The General Assembly's work on disarmament is conducted through its First Committee. Governments often use this forum to articulate decades-old positions and table resolutions that change little in substance or result from year to year. The civil society organisations, coalitions, and campaigns participating most actively at First Committee have argued consistently that we can and must replace watered-down outcomes with alternative results that advance human security and social and economic justice.

This briefing book provides a quick overview of the state of play on some of the most pressing issues that will (or should) be addressed at this year’s First Committee. It also outlines recommendations for governments from some of the key civil society groups working on these topics.

The groups that have contributed to this book work on many different issues and weapon systems from a variety of perspectives, but they all share one thing in common: the desire for more effective, transparent, and inclusive diplomatic work at the United Nations.

Edited by Ray Acheson • Published by Reaching Critical Will, a project of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom

Full briefing book

• Introduction Reaching Critical Will
• Nuclear weapons International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (www.icanw.org)
• Armed drones PAX (www.paxforpeace.nl)
• Fully autonomous weapons Campaign to Stop Killer Robots (www.stopkillerrobots.org)
• Explosive weapons in populated areas International Network on Explosive Weapons (www.inew.org)
• Landmines International Campaign to Ban Landmines (www.icblcmc.org)
• Cluster munitions Cluster Munitions Coalition (www.icblcmc.org)
• Depleted uranium weapons International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons (www.bandepleteduranium.org)
• Incendiary weapons Human Rights Watch (www.hrw.org)
• Small arms and light weapons International Action Network on Small Arms (www.iansa.org)
• Arms Trade Treaty Control Arms (www.controlarms.org)
• Outer space Reaching Critical Will (www.reachingcriticalwill.org)
• Cyperpeace and the militarization of the Internet Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (www.wilpfinternational.org)
• Gender and disarmament Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (www.wilpfinternational.org)

We are delighted to offer the online version for free, but please consider making a donation to Reaching Critical Will to help us cover the costs of producing this book and the other materials and information services that Reaching Critical Will provides.