Displaying 11 - 20 of 62
ANIAC, in partnership with UNREC, strengthens chemical security and combats illegal trafficking.
Lomé, 6 November 2025: The National Authority for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (ANIAC-TOGO), in collaboration with the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC), held a strategic capacity-building workshop dedicated to securing the management of toxic chemicals. The workshop aimed to evaluate and reinforce national mechanisms for controlling the transfer and use of hazardous substances, aligning with the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). As a key regional partner, UNREC provided technical expertise to ensure that Togo’s…
UNREC deploys an assessment mission to Ghana for the SALIENT Fund Technical Review Meeting
Group photo of the SALIENT Fund Technical Review Meeting with UNREC Director and UNDP Ghana Deputy Resident Representative Accra, 14 August 2025: The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC) concluded a strategic assessment mission to Ghana. The mission aimed to evaluate the status of the “Saving Lives Entity” (SALIENT) project, a flagship initiative dedicated to addressing armed violence and the illicit proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALW). The SALIENT Fund, a joint effort between the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs…
Burundi Validates its National Action Plan to Combat the Illicit Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons
Bujumbura, 25 November 2025: In response to the security challenges posed by the illicit proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALW) in the Great Lakes region, Burundi continues to strengthen its national arms control framework. In this context, a National Validation Workshop of the National Action Plan (NAP) to Combat the Illicit Proliferation of SALW was held on 25 November 2025 in Bujumbura, at the Hotel Club du Lac Tanganyika. The workshop brought together 25 participants, including representatives from the National Commission on SALW, relevant line ministries, defense and…
Charting pathways to strengthen armed violence prevention in West Africa
Version française ci-dessous On 26-27 November, the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) and the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC) and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) convened a workshop in Lomé, Togo, to consider and chart the implementation of a study on integrating the prevention of violent extremism and illicit weapons proliferation. The event brought together over 50 West African experts from States, the UN, regional and continental organizations, civil society and academia. In recent years,…
The BWC at 50: African Conference Highlights Progress, Challenges and the Road Ahead
From 26 to 28 November 2025, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), in partnership with the Government of Kenya, held the first African Conference on the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in Nairobi, Kenya. The landmark event, held in the year of the 50th anniversary of the BWC, was the largest ever gathering of African States parties to the BWC and showcased the region’s growing leadership on issues related to disarmament and biosecurity. The conference was attended by 140 delegates, including officials from 47 African States Parties, three African States not…
Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor 2018
On 29 October 2018, the launch of Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor 2018 took place at a side event of the General Assembly’s First Committee on Disarmament and International Security. The new publication measures progress related to signature and ratification of and compliance with the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).The launch event featured a panel organized by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) in collaboration with the Permanent Missions of Austria, Ireland and New Zealand to the United Nations. Katy Donnelly, New…
ODA concludes a series of regional science and technology workshops on the Biological Weapons Convention
On 22 November 2018, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) marked the conclusion of the fifth and final workshop in a series of regional science and technology workshops under European Union (EU) Council Decision 2016/51 in support of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). The Regional Workshop for Asia, held in Manila, Philippines, and co-organised with the University of the Philippines College of Medicine, opened on 21 November 2018 and entailed two days of comprehensive discussions on the implications of the rapid developments in the life sciences and…
The Expanding Use of Armed UAVs and the Need for International Standards
On 24 October 2018, the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) hosted a side event of the United Nations First Committee entitled “The Expanding Use of Armed UAVs and the Need for International Standards,” co-hosted by the Permanent Missions of Germany and the Netherlands with PAX and the Stimson Center. Dr. Renata Dwan, the Director of UNIDIR, opened the event by noting several areas of discussion related to the rapid spread of armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs): the lack of transparency; the need for a common…
How to Use the Arms Trade Treaty to Address Gender-Based Violence
On 19 October 2018, a side event entitled “How to Use the Arms Trade Treaty to Address Gender-Based Violence” took place during the United Nations First Committee, offering an introduction to a recently published risk assessment guide of the same name. The Permanent Missions of Ireland and Sweden to the United Nations co-sponsored the discussion, which included participants from Control Arms, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Reaching Critical Will and the Women’s Institute for Alternative Development. Gender remains a core theme in the…
Understanding the Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons on the Dark Web
On 26 October 2018, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) hosted a First Committee side event to present its thirty-second Occasional Paper, “The Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons on the Dark Web: A Study”. Researched and authored by Dr. Giacomo Persi Paoli of RAND Europe, the publication explores the illicit trade in firearms, ammunition and explosives on the “dark web”, a part of the Internet hidden behind anonymity software and not searchable by traditional search engines. Mr. John Ennis, Chief of UNODA’s Information and Outreach Branch and chair of the…