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The Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons on the Dark Web: A Study
The Office for Disarmament Affairs is pleased to announce the publication of its latest Occasional Paper, entitled “The Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons on the Dark Web.” 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…
Consolidating and Enhancing Cooperation among Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones
A First Committee side event was held on 18 October at the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan to the United Nations. The event featured a panel discussion about consolidating and enhancing cooperation among nuclear-weapon-free zones (NWFZs). It was chaired by Yerzhan Ashikbayev, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan. Mr Ashikbayev opened the discussion by highlighting the importance of NWFZs. NWFZs are essential for creating a safe and nuclear-weapon-free world, although their potential is yet to be fully realized. The international community should strengthen NWFZs as…
Considering the Moral Dimensions of Nuclear Weapons in a Multi-Faith Dialogue to “Safeguard Future Generations”
On 16 October, a side event entitled “To Safeguard Future Generations: Multi-Faith Responses to the Threat of Nuclear Weapons” was hosted by the Permanent Mission of Austria and co-sponsored by the Permanent Missions of Nigeria, Thailand and South Africa as well as the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security. The speakers—including representatives of Buddhist, Islamic, Catholic, and Evangelical faiths—all agreed that the use of nuclear weapons is morally unacceptable. “Even though the issues of nuclear weapons are hard to see compared with…
Retaining Meaningful Human Control of Weapons Systems
On 17 October, a panel discussion entitled Retaining Meaningful Human Control of Weapons Systems was held on the side of the First Committee on Disarmament and International Security. The event was a collaboration between Human Rights Watch’s Campaign to Stop Killer Robots and the Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations. Campaign Coordinator Mary Wareham and Ambassador Thomas Hajnoczi shared chairing duties. Ambassador Hajnoczi began by highlighting the importance of the discussion. He explained that machines with autonomy to end human life raise issues for…
The Hague Code of Conduct: Tools and challenges to address ballistic missile proliferation today
On 12 October 2018, the Permanent Mission to the United Nations of Sweden organized a side event titled, “The Hague Code of Conduct: Tools and challenges to address ballistic missile proliferation today,” which was supported by the European Union and the Foundation pour la Recherche Stratégique. The panelists were from the Swedish Office of Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, the Foundation pour la Recherche Stratégique, the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament European External Action Service, and the Center of Global Affairs at New York University. Each panelist highlighted the…
Securing Our Common Future: Promoting Gender-Responsive Disarmament and Security
On 15 October, a panel discussion on promoting gender-responsive disarmament and security was held on the side of the First Committee in New York. The discussion was organized by the International Gender Champions Disarmament Impact Group, which was launched in Geneva last month. The group is led by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) in collaboration with the Permanent Missions of Ireland and Namibia. The panel featured five experts on disarmament and international security. Ambassador Michael Garrey of Ireland and Dr Renata Dawn of UNIDIR served as…
Convention of Cluster Munitions (CCM) universalization: Asia-Pacific region
On 12 October 2018, the Sri Lankan Mission in coordination with the CCM Implementation Support Unit (ISU) organized a side event on “Convention of Cluster Munitions (CCM) universalization: Asia-Pacific region”. The event was targeted at States not yet party to the CCM, giving them an overview of the convention and what their obligations would be under the convention. It also offered insights into the work the ISU and the actions State Parties have taken to support the convention. Opening the session, Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez (Sri Lanka) reflected on his country’s progress from…
Negative Security Assurances as a Practical Step towards Global Zero
A side event entitled “Negative Security Assurances as a Practical Step towards Global Zero” was held at the German Mission on 10 October 2018. The panelists included Mr. Paul Ingram as moderator who is the Executive Director of the British American Security Information Council (BASIC); Ms. Angela Kane, the former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs; and Mr. Robert Einhorn, the former Special Advisor to U.S. Secretary of State on Nonproliferation and Arms Control. Framing the side event, Mr. Ingram noted that Negative Security Assurances (NSAs) have potential for…
“Appeal of the Hibakusha”: Nihon Hidankyo hands over 8,300,403 signatures supporting call for the elimination of nuclear weapons
On 10 October, H.E. Mr. Ion Jinga, Chair of the First Committee of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly, and Ms. Izumi Nakamitsu, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, met with Mr. Sueichi Kido, Secretary-General of Nihon Hidankyo (Japan Confederation of A-and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations), and Mr. Jiro Hamasumi, Assistant Secretary General of Nihon Hidankyo, to receive a symbolic representation of 8,300,403 signatures in support of the “Appeal of the Hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors).” Nihon Hidankyo (the Japan Confederation of A and H…
UN Regional Centre Holds Workshop on Women, Peace and Security For NGO Representatives and Parliamentarians in South Asia
MP from Afghanistan Parliament and Chairperson of the Women, Civil Society and Human Affairs Commission, Ms.Fawzia Koofi. As part of its regional project on women, peace and security (WPS), the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) organized the “Workshop for South Asia on Gun Violence and Illicit Small-Arms Trafficking from a Gender Perspective”, from 18 to 21 September 2018 in Kathmandu. This was the project’s second Workshop, following the Workshop held two months earlier, in Bangkok, for Southeast Asian States…