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. Ultimately, they contribute to the creation of favourable conditions for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Mandated by the General Assembly, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (ODA) has developed a set of transparency and confidence-building instruments, including the UN report on Military Expenditures, the UN Register for Conventional Arms and the UN Repository of Military Confidence-Building Measures (CBMs). In addition, through Action 23 of the Secretary-General’s Agenda for Disarmament, Securing Our Common Future, ODA seeks to advance regional dialogue on military confidence-building.
Military Confidence-Building Measures
Military Confidence-Building Measures (CBMs) are an important tool in the conflict prevention and resolution toolbox. Military CBMs are any unilateral, bilateral or multilateral procedures involving national defence organizations that can include, amongst others, communication and coordination measures, observation and verification measures, cooperation and integration measures, military constraint measures, and training and education measures.
In the short term, CBMs aim to adjust potentially inaccurate perceptions of military-strategic motives between two or more States, to avoid misunderstandings about military actions and policies, and to foster security cooperation and inter-dependency. Over time, these measures contribute to conflict prevention by stabilizing regional and bilateral relations, transforming ideas about national requirements for security, and encouraging steps to jointly identify shared security needs. By enhancing confidence and trust and by improving military stability, military CBMs can facilitate arms limitations and disarmament and promote conducive conditions for sustainable development.
Through a biennial resolution, the General Assembly requests the Secretary-General to engage with interested Member States and regional organizations on developing and advancing military CBMs, strengthening understanding of this topic and providing substantial and procedural advice and assistance. The General Assembly also mandated the establishment of a Repository of military CBMs, containing the most tested and trusted measures.
The United Nations Disarmament Commission in its 2017 Report recommended States to consider a set of practical CBMs in the field of conventional weapons, including the establishment of direct channels of communication, reciprocal appointment of points of contacts, periodic exchange of information and the notification of troop movements and military maneuvers and military constraint measures.
The importance of confidence-building measures to reinforce trust among Member States and the role that regional organizations and frameworks can play in this regard is also recognized in the Secretary-General’s Policy Brief on A New Agenda for Peace.
Furthermore, through Action 23 of the Secretary-General’s Agenda for Disarmament, Securing Our Common Future, ODA seeks to advance regional dialogue on military confidence-building.
Repository of Military Confidence-Building Measures
This evolving global repository of Confidence-Building Measures (CBMs), collected from all regions of the world, may assist any pair or group of states in developing their own military CBMs.
The key to effective CBMs is the quality of the procedures underpinning them. The UN assists with information and training on establishing and managing functional processes for successful CBMs.
Contact: conventionalarms-unoda@un.org
I. Communication and coordination measures
- Information exchange
- Exchange information on military organization, including:
- Personnel
- Major weapon and equipment systems
- Location of units
- Significant changes in size, equipment, or mission of military units.
- Exchange information on relevant policies, doctrines and tactics, defence policy papers and national legislations.
- Exchange information on arms transfers, national holdings of weapons, and procurement through national production.
- Exchange information on national military budgets and expenditures.
- Develop common methodologies for measuring defence spending.
- Exchange information on ammunition safety and security measures, including accounting systems.
- Exchange calendars of military activities.
- Exchange information on location of nuclear facilities.
- Share military (including satellite) intelligence.
- Share law-enforcement intelligence.
- Agree to submit national reports to international and regional disarmament and arms control treaties and instruments.
- Establish a joint consultative commission to resolve disputes over the interpretation of data.
- Exchange information on the presence of foreign military contingents on the state’s territory.
- Communication
- Establish a direct communications system, or “hotline” between heads of state, ministers of defence, chiefs of military forces, and/or military commanders.
- Limit the use of coded messages in communication.
- Appoint military / defence points of contact.
- Troop movement, exercises, and weapon management
- Give advance notification of military exercises, missile tests, troop movement and activities.
- Give advance notification of naval activities outside of regularly covered areas.
- Give advance notification of, or agree on a mechanism to approve, aircraft operations and flights near sensitive and border areas.
- Agree on procedures for handling accidental air or ground intrusions and incidents at sea.
- Agree to use internationally developed standards and guidelines for weapons and ammunition management.
- Notify about reduction and disposal of weapons and ammunition.
- Exchanging and convening personnel
- Exchange military attachés, liaison officers.
- Hold regular meetings of military officials to exchange information, and discuss common operational issues and concerns.
- Convene meetings of women police and military officers for networking, knowledge exchange and information sharing.
- Organize exchanges and visits between combat personnel.
- Exchange military personnel as students or instructors at military academies, military schools, and war colleges.
- Agree on reciprocal visits by naval fleet to ports and naval bases.
- Organize joint sports, cultural endeavors and other social events for military personnel.
- Invite foreign officials to attend and/or invite foreign troops to participate in national military parades, armed-forces cultural and sport events.
- Establish military research contacts and collaboration.
II. Observation and verification measures
- Agree to exchange invitations to observe military maneuvers, exercises and trainings.
- Agree to invite a third party to observe military maneuvers, exercises and trainings.
- Agree to exchange invitations to observe demonstrations of new weapon systems.
- Agree to allow verification missions on information provided regarding military forces and equipment.
- Appoint a third party to monitor and verify implementation of arms control / disarmament agreements and weapons destruction.
- Agree on joint monitoring of demilitarized and other zones.
- Agree on a third party monitoring demilitarized and other zones.
- Agree on aerial surveillance flights over each other’s territory.
- Allow for aerial observation by international observers.
III. Military constrains measures
- Troop movement, exercises, weapons
- Restrict the number and scope of major military exercises.
- Refrain from holding air force / maritime exercises in agreed air / sea routes
- Restrict the type of weapons in use.
- Restrict the number of weapons in use.
- Limit troop movements.
- Restrict the locations / placement of troops.
- Restrict the location / placement of heavy weapons.
- Restrict mobilizations and calling up of reserve forces.
- Refrain from holding military exercises at dates sensitive in neighbouring country (e.g. election period, national day).
- Ban live-fire drills and exercises.
- Cover the barrels of artillery and ship guns.
- Reduce troop size deployed near sensitive region.
- De-alert troops.
- De-alert weapon systems.
- Agree on non-attack of nuclear facilities.
- Agree on acceptable and unacceptable military activities, especially in sensitive and border areas.
- Border areas / demilitarized zones
- Set up sensors to supplement foot patrol and observation posts. Refrain from establishing new military posts or military fortifications along borders.
- Establish demilitarized zone, security zone or UN buffer zone.
- Enlarge demilitarized zone or create zone of limited deployment beyond demilitarized zone.
- Develop a code of conduct for activities in demilitarized or other zone.
- Remove military installations and fortifications from demilitarized zone.
- Remove landmines from demilitarized zone.
- Remove guard posts from demilitarized zone.
- Disarm military personnel in demilitarized zone.
- Limit personnel in demilitarized zone.
- Agree on guarantees for the safety of researchers and workers operating inside demilitarized zones-to establish wildlife sanctuaries.
- Undertake joint mapping of demilitarized zone.
IV. Training & education measures
- Teach CBM approaches in military academies, staff schools, and war colleges.
- Discuss military training curriculums.
- Exchange military personnel as students at military academies, military schools, and war colleges.
- Exchange military personnel as instructors at military academies, military schools, and war colleges.
- Apply CBM techniques in command post and field exercises. Establish a bilateral / regional training centre for common security issues, including peacekeeping and the implementation of CBMs.
- Conduct joint / regional trainings for women officers on common security issues, such as peacekeeping or military CBMs.
- Encourage national foreign and military research institutes to host guest researchers from abroad, to study and contribute to topics related to host country’s regional security issues.
- Host or provide support to bilateral and regional meetings to discuss military CBMs.
- Host negotiation / mediation / facilitation workshops.
V. Cooperation & integration measures
- Commit to consistently comply with arms control and disarmament regimes and treaties.
- Establish joint peacekeeping units.
- Conduct joint military exercises.
- Conduct joint mapping exercises, including maritime.
- Conduct joint search-and-rescue missions for aircraft and shipping accidents.
- Cooperate on disaster relief, disaster prevention and hurricane tracking.
- Conduct joint operations for removal of landmines and explosive remnants of war along border.
- Cooperate on sea-mine clearance.
- Cooperate on investigations of ammunition-related accidents such as storage-area explosions, including on methodology.
- Establish joint or coordinated border patrols and/or observation posts along borders (green and blue borders)
- Create joint border committees.
- Establish cooperation between custom / border agencies to combat illicit cross-border trade in e.g. contrabands, trafficking of human beings, small arms, narcotics.
- Develop a common code of conduct for border personnel, in particular in disputed border areas.
- In joint missions and operations, commit to ensure the deployment of women officers.
- Develop common procedures for dealing with people living in peripheral border areas including nomadic people.
- Establish a ‘Dealing-with-the-past’ working group.
- Establish joint crisis-management / conflict prevention centres.
- Establish joint military and / or science & technology research centres / programmes.
- Explore joint procurement and maintenance initiatives.
Practical confidence-building measures in the field of conventional arms
In 2017, the United Nations Disarmament Commission adopted consensus recommendations for transmittal to the General Assembly on practical confidence-building measures in the field of conventional arms (A/72/42).
The practical confidence-building measures recommended by the 2017 session underscore the importance of disarmament measures for the maintenance and enhancement of regional and international peace and security. The recommendations acknowledge the benefit of confidence-building measures to, inter alia, defusing tensions, promoting cooperation among States, enhancing dialogue and greater transparency and promoting progress in conventional disarmament and arms control. The Commission recommends that States consider measures such as periodic exchange of information and notifications; enhancement of cooperation, including through financial and technical assistance; and support to seminars and workshops that promote transparency, dialogue and awareness-raising.
Transparency Instruments
First established in 1981, the UN Report on Military Expenditures (MilEx) offers a platform for States to share information regarding their annual military expenditure. The Report aims to increase transparency, build confidence and, ultimately, facilitate a reduction of military spending.
In 1991 the General Assembly created the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA), allowing States to report to the United Nations their arms imports and exports and thereby help determine whether excessive or destabilizing accumulations of arms are taking place. Such openness about armaments may encourage restraint and contribute to early warning and preventative diplomacy.