Disarmament in Review
On 25 October 2024, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) jointly organized a side event on the margins of the UNGA First Committee to explore how rapid scientific and technological advances could impact the effectiveness of existing weapons of mass destruction (WMD) disarmament and non-proliferation regimes and how those regimes are adapting to ensure they remain robust and fit for purpose.
The High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Ms Izumi Nakamitsu, provided a keynote address at the event, sharing insights from UNODA on the impact of scientific and technological advances on disarmament and non-proliferation of WMDs. She highlighted that a fragile international security landscape, combined with rapid technological advancement, presents an array of both risks and opportunities. She emphasized that the intergovernmental organizations represented at this event “have a leading role to play in maximizing the potential of new technology, while at the same time ensuring that it cannot be used to exacerbate the risks posed by WMDs.”
These remarks were followed by a panel discussion featuring representatives of the above–mentioned organizations. Mr Jose Rosemberg from the CTBTO provided a presentation on enhancements in monitoring technologies for nuclear tests. Ms Tracy Brown shared perspectives from the IAEA on challenges and opportunities presented by emerging technologies for nuclear safeguards. Mr Hong Li discussed the OPCW’s efforts to prevent the re-emergence of chemical weapons in an era of accelerating scientific and technological developments. Ms Courtney Cresap, from UNODA, spoke on behalf of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) Implementation Support Unit about the impact of biotechnology and AI on implementation of the BWC. Across the panelists’ remarks, it was highlighted that new and emerging technologies – including in the realms of artificial intelligence (AI), outer space and sensor technologies, robotics, and others – have the potential to enhance abilities to monitor and verify obligations and commitments undertaken by States under the relevant WMD regimes. However, ease of access to some of these science and technology applications – by States and non-State actors alike – also presents risks, as they may be exploited to undermine or bypass verification regimes.
During the Q&A session, panelists and participants noted that this event was an important and necessary start in cooperation and information-sharing among the relevant WMD organizations on areas of common concern and opportunity related to new and emerging technologies.
Ms Fiona Simpson from UNODA, who also served as event’s moderator, closed the event by highlighting that, apart from the valuable exchanges on scientific and technical challenges to their work, events such as these exemplify the important cooperation within the international disarmament and non-proliferation community to ensure a safer, more secure world for all.
