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The United Nations Disarmament Fellowship Programme is the result of one of the most successful decisions by the First Special Session of the General Assembly devoted to Disarmament. Initiated by Nigeria in order to promote expertise in disarmament in more Member States, particularly in the developing countries, the 40-year old programme has developed into a true institution in the field of disarmament education and capacity-building. To date, it has successfully trained over 1,000 Disarmament Fellows from 170 States, many of whom now hold national or international positions of responsibility in the field of disarmament. Balancing in-depth knowledge with practical experience, the comprehensive 10-week-long annual programme provides the Fellows with the unique opportunity to discuss achievements and challenges in the field of disarmament and arms control with hibakusha, senior diplomats and officials, as well as representatives of academia, think tanks and non-governmental …

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global challenge with as yet unknown social, economic and political consequences, both short- and long-term. This includes a potential impact on the field of disarmament in general and the conventional ammunition management in particular. This paper offers a preliminary analysis of the effects of COVID-19 on the ammunition management sector in the spring of 2020. It raises key issues related to the risks associated with conventional ammunition through the implementation of relevant control and management measures. The paper argues that shifts in national priorities and reduced resources may affect overall international disarmament efforts by undermining the management of conventional ammunition, and potentially enhance the risks of accidental explosions and diversion. Ammunition management needs to remain a priority during and after COVID-19. Implementing effective and sustainable ammunition management policies and practices will allow states …

This publication addresses the issue of military spending from various angles by examining the impact of military expenditures on international security; the relationship between military spending and the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; the importance of gender perspectives in rethinking unconstrained military spending; and lessons learned from economic conversion movements. It has been published in support of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Secretary-General’s Agenda for Disarmament to promote renewed research and analysis on the relationship between military spending and economic and social …

This publication describes the achievements and shortfalls of the first twenty years of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, which entered into force on 1 March 1999. Published with the aim of bringing together diverse perspectives on this key instrument of humanitarian disarmament, the paper was written by pioneers and luminaries of the movement that helped achieve the Convention and that committed themselves towards realizing the Convention’s full implementation. Each chapter contains discussions of an element of the …

This publication provides a historical survey of efforts within the United Nations to reduce military spending. Starting with the Charter, which envisages the maintenance of international peace and security with the least diversion of resources to arms, reducing military spending was actively pursued throughout the cold war period as a distinct objective within broader negotiations on general and complete disarmament. Separate and distinct efforts to pursue reductions in the military expenditures of the major Powers gave rise to a parallel effort to develop means for sharing information and comparing military spending between States. The resulting mechanism, the United Nations Report on Military Expenditures, continues to function as a means for promoting transparency on military matters. The reduction of military spending was also examined over a period of decades as a means of obtaining resources needed to meet the development objectives of the Organization. The 2030 Agenda for …

The potential role of the dark web in facilitating trade in firearms, ammunition and explosives has gained increased public attention following recent terrorist attacks and other criminal activities worldwide. In fact, the hidden and obscured parts of the web are used by criminals and others to access a worldwide market where it’s possible to procure or sell a wide range of weapons and associated products through encrypted marketplaces and vendor shops. Following the outcomes of the Third United Nations Conference to Review Progress Made in the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, which acknowledged the importance of considering new challenges and opportunities arising from new forms of illicit trafficking, this Occasional Paper summarises the main findings and implications of the first empirical study investigating the scale and scope of arms trafficking on the dark web. The …

This edition of the Occasional Paper celebrates the fifteenth anniversary of the United Nations Study on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education, which was presented to the United Nations General Assembly in 2002 (A/57/124). It contains contributions by experts from around the world which showcase fresh perspectives, new ideas and innovations in disarmament and non-proliferation education. …

This publication considers lethal autonomous weapon systems, approaching the issue from five different perspectives. It has been published ahead of the first meeting of the Group of Governmental Experts of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons mandated to examine issues related to emerging technologies in the area of lethal autonomous weapon systems in the context of the objectives and purposes of the Convention. …

This publication’s authors, who include some of the world’s leading scholars, diplomats and activists on the topic, examine historic, strategic, humanitarian and economic aspects of general and complete disarmament to elaborate and elevate the case for prohibiting conventional weapons systems as well as nuclear weapons. The featured articles were originally presented at the seminar held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 21 October 2015 entitled “Comprehensive Approaches for Disarmament in the Twenty-first Century: Rethinking General and Complete Disarmament”. It was organized by the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Costa …

This paper provides historical background on the special sessions of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament (1978, 1982 and 1988) and discusses efforts to convene a fourth special session. The Assembly has used these sessions to enable Member States to participate in the process of developing or strengthening global norms in disarmament. Complementing work done elsewhere in the multilateral disarmament machinery, the sessions enable consideration of how the various parts of the disarmament puzzle fit together in a coherent …