Conference on Disarmament

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Conference on Disarmament
AbbreviationCD
PredecessorCommittee on Disarmament (1979–1984)
Formation1984;41 years ago (1984)
TypeInternational
Legal statusActive
PurposeDiscussing and debating disarmament issues, and making recommendations
Headquarters Palais des Nations
Membership65 Countries
Secretary-General
( ex officio )
Tatiana Valovaya
Website Official Website
A meeting of the Conference on Disarmament in the Council Chamber of the Palace of Nations Conference on Disarmament at the United Nations, Palais des Nations in Geneva (3).jpg
A meeting of the Conference on Disarmament in the Council Chamber of the Palace of Nations

The Conference on Disarmament (CD) is a multilateral disarmament forum established by the international community to negotiate arms control and disarmament agreements based at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The Conference meets annually in three separate sessions in Geneva.

Contents

History

The Conference was first established in 1979 as the Committee on Disarmament as the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of the international community. [1] It was renamed the Conference on Disarmament in 1984.

The Conference succeeded three other disarmament-related bodies: the Ten Nation Committee on Disarmament (1960), the Eighteen Nation Committee on Disarmament (1962–1968) and the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament (1969–1978).

The Conference was created with a permanent agenda, also known as the "Decalogue", which includes the following topics: [2]

Additionally, all decisions of the body must be agreed upon by consensus according to the rules and procedures of the conference. [3]

Relationship to the United Nations

The Conference is formally independent from the United Nations. [4] However, while it is not formally a UN organization, it is linked to it in various ways. First and foremost, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva serves as the Secretary-General of the Conference. [1] Furthermore, while the Conference adopts its own rules of procedure and agenda, the United Nations General Assembly can pass resolutions recommending specific topics to the Conference. Finally, the Conference submits a report of its activities to the General Assembly yearly, or more frequently, as appropriate. [2]

The Conference on Disarmament Secretariat and Conference Support Branch of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, based in Geneva, provides organizational and substantive servicing to the Conference on Disarmament, the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of the international community.

Work of the Conference

Initially, the Conference and its predecessors were successful in meeting their mandate. They were instrumental in drafting numerous arms control agreements: most importantly, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (1968), the Biological Weapons Convention (1972), the Chemical Weapons Convention (1993) and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (1996). [5]

However, the work of the body was stalled for over a decade, as members were unable to agree on a work program after the passage of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Difficulties included strained relations between key players, disagreement among members on the prioritization of issues, and attempts of some countries to link progress in one area to parallel progress in other areas. [2] [5] [6]

Then, in 2009 a breakthrough was made by the body when it established several working groups to tackle various topics under the Conference's authority. These group focused on: negotiating a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons (FMCT), creating practical steps to reduce nuclear weapons, Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS) and addressing negative security assurances. [2] [6] [7] [8]

Due to the general dysfunction of the Conference and its limited membership, negotiations for the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons took place at the United Nations, and not at the Conference. [9]

Membership

Members countries of the Conference on Disarmament CDMembers.png
Members countries of the Conference on Disarmament

The conference is currently composed of 65 formal members, representing all areas of the world, as well as all known nuclear-weapon states. Additionally, members are organized into a number of informal regional groups to facilitate their preparation for, and representation in the plenary meetings of the Conference. [10] [11]

Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Flag of Austria.svg  Austria Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland Flag of France.svg  France Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland
Flag of Israel.svg  Israel Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Flag of South Korea.svg Republic of Korea Flag of Slovakia.svg  Slovakia Flag of Spain.svg  Spain
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Flag of the United States.svg  United States

Group of 21 (G-21)

Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon Flag of Chile.svg  Chile
Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia Flag of Cuba.svg  Cuba Flag of North Korea.svg DPRK Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg DRC Flag of Ecuador.svg  Ecuador
Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia Flag of India.svg  India Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia Flag of Iran.svg  Islamic Republic of Iran
Flag of Iraq.svg  Iraq Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico Flag of Mongolia.svg  Mongolia
Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco Flag of Myanmar.svg  Myanmar Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan Flag of Peru.svg  Peru
Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka Flag of the Syrian revolution.svg  Syrian Arab Republic Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia
Flag of Venezuela.svg  Venezuela Flag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe

Eastern European Group (EEG)

Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan
Flag of Romania.svg  Romania Flag of Russia.svg  Russian Federation Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine

Group of One

Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China

Non-member States

Additionally, a number of states participate in meetings of the Conference as Non-member States: [12]

Flag of Albania.svg  Albania Flag of Angola.svg  Angola Flag of Armenia.svg  Armenia Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan
Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic
Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg  Dominican Republic Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia Flag of Georgia.svg  Georgia Flag of Greece.svg  Greece
Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala Flag of Vatican City (2023-present).svg  Holy See Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg  Kyrgyzstan
Flag of Laos.svg Lao PDR Flag of Latvia.svg  Latvia Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg
Flag of Malta.svg  Malta Flag of Montenegro.svg  Montenegro Flag of Nicaragua.svg  Nicaragua Flag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia
Flag of Oman.svg  Oman Flag of Panama.svg  Panama Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal
Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar Flag of Moldova.svg  Moldova Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore
Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand Flag of Togo (3-2).svg  Togo
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg UAE

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "An Introduction to the Conference". United Nations Office at Geneva. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Conference on Disarmament (CD)". Nuclear Threat Initiative. January 10, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  3. "Rules of Procedure of the Conference on Disarmament" (PDF). Reaching Critical Will. Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  4. "Conference on Disarmament". Reaching Critical Will. Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  5. 1 2 Goldblat, Jozef. "The Conference on Disarmament at the Crossroads: To Revitalize or Dissolve?" (PDF). The Nonproliferation Review (Summer 2000): 104–107. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  6. 1 2 Report 106: Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (Report). The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia. September 2009. pp. 163–6. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  7. "Proposed Fissile Material (Cut-off) Treaty (FMCT)". Nuclear Threat Initiative. May 31, 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  8. "Proposed Prevention of an Arms Race in Space (PAROS) Treaty". Nuclear Threat Initiative. May 31, 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  9. "Treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons". United Nations Office at Geneva. United Nations. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  10. "Regional Groups". United Nations Office at Geneva. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  11. "Member States and non-member States – UNODA".
  12. "Non-member States participating in the work of the Conference on Disarmament" (PDF). United Nations Office at Geneve. Conference on Disarmament. June 20, 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2018.