Disarmament in Review
The Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters (ABDM) was established in 1978 pursuant to paragraph 124 of the Final Document of the Tenth Special Session of the General Assembly, and received its current mandate pursuant to General Assembly decision 54/418 of 1 December 1999. The Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters has the following functions:
- To advise the Secretary-General on matters within the area of arms limitation and disarmament, including on studies and research under the auspices of the United Nations or institutions within the United Nations system
- To serve as the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR)
- To advise the Secretary-General on the implementation of the United Nations Disarmament Information Programme
Membership
The Secretary-General chooses the members of the Board from all regions of the world for their knowledge and experience in the field of disarmament and international security. There are fifteen members of the Board. The Director of UNIDIR is an ex officio member.
UNIDIR
In its role as Board of Trustees of UNIDIR, the Advisory Board reviews reports of the work of the Institute, including completed and on going projects, personnel and financial matters, and future plans. For further information about UNIDIR, see its website at http://www.unidir.org
Sessions
The Advisory Board holds two sessions a year, alternating between New York and Geneva. The Board adopts its agenda based on requests from the Secretary-General for advice on specific disarmament issues and upon its own recommendations of items to be considered. The chairman of the Board rotates by region on a yearly basis, and is responsible for submission of a private report on the session to the Secretary-General. Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 38/183 O of 20 December 1983 (A/RES/38/183), the Secretary-General reports annually to the General Assembly on the activities of the Advisory Board.
Find documentation from current and past ABDM sessions on the UNODA Meetings Place website.
For More Information
Please contact:
Ms. Suzanne Oosterwijk
Secretary of the Board
Office for Disarmament Affairs
United Nations Secretariat
New York, NY 10017, USA
