The UN General Assembly, by its resolution 502 (VI) of January 1952, created the United Nations Disarmament Commission under the Security Council with a general mandate on disarmament questions. However, it met only occasionally after 1959READ MORE
The 2014 session of the UN Disarmament Commission is on now from 7 to 25 April 2014 in New York.
Statements from plenary meetings
Reports from civil society:
The DC's work in progress, by Dr. Robert Zuber, Global Action to Prevent War
Disarmament deadline: powering down a three year cycle, by Dr. Robert Zuber, Global Action to Prevent War
The 2013 session of the UN Disarmament Commission was held from 1 to 19 April 2013 in New York. The Chair of the session was Ambassador Christopher Grima of Malta.
Statements from plenary meeting
Documents submitted to the session
Reports from civil society:
Report on the opening of the 2013 session, by Katherine Prizeman, 4 April 2013
Building blocks, by Dr. Robert Zuber, 10 April 2013
Memory lane, by Dr. Robert Zuber, 20 April 2013
UNDC concludes without consensus recommendations, by Katherine Prizeman, 21 April 2013
The UNDC 2004 Session has been postponed
Instead of a regular, formal three week session, Member States are engaged in informal negotations on items for the agenda.
Chairman: Ambassador Revaz Adamia, Georgia
Vice-chair: Ms. Filomena Murnaghan, Deputy Permanent Representative of Ireland
Rapporteur: Mr. Meir Itzchaki, Israel
Chairman: Mr. Sylvester Rowe, Sierra Leone
Vice-Chair: Mr. Alisher Vohidov, Uzbekistan
Rapporteur: Ms. Maria Pavlova Tzotzorkova, Bulgaria
Following the postponement of the 2004 session, the UNDC was not able to reach agreement on its agenda items for the 2005 session.
Chairman: H.E. Mr. Oh Joon, Republic of Korea
Vice-Chairs: Representatives from Austria, Belarus, Iran, Israel and Poland
Rapporteur: Senegal
Working Group I on Nuclear Disarmament
Chairman: Jean-Francis Zinsou, Benin
Working Group II on Conventional Weapon Disarmament
Chairman: H.E. Ronaldo Sardenberg, Brazil
Agenda:
Recommendations for achieving the objectives of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Practical confidence-building measures in the field of conventional weapons.
Reaching Critical Will summary
The 2006 UN Disarmament Commission concluded on April 28, 2006, having produced a number of discussion papers but with no consensus on anything but procedural reports. The DC remained saturated with tension between the United States and Iran, and the two engaged in a verbal duel at the final session of the Commission. Working Group I on Nuclear Disarmament forwarded 13 undifferentiated papers to the 2007 session, while Working Group II on Confidence Building Measures also forwarded a paper for possible consideration next year. The Commission was only able to agree on recommendations for improving the effectiveness of its Methods of Work, though reaching that agreement was also fairly contentious.
The Commission has the most time allocated to multilateral substantive consideration of nuclear disarmament in any of the disarmament fora in years. The Commission can only make recommendations, like the 1999 guidelines for Nuclear Weapon Free Zones, but this opportunity should be seized to find common ground and compromise on nuclear disarmament at a time when international disarmament negotiations (and even deliberations) are at an impasse. New Under-Secretary General for Disarmament Affairs Nobuaki Tanaka told the Commission they had a responsibility to provide fresh momentum by using new and creative thinking instead of allowing posturing to get in the way of results.
The Disarmament Commission finally adopted a substantive agenda at its Dec 12, 2005 organizational meeting. This comes as somewhat of a surprise, as the Commission has been without an agenda for three years and the United States declined to participate in the consensus adoption of this year's First Committee resolution on the Disarmament Commission. The United States also blocked consensus on adopting an agenda at the Commission's 2005 organizational meeting, in disagreement over the agenda item on nuclear disarmament. However, through the tireless work of the Chair, Ambassador Rowe (Sierra Leone), Member States agreed to a compromise on the disputed Nuclear Disarmament agenda item.
Chairperson: Elbio Rosselli (Uruguay)
Vice-Chairpeople: Representatives of Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Islamic Republic of Iran, Nigeria, Peru, Poland, and Switzerland
Rapporteur: Bassam Darwish (Syrian Arab Republic)
This year is the second in a three-year cycle that focused on two agreed agenda items: recommendations for achieving the objectives of nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation; and practical confidence-building measures in the field of conventional weapons.
During the 2007 session, the UNDC's nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation working group made some headway. The Chair, Ambassador Zinsou of Benin, produced a paper that was relatively well-received. However, after nearly a week of additions, the paper grew to a formidable 16 pages, turning into more of a compilation of views than a document of consensus recommendations. On the suggestion of several governments, he resubmitted a relatively short simple paper that could be agreed upon, but was clearly the lowest-common denominator and deficient in disarmament. The Report of the Disarmament Commission for 2007 notes that the Chair hopes his working paper “will be a basis for further deliberations for the formulation of consent recommendations” at the end of 2008.
7-25 April 2008, New York
Chairperson: Ambassador Piet de Klerk (Netherlands)
Chair of Working Group I: Mr. Jean Francis Zinsou (Benin)
Chair of Working Group II: Mr. Carolos Luis Dantas C. Perez (Brazil)
13 April–1 May 2009, New York
Chairperson: Ambassador Andrzej Towpik (Poland)
Vice-Chairs: Jean-Francis Zinsou of Benin and Johan Paschalis of South Africa
Rapporteur: Ambassador Piet de Klerk (Netherlands)
Chair of disarmament decade declaration working group: Johan Paschalis of South Africa
Chair of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament working group: Paolo Cuculi of Italy
RCW's Reports on the UNDC:
29 March–16 April 2010, New York
Chairperson: Ambassador Jean-Francis Regis Zinsou of Benin
Vice-Chairs: Mr. Attila Zimonyl of Hungary, Mr. Raphael Hermoso of the Philippines, Mr. Youn Jong Kwon of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Hassan Hamid Hassan of the Republic of Sudan, Mr. Juan Ignacio Morro of Spain, Ms. Penny Douti of Greece
Rapporteur: Ms. Lachezara Stoeva of Bulgaria
Chair of Working Group I (nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament): Paolo Cuculi of Italy
Chair of Working Group II (disarmament decade declaration working group): Johan Paschalis of South Africa
4–22 April 2011, New York
NGO reporting and analysis:
2–20 April 2012, New York
NGO reporting and analysis:
March 31- April 17 2003
Mario E. Marolini (Italy), Chairman
Alaa Isaa (Egypt), Chair of Working Group I, "Ways and Means to Achieve Nuclear Disarmament"
Santiago Irzabal Mourao (Brazil), Chair of Working Group II, "Practical Confidence Building Measures in the Field of Conventional Arms"
Themes: Ways and Means to Achieve Nuclear Disarmament & Practical Confidence Building Measures in the Field of Conventional Arms.
Press Releases:
27th April 2001 - Conclusion of the 2001 Session
19th April, 2001 - Progress Reports from Chairs of Working Groups I and II
