Office for Disarmament Affairs

The Department of Disarmament Affairs was established in January 1998 as part of the Secretary-General’s programme for reform in accordance with his report A/51/950 to the General Assembly. It was originally established in 1982 upon the recommendation of the General Assembly's second special session on disarmament (SSOD II) and functioned as a department until 1992. From 1992 until the end of 1997, it was a Centre under the Department of Political Affairs. Thereafter it became the Department for Disarmament Affairs (DDA) and in 2007 it was changed to the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA).

The Office promotes the goal of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation and the strengthening of the disarmament regimes in respect to other weapons of mass destruction, chemical and biological weapons. It also promotes disarmament efforts in the area of conventional weapons, especially land mines and small arms, which are the weapons of choice in contemporary conflicts.

UNODA provides substantive and organizational support for the norm-setting in the area of disarmament through the work of the General Assembly and its First Committee, the Disarmament Commission, the Conference on Disarmament and other bodies. It fosters preventive disarmament measures, such as dialogue, transparency and confidence building on military matters, and encourages regional disarmament efforts; these include the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms and regional forums. It also provides information on the United Nations disarmament efforts.

UNODA 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. For more information on the Office for Disarmament Affairs, please visit: www.un.org/disarmament 

ACTIVITIES

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