Disarmament in Review
In its latest edition of the Vienna Conversation Series, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) Vienna Office, in partnership with the Republic of Ireland and the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) Vienna, hosted a hybrid event entitled “Updating our vision for disarmament: inspiring action from the humanitarian approach” on Tuesday, 8 November 2022.
This roundtable-style event aimed at engaging the Vienna-based diplomatic community, international organizations, academics and civil society actors, together with the 2022 cohort of 44 young female participants of the OSCE-UNODA Scholarship Program for Peace and Security in-person segment, in dialogue and fresh thinking on best practices and lessons learned from the humanitarian approach in informing disarmament efforts and a new vision for disarmament.
Ms. Melissa Fleming, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications moderated the session and framed it by highlighting the imperative of considering and addressing humanitarian consequences of the use of weapons of all types.
The role and relevance of instruments addressing humanitarian impact of nuclear as well as conventional weapons was echoed by H.E. Mr. Eoin O’Leary, Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations in Vienna. In this context, he addressed concrete actions for implementation of humanitarian obligations, including on victim assistance and environmental remediation, under the declaration and action plan adopted at the First Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and brought to the audience’s attention the high-level international conference that Ireland would be hosting in Dublin on 18 November 2022 to endorse the political declaration on strengthening the protection of civilians from the humanitarian consequences arising from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA).
Speaking from Geneva, Dr. Eirini Giorgou, Legal Adviser at the Arms and Conduct of Hostilities Unit of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), underscored the role of international humanitarian law in putting a limit on violence in armed conflicts and protecting civilians affected by conflict. She also discussed that in order to achieve its purpose, the law evolve together with the evolution of warfare including new means, tactics and developments, and advances in technology.
Mr. Pehr Lodhammar, Chief of the Mine Action Programme of the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in Iraq, reflected on the complexity of mine action globally and the specific challenges posed by the use of improvised explosive devices in large quantity and complexity in Iraq, requiring adapted responses to mitigate the humanitarian risks posed by them. Mr. Lodhammar further elaborated on the partnership model approach applied by UNMAS in Iraq to build sustainable national mine action capacity, as well as successes in increasing the number of qualified women in both operational and managerial roles under this approach.
Ms. Vanda Prošková, Vice-Chair of the PragueVision Institute for Sustainable Security, Co-Convener of Youth Fusion, participant in UNODA’s Leaders4Tomorrow initiative and recipient of the 2022 OSCE-UNODA Scholarship for Peace and Security, underscored the role women, youth, and civil society play in advocating for a humanitarian approach to disarmament and acting as active drivers of change.
Interventions by the panellists were followed by a dynamic and fruitful discussion, in which speakers addressed questions posed by audience members in the room and joining online. Topics raised included those related to drawing lessons from past periods of crisis and disarmament and arms control frameworks emerging from these; the invaluable role of civil society and survivor communities in advocating for and accelerating policy-making around humanitarian disarmament and shaping viable responses; the implications of emerging technology for the future of peace and security and disarmament; as well as strategies for strengthening diversity and creating opportunities for youth, women and voices from the Global South in disarmament processes.
A recording of the event is available here.
