Learning Unit 18 by Federica Dall’Arche

Chapter 1 Video Lecture 1: Definitions

In learning unit 01 you have already explored the distinction between Arms Control, Non-
Proliferation and Disarmament. In this unit, we will specifically look at Disarmament,
understanding its primary objectives and learning about the efforts of the international
community and of the United Nations in promoting it. This learning unit is, in fact, about what
is called the United Nations Disarmament Machinery.

But before going into details, let me freshen up your memory a little: We have seen that Arms
Control refers to: bilateral or multilateral agreements that limit or reduce the number of certain
weapons, such as for instance deployed nuclear weapons or certain activities, such as nuclear
tests.

While these agreements might ultimately result in disarmament achievements, you should
keep in mind that the primary objective of arms control is the maintenance of international
stability, as well as armaments’ costs reduction and damage containment in the event of war.

Examples of arms control efforts are the NewSTART Treaty, the Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty (CTBT) or the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, the CFE-Treaty. You can
find more information on these instruments in learning unit 05 and learning unit 10.

Non-Proliferation, instead, refers to efforts to avoid the spread of certain weapons to countries
which do not yet possess them. Non-proliferation is often referred to as a bargain as countries
which do not have those weapons usually request possessors to engage in disarmament
processes.

Therefore, while stability is still an objective of non-proliferation, it might be a temporary one, in

favour of the ultimate elimination of the category of weapons.

The cornerstone of the non-proliferation regime is the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of

Nuclear Weapons, also known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which is also explored in
learning unit 05.

Differently from arms control and non-proliferation, disarmament consists of a broad

spectrum of unilateral, bilateral or multilateral measures and agreements aimed at completely
eliminating a category of weapons.

Among the primary goals of disarmament, we find the maintenance of peace and security, the
prevention or resolution of armed conflicts, and the protection of civilians.

The rationale behind disarmament is that weapons, particularly weapons of mass destruction,
have an indiscriminate destructive power and are the primary cause of instability as resources
spent for their military build-up are resources taken away from other pressing issues like
education and health. According to the promoters of disarmament, therefore, disarming is a
direct way to stability and peace.

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Examples of disarmament efforts are the Convention on The Prohibition of The Development,
Production and Stockpiling Of Bacteriological (Biological) And Toxin Weapons and on their
Destruction, also known as the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention – which is presented
in learning unit 03 – and the Convention On The Prohibition Of The Development, Production,
Stockpiling And Use Of Chemical Weapons And On Their Destruction, also known as the
Chemical Weapons Convention, presented in learning unit 02.

When it comes to the UN, the international organization has chosen to mainly focus its efforts
on disarmament and non-proliferation. This is an important element that you should keep in
mind throughout this learning unit.

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Learning Unit 18 by Federica Dall’Arche

Chapter 1 Video Lecture 2: Historical Efforts towards Disarmament: From

Modern History to the League of Nations

Humankind has always been perturbed by the use of particularly cruel means of war.

As a result, a number of actions have been taken to restrict such use, and the establishment of
the UN Disarmament Machinery is definitely one of the greatest achievements in this direction.

Let’s look how we got here:

The very first international attempt in Modern History to contrast the use of cruel warfare
methods and promote their abolition dates back to 1675 with the signature, by France and the
Holy Roman Empire, of the Strasbourg Agreement. The agreement banned for the first time the
use of poisoned bullets -- what we could call a primordial example of chemical weapons.

In 1863, the Lieber Code signed by US President Abraham Lincoln, forbade any possible use of
poison and shortly after, the 1874 Brussels Declaration – signed by 14 European Countries –
set to do the same.

Efforts in arms limitation continued with the Hague Conferences convened by Tsar Nicholas II
and the US President Theodor Roosevelt held in 1899 and 1907. The Conferences, attended by
twenty-six countries, resulted in the adoption of a number of Conventions, known as the Hague
Conventions. Among others, these conventions included declarations prohibiting the use of
Asphyxiating Poisonous Gasses, the use of expanding bullets and the discharge of projectiles
and explosives from balloons.

Some of these included:

• Convention with respect to the Laws and Customs of War on Land;

• Declaration concerning the Prohibition of the Discharge of Projectiles and
Explosives from Balloons or by Other New Analogous Methods;
• Declaration concerning the Prohibition of the Use of Projectiles with the Sole Object
to Spread Asphyxiating Poisonous Gases;
• Declaration concerning the Prohibition of the Use of Bullets which can Easily
Expand or Change their Form inside the Human Body such as Bullets with a Hard
Covering which does not Completely Cover the Core, or containing Indentations.

International moral restraints, however, began to erode under the pressure of military
necessity with the outburst of World War One, which witnessed an extensive use of poisonous
gasses.

Nonetheless, the 1919 Treaty of Versailles reaffirmed countries commitment towards arms
limitation and disarmament. And in 1925, as a result of the public disdain from the use of
mustard gas in World War One and on the footsteps of the Hague Conferences, the Geneva
Protocol was adopted. The Protocol was a single article banning the use in war of

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Asphyxiating, poisonous or other gasses, analogous liquids, materials or devices and of
bacteriological methods of warfare.

The Geneva protocol laid the foundations for the Bio-Weapons Convention adopted in 1972
and the Chemical Weapons Convention adopted in 1993, which prohibited also the production
and stockpiling of such weapons.

The Geneva protocol was adopted under the auspices of the League of Nations. The League of
Nations can be defined as the precursor of the United Nations, and we will learn about it in the
next video.

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Learning Unit 18 by Federica Dall’Arche

Chapter 1 Video Lecture 3: Historical Efforts towards Disarmament: from the

League of Nations to the United Nations Disarmament Machinery

The League of Nations, founded in 1920, was the very first international organization created
to achieve world peace. In its charter, signatories committed to reduce armaments “to the
lowest point consistent with national safety and security”.

In the years between its creation and the outburst of the Second World War, the League of
Nations was particularly active in promoting arms limitation and disarmament, convening
international conferences and producing a series of disarmament treaties.

Notably, besides the Geneva Protocol, are the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty, the 1927 Geneva
Naval Conference and the 1930 and 1935 London Naval Treaty, which all aimed at preventing
an arms race by limiting naval construction.

Between 1932 and 1937 the League also convened the first World Disarmament Conference,
also known as the Conference for the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments. This
conference, however, failed to meet expectations and ended to be a failed effort due to the
delegates’ inability to reach consensus over what constituted “offensive” and “defensive”
weapons, among other reasons.

The Second World War, with its large-scale use of poisonous weapons, put a significant strain
on arms control and disarmament efforts as well as on the work of the League of Nations,
which in 1946 permanently ceased its activities. The failure of the League, however, did not
deter UN’s founders from putting disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation as one of
the key objectives of the organization and from establishing what will be known as the UN
Disarmament Machinery, which we will study in the next chapter.

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Learning Unit 18 by Federica Dall’Arche

Chapter 2 Video Lecture 1: Towards the United Nations Machinery

The second World War not only left countries devastated, but also broke the international
taboo — arduously elaborated by the League of Nations – around the use of what would be
later called weapons of mass destruction; with poisonous gasses returned to be largely used,
and nuclear weapons employed for the first time on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Against this backdrop, resuming efforts towards disarmament and arms limitation felt like an
inevitable and owed step.

In 1945, representatives from 51 states established the United Nations and included arms
regulation as one of the key missions of the organization.

Specific references to disarmament and arms control were made both in the United Nations
Charter and in the very first resolution adopted by the General Assembly in 1946.

As a key proponent of disarmament since its creation, the UN has over the years heavily and
naturally contributed to the definition of the disarmament architecture, pursuing two main
goals: First, the elimination of weapons of mass destruction. And second, the regulation of
conventional arms, particularly the illicit traffic of small arms and light weapons.

To achieve these goals, the UN has set up what it is referred to as the UN Disarmament
Machinery: a set of multilateral processes, procedures, practices and international bodies
whose purpose is to address disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control issues.

In 1978, the UN has cemented its determination to work for general and complete
disarmament by dedicating the UNGA’s tenth special session to the topic of disarmament. The
10th special session of the General Assembly will pass into history as the First Special Session
of the General Assembly devoted to Disarmament, or simply the SSOD, and will constitute the
UN’s “mission statement” on disarmament.

In the next videos, we will explore in details what composes the United Nations Disarmament
Machinery: its architecture, its achievements as well as potential areas for improvement.

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Learning Unit 18 by Federica Dall’Arche

Chapter 2 Video Lecture 2: The United Nations Machinery at a Glance

The term “Machinery” was coined during the First Special Session on Disarmament (SSOD)
convened by the United Nations General Assembly in 1978. The term initially referred to a
basic architecture composed by three institutions: The United Nations General Assembly First
Committee, The United Nations Disarmament Commission, and the Conference on
Disarmament.

Each institution continues to be part of the machinery today and, like then, has a specific
function: the First Committee of the General Assembly debates, drafts and adopts
disarmament-related resolutions; the UN Disarmament Commission deliberates on basic
disarmament concepts and principles and makes recommendations; the Conference on
Disarmament negotiates and adopts multilateral treaties.

Let’s now have a closer look to each institution.

Let’s start with the First Committee.

The First Committee is one of the six main committees of the General Assembly established
by the Preparatory Commission of the UN in 1945. The Committee deals specifically with
disarmament and international security, seeking solutions to challenges to international peace
and security – such as WMD proliferation and the illicit traffic of small arms and light
weapons.

The First Committee meets every year, from October to early November in New York City and
is attended by all member states of the UN.

The work of the Committee addresses seven thematic clusters:

• nuclear weapons
• other weapons of mass destruction
• disarmament aspects of Outer Space
• conventional weapons
• regional disarmament and security
• other disarmament measures and international security
• disarmament machinery

The work of the First Committee is divided in three distinctive phases:

The first phase, which lasts approximately one week, is where the general debate happens and
where agenda items are agreed upon.

During the second phase, the thematic discussions phase, high-level officials deliver their
statements and panel discussions are organized.

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The last phase, referred to as “action on drafts”, is where the Committee votes on any
recommendations, resolutions or decisions to be adopted by the General Assembly.

On average, the UNGA-FC annually discusses the adoption of over 50 resolutions on

disarmament issues, making it an important player in developing disarmament multilateral
norms.

During the annual meetings, the first committee can also decide to create groups of
governmental experts and open-ended working groups to address specific issues. It can also
convene conferences for the negotiation and adoption of multilateral treaties.

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Learning Unit 18 by Federica Dall’Arche

Chapter 2 Video Lecture 3: The United Nations Machinery at a Glance II

Let’s now look at the two remaining bodies that compose the basic architecture of the UN
Disarmament Machinery: the UN Disarmament Commission (UNDC) and the Conference on
Disarmament.

The UN Disarmament Commission was first established by the GA in 1952, with the mandate
of proposing treaties regulating and limiting armed forces and all armaments, and eliminating
all weapons of mass destruction.

Initially designed to be under the UN Security Council, the Commission was re-established in
1978 as a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly.

Today, the UNDC deliberates on basic disarmament principles and concepts and makes non-
binding recommendations, often in the form of guidelines for collective action.

To facilitate its work, in 1998 the GA decided to limit the UNDC’s agenda to only two
substantive items per year, including one on nuclear disarmament.

The UNDC is attended by all member states of the UN and this - at times – has contributed in
slowing down its work. From 1999 to 2017, in fact, the UNDC was unable to produce any
substantial outcome due to the inability of its parties to reach consensus.

In 2017, however, its members succeeded in adopting the “Practical confidence-building

measures in the field of conventional weapons”.

And finally, the Conference on Disarmament, or CD.

What we know today as the CD is an evolution of previous committees on the matter.

In 1959, the Big Four (namely the UK, the US, France, and the Soviet Union) resumed previously
halted disarmament talks and set the basis for the creation of the Ten-Nation Committee on
Disarmament in 1960. Composed of 5 states from NATO and 5 from the Warsaw Pact, two
years later, the Committee became the Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament, adding 8
neutral non-aligned States. In 1969, it was further enlarged, becoming “the Conference of the
Committee on Disarmament”, with 31 members in 1975. In 1978, the UNGA First Special
Session on Disarmament officially recognized the CD, known at the time as the “Committee on
Disarmament”, as the sole disarmament negotiating body.

Today, the CD is still considered the single multilateral arms control and disarmament
negotiating forum of the international community. It is composed by 65 official members,
while other UN Member States can participate as observers.

The CD meets three times per year in Geneva, and adopts its own rules of procedure and
agenda, taking into consideration, however, the recommendations of the GA and its Members.

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The Conference has a permanent agenda of 10 items, established in 1979 and known as the
Decalogue, from which the agenda items and programme of work for the year are established.

All decisions of the CD are taken by consensus.

While not officially a body of the United Nations, the CD has a special relation with the UN. It in
fact reports annually to the GA and its budget is included in that of the UN.

Over the years, the CD and its predecessors have negotiated pillar multilateral arms limitation
and disarmament agreements, such as the BTWC, the NPT and the CWC.

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Learning Unit 18 by Federica Dall’Arche

Chapter 2 Video Lecture 4: The United Nations Machinery at a Glance III

Since its establishment, the work of the Disarmament Machinery has been supported by the
United Nations Secretary General as well as the United Nations Security Council.

As recognized in the 1978 First Special Session on Disarmament, the Secretary General of the
United Nations in fact plays a special role in the promotion of arms control and disarmament,
and over the years all Secretary Generals have contributed significantly to the definition of the
Disarmament Regime through statements and reports.

In 2018, the UNSG António Guterres has announced a new vision, publishing the Agenda for
Disarmament: a set of practical measures to achieve disarmament by generating fresh
perspectives and exploring areas where serious dialogue is required.

The Agenda focuses on three main priorities: weapons of mass destruction, conventional
arms and future weapon technologies. It is also based on 4 pillars: Disarmament to Save
Humanity, Disarmament that Saves Lives, Disarmament for Future Generations and
Strengthening Partnerships for Disarmament.

The UN Security Council has also been crucial in the development of the arms control, non-
proliferation and disarmament agenda.

In 2004, the UNSC adopted Resolution 1540: one of the most far-reaching international
instruments to counter the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery
systems – recognized as a serious threat to international peace and security.

The binding character of the resolution required all members of the UN to adopt and enforce
domestic regulation to counter the spread of WMDs to non-state actors.

The resolution was adopted in response to growing concern that non-state actors could
succeed in acquiring WMDs, and following the unveiling, in January 2004, of a clandestine
nuclear weapons technology proliferation network – also known as the A. Q. Khan network.

In 2009, the UNSC convened an historic summit-level meeting chaired by United States
President Barack Obama and unanimously adopted Resolution 1887, calling on all countries to
sign and ratify the NPT and the CTBT and to refrain from conducting nuclear tests.

The summit was only the fifth in the Council’s history to be held at the level of heads of states
and governments.

Besides the broad scope of Resolutions 1540 and 1887, the Council has also focused on
specific regional cases over the years. Some examples are the resolutions adopted on Iraq’s
WMD programme, on India and Pakistan’s nuclear tests, on Syria’s chemical weapons or on
the DPRK’s nuclear and missile programmes, just to name a few.

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To summarize, the support of the United Nations Secretary General, and of the United Nations
Security Council, have been paramount to strengthen the work of the United Nations
Disarmament Machinery and to advance the global Disarmament Agenda.

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Learning Unit 18 by Federica Dall’Arche

Chapter 3 Video Lecture 1: Supporting the United Nations Machinery I

While the first Special Session on Disarmament held by the UNGA in 1978 originally identified
the First Committee, the UNDC and the CD as the only components of the ‘Disarmament
Machinery,’ over the years other institutions have been created and have contributed to the
machinery’s work, actively participating in the strengthening of the disarmament agenda.

Some by providing support through research, others by organizing experts’ meetings and
events, and others, by implementing major non-proliferation and disarmament treaties.

Let’s now have a closer look to each of these institutions, and let’s start with UNIDIR.

The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, also known as UNIDIR, was
established in 1980 by the UNGA as an autonomous research institute – to conduct
independent and impartial research and to facilitate multilateral dialogue on disarmament and
arms control.

By organizing experts’ meetings, conducting and publishing research projects, and working
with governmental and non-governmental organisations, civil society and the private sector,
UNIDIR acts as a bridge-builder between UN Member States and the research community.

With over 30 experts, researchers and fellows, UNIDIR’s programme of work currently focuses
on 5 thematic areas:

• WMD and Other Strategic Weapons

• Conventional Arms
• Security and Technology
• Gender and Disarmament
• Middle East Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone

The work of UNIDIR is reviewed by a Board of Trustees, officially known as the Advisory Board
on Disarmament Matters.

The board is nominated by the Secretary General, who chooses its components among
experts in the field of disarmament and international security from all regions of the world.

The board has 15 members and UNIDIR’s Director is an ex officio member.

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Learning Unit 18 by Federica Dall’Arche

Chapter 3 Video Lecture 2: Supporting the United Nations Machinery II

The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs – usually known by its acronym UNODA −
was originally established in 1982 upon the recommendation of the UNGA’s Second Special
Session on Disarmament. Previously under the names of Centre for Disarmament Affairs and
Department for Disarmament Affairs, the Institution officially became the UN Office for
Disarmament Affairs in 2007.

UNODA’s main purpose is to provide substantive and organizational support to the

Disarmament Machinery and to UN Member States and to contribute to the achievement of
the ultimate goal of general and complete disarmament.

The UNODA achieves this purpose through, among other things: multilateral dialogue,
transparency and confidence-building measures and through objective, impartial and up-to-
date information on arms control and disarmament issues.

The Office also supports the development and implementation of practical disarmament
measures after a conflict, such as disarming and demobilizing former combatants and helping
them to reintegrate in civil society.

UNODA’s work is organized in five main branches:

• the CD Secretariat and Conference Support Branch (Geneva), which provides

assistance to the CD
• the Weapons of Mass Destruction Branch (WMD), which contributes to strengthen
the non-proliferation regime
• the Conventional Arms Branch (CAB), which focuses on all weapons not considered
WMD and their illicit trafficking
• the Information and Outreach Branch (IOB), which organizes events, produces
UNODA’s publications and maintains and updates content for the UNODA’s website
and its databases
• the Regional Disarmament Branch (RDB), through which the UNODA oversees and
coordinates the activities of the regional centres for peace and disarmament in
Lima, Lomé, and Kathmandu

You will learn more about these institutions and the regional centres of the UNODA in the next
section.

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Learning Unit 18 by Federica Dall’Arche

Chapter 3 Video Lecture 3: Supporting the United Nations Machinery III

Among the institutions that support the work of the UN Disarmament Machinery we find those
that are essential in implementing major non-proliferation and disarmament treaties. Among
these, the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization, the
CTBTO, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the OPCW, and the
International Atomic Energy Agency, the IAEA.

The CTBTO, officially the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
Organization is the interim implementing body of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty –the
treaty that prohibits any kind of nuclear weapons testing: on the Earth's surface, in the
atmosphere, underwater and underground.

Since the Treaty is not yet in force, the organization is called the Preparatory Commission.
Despite this, it has been very active and has established a remarkable, unique and
comprehensive verification regime to ensure that no nuclear explosion goes undetected.
Founded in 1996, and based in Vienna, the CTBTO has its own membership and budget, but it
has a Relationship Agreement with the UN since the year 2000. Today, it has over 180 member
states and will become fully operational when the Treaty will enter into force: that is, when all
the 44 countries holder of nuclear technologies will sign and ratify the Treaty. As of January
2021, only eight countries are still missing: China, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, North Korea,
Pakistan and the United States. Of these, India, North Korea and Pakistan have also yet to sign
the CTBT.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, or the OPCW, is the implementing
body of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). Established in 1997, the organisation
oversees the global endeavour to permanently and verifiably eliminate chemical weapons. The
OPCW signed a Relationship Agreement with the UN in 2001. Today, the organisation has 193
member states and is responsible for the destruction of over 97% of all declared chemical
weapons stockpiles worldwide.

In recognition of its extensive efforts and commitments, in 2013 the OPCW was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize.

And finally, the IAEA.

While strictly not a disarmament organization, The International Atomic Energy Agency, also
known as the IAEA, plays a fundamental role in countering the proliferation of nuclear
weapons. The Agency, in fact, is responsible for the international safeguards system: a set of
technical measures through which the IAEA verifies that states are not diverting their nuclear
materials and technologies into nuclear weapons programmes, using them only for peaceful
purposes – honoring their international legal obligations.

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Among other functions, the IAEA also encourages the development of peaceful applications of
nuclear energy, science and technology and promotes the implementation of nuclear safety
and nuclear security standards.

Established in 1957, the IAEA is an autonomous international organisation within the UN

system. The IAEA Director General is a member of the UN Chief Executive Board and regularly
participates in the meetings chaired by the SG of the UN.

The Agency is the world's central intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical co-
operation in the nuclear field and its work is reported periodically to the UNGA and UNSC. It
has over 170 member states and like the OPCW, in 2005 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

To learn more about the Chemical Weapons regime and the CWC please refer to learning unit
02.

To learn about the CTBTO, have a look at chapters 4 and 5 of learning unit 04.

Finally, you can learn about the work of the IAEA in learning unit 13.

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Learning Unit 18 by Federica Dall’Arche

Chapter 5 Video Lecture 1: The EU and the United Nations Machinery

The European Union has always actively and fully supported the work of the United Nations,
defined as “the cornerstone of multilateralism, the bridge to a better humanity, a better world”,
in the words of the former President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker

The EU has also repeatedly expressed its support towards the work of the United Nations
Disarmament Machinery.

In a statement at the United Nations General Assembly First Committee, in October 2019, the
EU reiterated its support for the three mutually reinforcing fora of the Disarmament Machinery:
the UN General Assembly First Committee, the Conference on Disarmament and the UN
Disarmament Commission – as we have studied in chapter 2.

In the same statement, the EU also stressed the importance of continued financial support to
the machinery and its various instruments, without which it could not otherwise properly
function to achieve the global goal of international peace and security.

In the next slide, Eran Nagan from the European External Action Services will provide some
brief comments on the work of the European Union in this field.

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Learning Unit 18 by Federica Dall’Arche

Chapter 5: The EU and the United Nations Machinery

Hi! My name is Eran Nagan from the European External Action Service. I’m the Chair of
COARM, the Working Group for Conventional Arms Exports.

What is the EU’s role in the UN disarmament system?

The EU is working towards a renewed rules-based multilateralism in order to make it fit for the
21st century – a model of multilateralism that serves good governance as well as EU and
global interests and values. Cross-border challenges – like disarmament, non-proliferation –
can only be addressed if countries work together. The United Nations system is the framework
through which the international community can create greater security and stability for all. The
EU is an extremely active player in the multilateral UN system. Together with member states,
we operate as one delivering with a single voice. That’s how we make the most out of our
political and economic leverage. At the Council Working Party on Non-Proliferation and Arms
Exports in Brussels, we prepare EU positions with member states. The EU Permanent Missions
to the UN in New York, Geneva, and Vienna, also coordinate on non-proliferation and
disarmament matters. This enables the EU to express common decisions at UN meetings,
also to engage in negotiations on resolutions and to implement our shared arms control
interests in the treaty bodies.

How can the EU contribute to multilateral arms control?

Now that the international arms control architecture is under severe pressure from geopolitical
tensions, the EU will do more than ever to preserve and to strengthen it. We promote the full
implementation of arms control treaties and lobby states to fulfil their obligations to prevent
the use and spread of certain weapons. Our support to the Mine Ban Treaty and to the
Biological Weapons Convention, guarantees a world without biological weapons and – in the
future – also without landmines. We will join forces with our partners to keep arms control
regimes fit for purpose in light of new technological developments. The Treaty on the Non-
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is a successful essential multilateral instrument that has
prevented a global nuclear arms race for half a century. The EU supports its faithful
implementation by all. Our assistance to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons will continue to ensure that the ban on chemical weapons is upheld and that those
using chemical weapons are held to account. The prevention of an arms race in outer space
has the EU’s special attention. We also support establishing a programme of action to
advance responsible state behaviour in cyberspace. And the EU is helping to re-vitalize the
Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, so that it will again serve as the principal negotiation
forum on disarmament. Through the budget for common foreign security policy, the EU
supports the UN system’s institutions and their treaty bodies for disarmament, including for
instance the OPCW, the International Atomic Energy Agency, CTBTO, UNODA, UNIDIR …

Our support amounts to over 200 million euros since the year 2004. It is part of our
commitment to be a long-standing, reliable ally of the UN system, while discussing the

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changes these institutions need to make to meet modern challenges. This makes the EU-UN-
bond a truly strategic relationship. Finally, the EU sponsors ten actions of the UN secretary-
general’s agenda for disarmament. These actions address nuclear, biological, chemical
weapons, conventional arms, the participation of young people and women and much more.

In short: The EU promotes the reform of global governance. We are helping to create a
multilateral system that makes effective, timely decisions. A system that is more inclusive,
where governments, citizens and industries collaborate to build a safer world.

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