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High school teachers discuss nuclear threats at professional development workshop
Helping young people think critically about dangers from nuclear weapons was the goal of a one-day “teach-the-teacher” workshop held at United Nations Headquarters on 5 November 2019. The New York City public high school educators who participated in the workshop considered how to raise awareness among their students about the risk of a nuclear accident or disaster. The event, drawing 38 registrants, was organized by Hibakusha Stories, an initiative of the non-governmental organization Youth Arts New York, in partnership with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs. Activities…
National implementation workshop on resolution 1540 in Solomon Islands
The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, in cooperation with the Government of the Solomon Islands and the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004), facilitated a national round-table meeting on the implementation of resolution 1540 (2004) in Honiara, Solomon Islands, on 29-30 October 2019. This national round-table meeting was supported by voluntary contributions from the Government of Japan to the United Nations Trust Fund for Global and Regional Disarmament Activities. Ambassador Collin Beck, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of…
Side event on charting a course for a sustainable space environment
The UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), the Secure World Foundation and Project Ploughshares—with support from the Government of Belgium, came together to host a First Committee side event, “Navigating space: charting a course for a sustainable space environment”. The event focused on contemporary dynamics in outer space in the context of emerging technologies, and how they could inform multilateral discussions on the prevention of an arms race in space. The afternoon panel focused on the importance of space situational awareness (SSA) within the…
Side event on implementing Gender-Responsive Small Arms Control
<!-- wp:columns --><div class="wp-block-columns"><!-- wp:column {"width":"66.66%","lock":{"move":true,"remove":true}} --><div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:66.66%"><p>On 25 October 2019, the <a href="http://www.un.org/disarmament">United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA)</a> in partnership with <a href="http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/">Small Arms Survey</a> hosted a side event on gender-responsive small arms control…
Nuclear Risk Reduction: Pathways Forward
On 17 October 2019, the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) organized a First Committee side event entitled Nuclear Risk Reduction: Pathways Forward. Dr. Wilfred Wan, Researcher in the Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme at UNIDIR, opened the debate about the topic at hand by drawing attention to the Swedish working paper on nuclear risk reduction and the Stepping Stones approach that was circulated at the 2019 Preparatory Committee for the 2020 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The…
SALIENT fund launched – connects small arms regulation to development
On 24 October 2019, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations hosted a side event to mark the launch of Saving Lives Entity (SALIENT). This new facility, established within the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund, will serve as a comprehensive, cross‑sectional and multi‑year approach to addressing the challenge of illicit small arms and armed violence in most-affected countries. Japan and New Zealand have stepped in as two early contributors to the SALIENT fund…
Side event on digital technologies and conventional arms trade
The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) hosted a First Committee workshop, “Digital Technologies and conventional arms trade: Opportunities and challenges”. The workshop explored the implications of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLT) in the verification of transfer discrepancies within the context of arms trade. Mr. Philippe Thévoz, Executive Vice-President eGovernment Systems, SICP Mr. Giacomo Persi Paoli, Programme Lead, Security and Technology Programme, UNIDIR, introduced the security and technology programme established earlier…
Side event “The urgent need for a treaty to retain meaningful human control over the use of force”
On 21 October 2019, the Permanent Mission of Austria together with the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots hosted a First Committee side event, “The urgent need for a treaty to retain meaningful human control over the use of force”. Ms. Mary Wareham, moderator and Coordinator of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, opened the panel discussion by informing the audience of a global coalition that consisted of 160 organizations working to ban killer robots. She stressed that the issue of lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS) is a very serious threat to humanity. Ms. Wareham then expressed her…
Side event “Preparing for the NPT RevCon 2020: Applying the Stepping Stones Approach to Nuclear Disarmament”
On 8 October, the Permanent Missions of Germany and Sweden together with the British American Security Information Council (BASIC), hosted a First Committee side event, “Preparing for the NPT RevCon 2020: Applying the Stepping Stones Approach to Nuclear Disarmament”. As explained by the Stepping Stones Approach, it encourages building habits of cooperation among states to identify measures to reduce the role of nuclear weapons. It underlines the importance of incremental steps so that existing nuclear disarmament commitments made by States can be achieved. Mr. Paul Ingram, Senior…
UNODA launches a new online training course on UNSCR 1540
The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs is proud to announce the launch of its new training course on UN Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004). The purpose of this course is to promote awareness and understanding of the key objectives and provisions of the resolution. Adopted in 2004, the decision taken under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter affirms that the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, as well as their means of delivery, constitutes a threat to international peace and security. Rather than modifying or contradicting previous…