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]

Negotiations for the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons took place at the United Nations, and not at the Conference. [9] This was due to the general dysfunction of the Conference and its limited membership, but also to the profound divisions among Member States on how to reach the goal of nuclear disarmament.

Most recently, at the beginning of the 2025 under Italian presidency, the Conference on Disarmament adopted Decision 2443 by consensus. [10] The Decision re-established five subsidiary bodies (SBs), re-appointed their respective coordinators and agreed on a calendar of meetings for these SBs. [11]

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. [12] [13]

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 Syria (2025-).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: [14]

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 (official).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. "Decision on the work of the Conference on Disarmament for 2025" (PDF). United Nations Office at Geneva. United Nations. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  11. "Final record of the one thousand seven hundred and fortieth plenary meeting". United Nations Office at Geneva. United Nations. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  12. "Regional Groups". United Nations Office at Geneva. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  13. "Member States and non-member States – UNODA".
  14. "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.