Conference Primer - Disarmament : 2023

United Nations Secretary-General, 5 October 2023

With emerging technologies and latest developments in AI, regulating lethal autonomous weapons systems is becoming crucial.
@MelanieRegimbal, Chief of @ODA_Geneva, discusses how States and the UN can respond to this challenge.
UN news (audio), 8 June 2023

Conflict pressures are pushing the world closer to autonomous weapons that can kill without human control. Researchers and the international community must join forces to prohibit them.
Nature, 23 February 2023

Melissa Parke, ICAN’s new Executive Director, discusses the outstanding challenges to achieving a future free of nuclear weapons.
Swissinfo, 26 September 2023

En raison de la méfiance et de la concurrence géopolitiques, le risque nucléaire est aujourd’hui à un niveau digne de la guerre froide. Parallèlement, les progrès obtenus de haute lutte, au terme de nombreuses décennies, dans la prévention de l’utilisation, de la dissémination et des essais d’armes nucléaires sont en train d’être réduits à néant.
Communiqué de presse, Secrétaire Général, 13 septembre 2023

The United Nations on Tuesday called for more global action to end nuclear testing, warning against the danger of “collective suicide”.
UN News, 29 August 2023

All nine nuclear-armed countries continued to spend massively on weapons of mass destruction last year, as they pursue plans to modernize and beef up their existing nuclear arsenals – and major car and plane manufacturers are among those benefiting from the nuclear spending spree.
Geneva Solutions News, 13 June 2023

A senior NATO official on Friday urged Beijing to be more open about its accelerating nuclear weapons build-up, saying that as a global power, China had a responsibility to improve transparency.
Reuters News, 2 June 2023

Essential talks were held, but more is now needed.
Twenty-one years ago, at the Kananaskis G-8 Summit in Canada in 2002, the world’s leaders agreed to form the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction.
The Diplomat News, 25 May 2023

The world is counting on the G7 bloc of industrialized democracies to demonstrate global leadership and solidarity, said the UN chief on Sunday, speaking to journalists in Hiroshima, Japan, which he described as a “global symbol of the tragic consequences when nations fail to work together”, and abandon multilateralism.
UN News, 21 May 2023

An ‘unscheduled’ visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky certainly raised the stakes for the summit at a critical time in the war.
The Conversation News, 21 May 2023

As leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations gather in the Japanese city this week for a summit, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wants a pledge on nuclear disarmament.
Swissinfo News, 17 May 2023

Joint statement from the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric, and the President of the Japanese Red Cross Society, Atsushi Seike, ahead of the G7 summit in Hiroshima 19-21 May 2023

The world must make every effort to eliminate chemical weapons, the UN chief said on Monday, raising grave concerns about their continued use. UN News, 15 May 2023

Urgent efforts must be made to de-escalate the situation following Russia’s announcement last weekend that it plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, the UN disarmament chief warned the Security Council on Friday.
UN News, 31 March 2023

The head of the UN atomic energy agency on Monday met with Ukraine’s President to discuss safety issues at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, as UN Goodwill Ambassador Orlando Bloom concluded a visit to the country, calling for an end to the war so children can “regain their childhoods”.
UN News, 27 March 2023

Russia’s plans to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus are an “extremely dangerous escalation”, says the Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).
Article also available in Russian.
Swissinfo, 26 March 2023

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of civilians killed by cluster munitions, according to new data released on Tuesday by the UN-partnered Cluster Munition Monitor (CMC) civil society group.
UN News, 5 September 2023

Arms and ammunition transfers to Ukraine have increased rapidly in recent months, alongside concerning reports of deliveries of banned cluster munitions, the UN’s top disarmament official told the Security Council on Thursday.
UN News, 17 August 2023

Cluster bombs are banned by more than 100 countries - so the move will likely draw intense criticism.
BBC, 7 July 2023

The institution also stands ready to provide further technical support in translating the convention into national jurisprudence."This is a significant step toward ensuring that vulnerable people are protected from the harmful effects of these deadly weapons.
ICRC News, 25 May 2023

New use of landmines, including extensive deployment by Russia in Ukraine, drove a global rise of new casualties from the weapons in 2022, a monitor said on Tuesday.
France24 news, 14 November 2023

Global efforts are key to saving lives from the ‘terrifying legacy’ of unexploded ordnance, as it wreaks daily havoc in war-torn and post-conflict communities alike, UN officials said, as Mine Action Week kicked off on Monday.
UN News, 3 April 2023

Hears From Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Türkiye, Kenya, South Africa on behalf of the Group of 21 and Algeria The Conference on Disarmament this afternoon concluded its high-level segment, hearing statements by dignitaries from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Türkiye, Kenya, South Africa on behalf of the Group of 21 and Algeria.
UN Geneva News, 2 March 2023

Hears From the Russian Federation, Pakistan, Mexico, Poland, Egypt, India, Nigeria, Ukraine, Colombia and Spain The Conference on Disarmament this morning continued its high-level segment, hearing statements by dignitaries from the Russian Federation, Pakistan, Mexico, Poland, Egypt, India, Nigeria, Ukraine, Colombia and Spain.
UN Geneva News, 2 March 2023

Hears From Brazil, New Zealand, Bulgaria, Tunisia and Cuba Speaking were Paulino Franco de Carvalho Neto, Ambassador Secretary for Multilateral Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil; Nanaia Mahuta, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control of New Zealand; Nikolay Milkov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria; Nabil Ammar, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians Abroad; and Bruno Eduardo Rodríguez Parrilla, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba.
UN Geneva News, 1 March 2023

Hears From Belarus, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Italy, Syrian Arab Republic, Iran, Japan, the European Union, South Africa, and Senegal The Conference on Disarmament this morning continued its high-level segment, hearing statements by dignitaries from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Italy, Syrian Arab Republic, Iran, Japan, the European Union, South Africa, and Senegal.
UN Geneva News, 28 February 2023

Hears From Belarus, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Italy, Syrian Arab Republic, Iran, Japan, the European Union, South Africa, and Senegal The Conference on Disarmament this morning continued its high-level segment, hearing statements by dignitaries from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Italy, Syrian Arab Republic, Iran, Japan, the European Union, South Africa, and Senegal.
UN Geneva News, 28 February 2023

The Conference on Disarmament this afternoon continued its high-level segment, hearing statements by dignitaries from Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Malaysia, Ecuador and Argentina.
UN Geneva News, 27 February 2023

The Conference on Disarmament this morning opened its high-level segment, hearing statements by the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs and dignitaries from Ethiopia, Ireland, France, Peru, Sweden, United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Iraq and Indonesia.
UN Geneva News, 27 February 2023

Russia faced strong criticism over its action in Ukraine on Monday as the top UN rights body and a global disarmament forum met, amid warnings that rights worldwide were backsliding.
Article includes videos.
France 24, 27 February 2023

Tatiana Valovoya, Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament and Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, today told the Conference that while the historical significance of the Conference was recognised, it also needed to be modernised to correspond to the rapidly evolving strategic security environment.
26 January 2023

The Conference on Disarmament today held the first plenary of its 2023 session, hearing addresses by the President of the Conference and a number of States. The Conference also adopted its agenda for the 2023 session.
24 January 2023

The Conference on Disarmament, the world's single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum, will hold the first public plenary of its 2023 session on Tuesday, 24 January. The 2023 session of the Conference on Disarmament will be divided up into three successive parts, from 23 January to 31 March, from 15 May to 30 June, and from 31 July to 15 September. The first plenary meeting will start at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 24 January in room XIX. Public meetings can be followed in-person or through listen-live.unog.ch.
UN Geneva News, 20 January 2023

The Conference on Disarmament, the world's single multilateral forum for disarmament negotiations, today concluded its 2022 session after adopting an annual report to the General Assembly.
16 September 2022