework for the Office to facilitate progress on gender-responsive disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation and contribute to gender equality, human rights and the elimination of gender-based violence. The Policy outlines Office-wide goals, as well as roles and responsibilities for achieving gender parity, inclusion, gender mainstreaming, and other strategic gender dimensions across UNODA policies, programmes, projects, and structures. …

First published in 2017, the updated publication "The Biological Weapons Convention: An Introduction" provides its readers with a comprehensive overview of the Biological Weapons Convention. The publication covers the history of the negotiations and the current state of implementation of the Convention. It also explains the significance of the Convention in the modern world. …

While gender analysis has been introduced to address a variety of aspects of small arms control, it has received less attention in the ammunition-specific domain, especially outside of stockpile management concerns. To address the issues of unplanned explosions and diversion of conventional ammunition, there is not only a need to strengthen ammunition management policies and practices throughout its life cycle but also to ensure they are gender-sensitive. Following the release of a briefing paper last year, UNODA and the Small Arms Survey developed the report Gender-sensitive Ammunition Management Processes: Considerations for National Authorities, providing reflections on the mainstreaming of gender throughout the life-cycle management of ammunition. The report highlights practical suggestions for applying gender analysis to ammunition management, consistent with the Final Report of Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on problems arising from the accumulation of conventional …

Dear Colleagues, We are very pleased to share with you the second issue of our newsletter. The focus of this issue is on the external quality assessment exercises (EQAEs) that some of our partners offer for analytical (biological) laboratories on the UNSGM roster. In this issue, you will find general information on the mandate for such exercises and then overviews from the organizers of past, ongoing and upcoming EQAEs. You will also find more information about recently completed activities, as well as planned upcoming activities. Although the pandemic continues to impact in-person meetings, UNODA has organized and supported several virtual events in the meantime and remains optimistic that we will have in-person meetings, training events and workshops to report in future …

First published in 2018, and developed as part of a joint initiative between the Department of Peace Operations and the Office for Disarmament Affairs, the Handbook provides DDR practitioners with practical guidance to design and implement state-of-the-art disarmament and weapons and ammunition management initiatives as part of integrated DDR processes, including through the use of DDR-related tools such as Community Violence Reduction. The Handbook draws upon good practices and innovative approaches developed in the field, as well as relevant international standards and guidelines. This second edition reflects relevant developments at the policy level, including the launch of the revised Integrated DDR Standards and the new MOSAIC module on SALW control in the context of DDR, and ensures consistent gender mainstreaming as well as systematic integration of youth …

The UNODA Strategic Plan 2021-2025 provides an overarching vision for how the Office will contribute to the goal of general and complete disarmament, setting out UNODA’s core priorities over the next five years. …

Dear Colleagues, Welcome to our first newsletter! The newsletter is intended to provide the nominated experts and laboratories with information on the SecretaryGeneral’s Mechanism for Investigation of Alleged Use of Chemical or Biological Weapons (UNSGM), to update on recent or planned activities, to strengthen the readiness to deploy and to provide an informal forum for sharing experiences and knowledge related to the UNSGM. We start with a greeting by Izumi Nakamitsu, the Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. In this first edition, you will find general information on the mandate and structure of the UNSGM as well as on the roles of expert consultants, qualified experts and analytical laboratories nominated by the Member States. You will also get to know one of your fellow experts and learn about recent activities supporting the readiness of the UNSGM. In recent years, UNODA has cooperated with Member States and partnered with international …

This report was prepared pursuant to General Assembly resolution 74/35 . It provides an overview of recent scientific and technological developments relevant to the means and methods of warfare. It examines their broader impacts on security and disarmament and highlights the implications for efforts to limit the humanitarian consequences of armed conflict. The report also describes the relevant intergovernmental processes in which these developments are being addressed. The Office for Disarmament Affairs prepared this enhanced version of the report as part of its efforts to implement Action 24 of the Secretary-General’s Agenda for Disarmament, Securing our Common Future, on raising awareness on the implications of new weapon …