The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) is a research institute of the United Nations focused on disarmament and international security. It was established in 1980 by the United Nations General Assembly with the stated purpose of informing states and the global community on questions of international security, and to assist with disarmament efforts so as to facilitate progress toward greater security and economic and social development for all.
Jayantha Dhanapala was a Sri Lankan diplomat. A career diplomat in the Sri Lanka Overseas Service, he served as the Under Secretary General to re-establish the Department of Disarmament from 1998 to 2003; Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva from 1984 to 1987; and Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the United States from 1994 to 1997.
Shyam Saran is an Indian career diplomat. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1970 and rose to become the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India. Prior to his appointment as the Foreign Secretary he served as India's ambassador to Myanmar, Indonesia and Nepal and as its High Commissioner to Mauritius. Upon finishing his tenure as the Foreign Secretary, he was appointed the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Indo-US Civil Nuclear Issues and later as Special Envoy and Chief Negotiator on Climate Change.
Peter Richard Woolcott is an Australian public servant, diplomat and the former Australian Public Service Commissioner. He was previously the Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Woolcott has served as the Australia's High Commissioner to New Zealand, the Australian Ambassador for the Environment, the Australian Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, the Australian Ambassador to Italy, the Deputy Head of Mission in Jakarta, and the Consul-General in Honolulu.
Masood Khan is a Pakistani-Kashmiri diplomat who is currently serving as Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States. Khan also served as the 27th President of Azad Kashmir. Khan joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan in 1980. From August 2003 to March 2005, he served as the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pakistan’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations and International Organisations in Geneva, Switzerland, from 2005 to 2008, Pakistan's Ambassador to China between September 2008 and September 2012 and as Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, New York, between October 11, 2012 and February 7, 2015.
Sérgio de Queiroz Duarte (1934-2024) was a retired Brazilian career diplomat. His last position was as United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs. He was appointed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in July 2007 and retired in February 2012. Duarte served as President of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs.
Arundhati Ghose was an Indian diplomat. She was Permanent Representative of India to the UN Offices in Geneva and was head of the Indian delegation that participated in the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) negotiations at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva in 1996. She also served as Ambassador to the Republic of Korea and the Arab Republic of Egypt.
Jayant Prasad is a former Indian civil servant of the Indian Foreign Service cadre who served as the Director General of the Delhi-based Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, a think-tank affiliated with the Indian Ministry of Defence between September 2015 and September 2018.
Ruchira Kamboj is a retired Indian Foreign Service officer of the 1987 batch, who last served as India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from August 2022 to May 2024 until her retirement. She has previously served as High Commissioner of India to South Africa, first female Indian Ambassador to Bhutan and Ambassador/Permanent Representative of India to UNESCO, Paris.
Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat is a former Indonesian diplomat. He served as an official in the Indonesian Department of Foreign Affairs for over two decades.
Prasad Kariyawasam is a Sri Lankan diplomat and the former Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the top diplomat in Sri Lanka. He was the International Affairs Adviser to Hon.Karu Jayasooriya, Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.He was the former Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States. with concurrent accreditation as High Commissioner for Sri Lanka to Trinidad & Tobago and Ambassador (designate) to Mexico. He was also the Permanent Observer of Sri Lanka to the Washington-based Organization of American States (OAS).He has also served as Sri Lankan Ambassador to India, Afghanistan and Bhutan.
Ajai Malhotra is a former Indian career diplomat who served as Ambassador of India to the Russian Federation. He is the Chairperson of the Advisory Committee to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Geneva.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is an Indian diplomat and politician, who is the thirtieth Minister of External Affairs of the Government of India since 31 May 2019. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and has been a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha since 5 July 2019. He previously served as the Foreign Secretary from January 2015 to January 2018. He is the second diplomat to be appointed India's External Affairs minister, after Natwar Singh.
Libran Nuevas Cabactulan is a Filipino career diplomat, who served as the 18th Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations, replacing former Ambassador and retired Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr.
Anil Wadha; born 26 May 1957 is an Indian civil servant who belongs to the Indian Foreign Service cadre. He has served as the Indian Ambassador to Italy, Poland, Oman and Thailand. He is currently a Senior Fellow & Cluster Leader at the Vivekananda International Foundation in New Delhi.
T. S. Tirumurti is a retired Indian civil servant (Ambassador) of the Indian Foreign Service cadre. His diplomatic career spanned 37 years (1985-2022). He served as the Secretary to Government of India and later as Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations in New York when India became a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 8th time. He was also the President of the UN Security Council for August 2021.
Harsh Vardhan Shringla is Chief Coordinator for India’s G20 Presidency in 2023. He has previously served as Foreign Secretary of India and India's Ambassador to the United States, High Commissioner to Bangladesh, and Ambassador to Thailand.
Vikram Misri is an Indian diplomat. He currently serves as the 35th Foreign Secretary of India, having taken over from Vinay Mohan Kwatra in July 2024. Previously, he served as the Deputy National Security Advisor of India from 1 January 2022, succeeding Pankaj Saran till 14 July 2024. Whereas, he has served as the ambassador of India to China from January 2019 to December 2021.
Natarajan Krishnan was an Indian diplomat and negotiator who served in many capacities including as Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations in New York from 1981 to 86 and the President of the United Nations Security Council in 1985. He also set up the 1987 Africa Fund as Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's Special Envoy and was India's representative on UNESCO's Executive Board.
