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2020 Orientation Course: Table of Disarmament Forums and Agencies

Disarmament Forums and Agencies

NOTE: This list focuses mainly on Geneva-based entities and is not exhaustive.

 

 

Main Bodies

 

 

Details

 

 

 

Venue

General Assembly First Committee [JCP1]

https://www.un.org/en/ga/first/

Deals with disarmament and international security.

New York

 

Conference on Disarmament (CD)

Set up in current form by the General Assembly via SSOD I [JCP2]1

www.unog.ch/disarmament

Deals with (mainly) nuclear disarmament including fissile materials; PAROS;2 NSAs;3 new types of WMD including radiological weapons; comprehensive programme of disarmament; and transparency in armaments.

SSOD I [JCP3] styled the CD as “a single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of limited size taking decisions on the basis of consensus”.

 

Geneva

Disarmament Commission [JCP4]

Set up in current form by the General Assembly via SSOD I [JCP5]  https://www.un.org/disarmament/institutions/disarmament-commission/

Deals with 2 items per year: nuclear disarmament and one item drawn from a range of issue

New York

 

WMD

 

 

 

 

Treaty Bodies

 

Meetings of States Parties (MSPs), Conferences of States Parties (CSPs), etc. 

 

Biological: (BWC)

Next MSP: 8­–11 December 2020 https://www.unog.ch/80256EE600585943/(httpPages)/92CFF2CB73D4806DC12572BC00319612?OpenDocument

 

Geneva

Chemical: (CWC)

25th CSP: 30 Nov–4 December 2020 https://www.opcw.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020/06/ec94dg08%28e%29.pdf

 

The Hague

Nuclear: (NPT)

 

(CTBT)

(TPNW)

10th Review Conference of NPT States Parties: dates tbc https://www.un.org/en/conferences/npt2020 NB: in the next 5-yearly review cycle of the NPT, States Parties are likely to hold Preparatory Committee meetings in Vienna, Geneva and New York.

Not yet in force

Not yet in force

New York

 


[1] First special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament, 1978.

[2] Prevention of an arms race in outer space.

[3] Effective international arrangements to assure non-nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons.

 

 

Conventional

 

 

Details

 

 

 

Venue

Inhumane Weapons Convention: (CCW & Protocols)

Next MSPs:

CCW: 11–13 November 2020

Protocol V: 9 November 2020

Amended Protocol II: 10 November 2020 https://www.unog.ch/80256EE600585943/(httpPages)/D9C3974A3504E274C1258408004BCE04?OpenDocument

Geneva

Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC)

Next MSP: 16–20 November 2020

https://www.apminebanconvention.org/meetings-of-the-states-parties/

 

Geneva

Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)

Next CSP: 17–21 August 2020 (CSP6)

https://www.thearmstradetreaty.org/csp-6.html?templateId=1319530

Geneva

Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM)

Next MSP: 2nd Review Conference of the States Parties, Lausanne https://www.clusterconvention.org/2rc/

Geneva

Other issues of relevance to Geneva-based diplomats

Details of relevant processes, e.g. Groups of Government Experts (GGEs), Open-ended Working Groups (OEWGs), etc. 

Geneva

Cyber

GGE on Advancing Responsible State Behaviour in Cyberspace in the Context of International Security, 17–21 August 2020, and 20–29 May 2021

Geneva

New York

ICT

OEWG on ‘Developments in the field of Information and Telecommunications in the context of International Security’, 6–10 July 2020

New York

Lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS) 

GGE on emerging technologies in the area of lethal autonomous weapons systems (GGE LAWS) of the CCW Parties, 10–14 August 2020 and 21–25 September 2020 

Geneva

Ammunition

GGE on ‘problems arising from the accumulation of conventional ammunition stockpiles in surplus’, 20–24 July 2020 (postponed) 

New York

 

Acronyms: see those listed at the end of the Table on Weapons and Technologies that was prepared for participants of this Orientation programme.

Glossary of Terms for UN Delegates: https://unitar.org/sites/default/files/media/publication/doc/Glossary_E_0.pdf