UNGA First Committee on Disarmament and International Security Delivered by Rafi Chowdhury, International Peace Bureau
Chairperson, distinguished delegates,
I present this statement on behalf of 175 civil society representatives and a coalition of organizations from around the world. We urge all member states to activate the UN General Assembly mechanism of Special Sessions on Disarmament without further procrastination, as per the recommendations of the UN Secretary-General António Guterres in Action 26(a) of the Pact for the Future.
It has been 46 years since the United Nation’s First Special Session on Disarmament was held in 1978. This established the present architecture of the multilateral disarmament machinery, enumerating both the priority objectives for arms control and disarmament and the key institutions to realize them, namely the Commission on Disarmament in New York and the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. Two other special sessions followed in 1982 and 1988, without leading to any major changes to the architecture agreed in 1978.
While this machinery was effective in its early years, producing significant treaties such as the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1993 and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in 1996, the system has since stagnated. The Conference on Disarmament has been unable to agree upon and implement a programme of work on its agenda items for almost 30 years. The continued paralysis of this body highlights the growing consensus that the framework established in 1978 is no longer fit for purpose and requires comprehensive review and reform.
UN member states have recognized the desirability of holding the Fourth Special Session on Disarmament for years. This is reflected in the annual resolutions calling for its convening, including the most recent, A/RES/78/24, adopted without a vote on 4 December 2023. This resolution reaffirmed the belief that a special session of the General Assembly on disarmament can set the course for future actions on disarmament, arms control, non-proliferation, and related security issues.
Despite this widespread support, tangible action to bring about a Special Session on Disarmament has been elusive. For almost 30 years, the General Assembly has been locked in an endless cycle of consultations on the “next steps,” without actually taking any. Typically, a Preparatory Committee would be established to address the practical issues of organizing a special session. However, this decision has been deferred to the
General Assembly, resulting in perpetual consultations, with no concrete steps forward.
This inaction comes at a time of intensifying global tensions and the unravelling of key arms control frameworks. The prolonged neglect of this crucial aspect of the UN’s peace and security mandate is untenable. In his ‘New Agenda for Peace,’ Secretary-General Guterres has acknowledged the need to reform the disarmament machinery and has called for an intergovernmental process to consider the timing, role, and preparations for a special session on disarmament.
We call upon this body to adopt a resolution to establish a Preparatory Committee by 2025 that will oversee the arrangements for convening a Fourth Special Session on Disarmament as the only viable and fully representative mechanism of the UN to hold discussions about and enable reform of the disarmament machinery, in order to effectively advance a comprehensive disarmament agenda.
The time for action is long overdue. The world cannot afford further delay on this vital issue.
Thank you.