disarmament

Conference on Disarmament 2017 session gets underway in Geneva.
UN Photo

UN chief Guterres pledges commitment to achieving world free of nuclear weapons

24 January 2017
Disarmament can play an important role in ending existing conflicts and preventing the outbreak of new strife, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said today, pledging to actively pursue the abolition of all weapons of mass destruction and the strict regulation of conventional weapons.
Deminer at work in Colombia.
OAS AICMA/Luis Paniagua

State Parties to UN-backed treaty agree to aim for clearance of cluster bombs by 2030

7 September 2016
An annual meeting of State Parties to the United Nations-backed pact banning cluster bombs ended today in Geneva, with an agreement on a target to complete by 2030 clearance of these explosive remnants of war that kill large numbers of civilians.
The Sixth Meeting of the States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions opens in Geneva, on 5 September 2016. Photo/ISUCCM

Annual meeting on UN-backed treaty aims to set target date for cluster bomb abolition

5 September 2016
An annual meeting of State Parties to the United Nations-backed pact banning cluster bombs opened in Geneva today, with a call to set a target date to achieve a world free of these explosive remnants of war that kill large numbers of civilians.
Early exposure to violence can lead to impaired brain development and lifelong physical and mental consequences, WHO says.
UN News Centre

UN Gender Focus: violence against children, child brides and disarmament

11 August 2016
UN Gender Focus

Bid to end violence “that affects one billion children per year”

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The “Non-Violence” (or “Knotted Gun”) sculpture by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd on display at the UN Visitors’ Plaza.
UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

Disarmament and non-proliferation are not “just for men”

8 July 2016
General News

Disarmament and non-proliferation issues are not “just for men”, female participants at a UN peace forum in Austria are learning.

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A view of indigenous children from the Embera people, displaced by armed conflict, in Colombia. UN File Photo/Mark Garten

UN in Colombia to “hit the ground running”, says peacekeeping chief

3 July 2016
General News

The UN in Colombia has to “hit the ground running” the head of peacekeeping operations said during an official visit to Mexico.

The new political mission will be responsible for monitoring disarmament should the Colombian government and FARC rebels agree on a peace deal.

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Hungary completed the transfer of its high enriched uranium (HEU) research reactor fuel to Russia.
Sandor Tozser/IAEA

FEATURE: New amendment on safeguarding nuclear facilities comes into force, strengthening a weak link in nuclear security

12 May 2016
After nearly two decades, the Amendment to the United Nations –backed Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) entered into force on 8 May – strengthening nuclear security and reducing the threat of nuclear terrorism worldwide.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon awards Ivan Ciro Palomino Huamani his first-prize certificate in the UN Poster for Peace contest.
UN News Centre/Elizabeth Scaffidi

FEATURE: UN poster contest paints picture of hope for a nuclear-free world

10 May 2016
The winning artists in an international competition to commemorate the very first United Nations General Assembly resolution, which established the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons and all weapons of mass destruction, are advocating for a world free of nuclear weapons. The first and last time these weapons were used was decades before the artists were born
High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Kim Won-soo addresses the opening of the UN Disarmament Commission’s 2016 session in New York.
UN Photo/Loey Felipe

Disarmament Commission has ‘considerable potential’ to produce solid results – senior UN official

4 April 2016
Despite a “deepening paralysis and divisions within multilateral disarmament bodies,” and the fact that many are looking outside traditional United Nations forums for progress, the top official on the issue stressed today that the UN Disarmament Commission has considerable potential to demonstrate that the existing disarmament machinery can produce results.
Mine clearance in Timbuktu, Mali.
MINUSMA/Marco Dormino

Mine action an ‘investment in humanity,’ says Ban, calling for a world free of explosive remnants of war

4 April 2016
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki moon today called for a world free of the threat of mines and explosive remnants of war, stressing that those hazards prevent aid from reaching those in need, and endanger the lives of the displaced persons returning home and children going to school.