What we do

Reaching Critical Will is currently engaged in a variety of humanitarian disarmament campaigns and initiatives. Among other things, we are committed to working with governments, international organisations, and other civil society partners to:

• Universalise and implement the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the first international legal instrument that prohibits nuclear weapons treaty;
• Develop and monitor states’ adherence to a political commitment to end the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, and prevent arms transfers to actors engaged in the use of explosive weapons in populated areas;
• Challenge new and destructive technologies of violence, such as armed drones and lethal autonomous weapon systems;
• Promote cyber peace by challenging the militarisation of cyber space and bringing attention to the humanitarian and human rights impacts of cyber operations;
• Increase knowledge and capacity to prevent gender-based violence through the effective implementation of the agreements and treaties on weapons;
• Promote feminist perspectives and awareness in disarmament issues;
• Investigate the connections between the trade and use of weapons, violent masculinities, gender essentialisms, and diversity in disarmament policy and practice;
• Reduce military spending and confront war profiteering through gender-sensitive analysis of government budgets and funding priorities and through advocacy at the intergovernmental and national levels; and
• Contextualise disarmament in relation to the environment, economic justice, and human rights through cross-cutting analysis and advocacy.

We work with governments and other civil society groups to facilitate and support initiatives to achieve the above goals and to promote dialogue and transparency amongst states and civil society on these issues. We monitor, report on, and analyse international disarmament negotiations and discussions. We provide information and analysis about proceedings on all relevant disarmament issues. We post statements and documents in real-time during conferences and provide an online archive for future research. We also serve as UN-NGO liaison during disarmament meetings, helping other civil society groups to access the conferences and ensuring that all those pursuing initiatives to facilitate disarmament can engage with governments at the international level.

In addition to daily or weekly reporting and analysis from relevant meetings, we also produce briefing papers, studies, and other research and advocacy materials. We engage in coalition work on many issues, contributing critical analysis, advocacy, and organising to civil society efforts across a range of disarmament and arms control issues. RCW actively represents WILPF in many networks, such as the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), the International Network on Explosive Weapons, and the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots.

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