The Office for Disarmament Affairs addresses counter-terrorism, development, education, youth, gender and other cross-cutting areas as part of its work on disarmament.
Counter-Terrorism
The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy was adopted by General Assembly resolution 60/288 in 2006, and states that terrorism “constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security”.
Disarmament and Development
Armed violence continues to hamper peace and sustainable development worldwide. Every day, 100 civilians are killed in armed conflicts despite protections under international law. Illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons facilitates access to arms by terrorists and other criminal actors with devastating impacts for civilians, including women and children.
Disarmament Education
Disarmament and non-proliferation education encompasses initiatives and resources aimed at educating and training a broad range of audiences, including the general public, on the role and value of disarmament in the achievement of sustainable peace and security.
Disarmament and Youth
There are 1.9 billion young people today, and as the declaration on the commemoration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations (A/RES/75/1) states, “Youth is the missing piece for peace and development.” Young people around the world have a critical role to play in raising awareness and developing new ways to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction and conventional arms, including their proliferation.
Environmental norms
This topic was first included on the disarmament agenda in 1995. Colombia, acting on behalf Movement of Non-Aligned Countries (NAM), introduced a draft resolution entitled “Observance of environmental norms in the drafting and implementation of agreements on disarmament and arms control” at the First Committee of the General Assembly on 8 November 1995.
Financial Matters
The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) and the Anti-Personnel Landmines Convention (APLC), (also referred to as Ottawa Convention, OTW), receive no funding from the United Nations Regular Budget.
Disarmament and gender
People are differently involved in and impacted by weapons, armed conflict and security based on their gender and other factors. Analyzing disarmament processes and policies through a gender lens casts them in a new light and suggest more effective and sustainable solutions.
Military confidence building measures
Transparency and Confidence Building Measures help to prevent conflict by providing States with practical tools to exchange information, build trust and reduce tensions at the bilateral, regional or global level. Such measures help reduce excessive or destabilizing accumulations of arms and prevent misperceptions, miscalculation and escalation between States.