UN Press Release: Commemorating International Day Against Nuclear Tests

The world-wide observance of the fifth annual International Day against Nuclear Tests will be on Friday, 29 August 2014. The day highlights the efforts of the United Nations and a growing community of advocates, including Member States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, youth networks and media in informing and educating on the importance of a ban on nuclear weapons testing for the achievement of a safer and more secure world.

Activities ranging from symposia and conferences to exhibits are expected to take place throughout the world to call attention to the dangers of nuclear weapon test explosions, the threats posed to humans and the environment, and the need to ultimately eliminate all nuclear weapons and their testing.

UN General Assembly First Committee commences in New York

The 2013 session of the UN General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament and International Security will meet from 7 October - 5 November 2013 in New York. The Committee will be chaired by Ambassador Ibrahim O. A. Dabbashi of Libya.

Reaching Critical Will (RCW) provides the most up to date information on developments at the First Committee. In preparation, RCW has produced a briefing book which provides a snap shot of some of the most pressing issues for this year's discussions. The book can be downloaded here.

For other information regarding the First Committee, please click here.

ISS Today: Syria: Seizing the international moment

Noel Stott, Senior Research Fellow, Transnational Threats and International Crime Division, ISS Pretoria

As Russia, the United States (US) and Syria edge closer to a final agreement and a possible United Nations (UN) Security Council resolution
on how best to deal with the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict, it may be wise to step back and consider the enormous potential that a more holistic approach could provide. Such an approach could fundamentally alter the current global discourse on weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

ISS TODAY: Africa's silence on Syria is a missed opportunity to exert regional influence

Noël Stott, Senior Research Fellow, Africa's Development and the Threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction Project, ISS Pretoria

The relative silence by the African Union (AU) and its member states on allegations that the Syrian government or one of the various opposition groups have been using chemical weapons in the war that is gripping that country, represents another missed opportunity in the continent’s quest to exert itself as an important player in international diplomacy. This is particularly true with regard to disarmament and the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

While the findings of the United Nations (UN) inspection team – whose mandate stems from procedures provided under the UN Secretary-General’s Mechanism to investigate allegations of the use of chemical weapons – are yet to be announced, it seems clear that chemical weapons were indeed used in the Syrian conflict. Exactly what type of chemicals, or indeed by whom, is still to be determined. A team consisting of nine experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and three from the World Health Organisation (WHO) is investigating the former. Environmental and biological samples are presently undergoing laboratory analysis and technical evaluation. Although efforts are being made to expedite this process, their report to the UN Secretary General may only be made public in three to four weeks – this despite the insistence of the UK’s Prime Minister and the United States (US) and French presidents that the Syrian regime was responsible and that a ‘punitive’ military response is urgently needed.

First Committee Monitor: Final Edition

Final Edition
2 November 2011

Please find the final edition of the First Committee Monitor, the weekly publication from the NGO Working Group on the First Committee, online for download in PDF or viewing in HTML. The editorial for this week's edition is also included below.

The First Committee Monitor is coordinated, edited, and distributed by the Reaching Critical Will project of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Reaching Critical Will also collects and posts online all statements, draft resolutions, and other documentation from the First Committee.

In this edition:

• Editorial: Stalemate continues; more money goes to nuclear weapons
• Disarmament machinery
• Nuclear disarmament
• Nuclear proliferation
• Nuclear energy and the fuel cycle
• Nuclear weapon free zones
• Negative security assurances
• Nuclear testing
• Missile and anti-missile systems
• Outer space
• Biological and chemical weapons
• Arms trade treaty
• Small arms and light weapons
• Cluster munitions and landmines
• Other conventional weapon issues
• Regional disarmament and security
• Information technology and international security
• Disarmament and development
• Disarmament education

If your delegation or organisation is interested in advertising an event or publication in the First Committee Monitor, please email info[at]reachingcriticalwill.org.

 

If you are interested in supporting the First Committee Monitor or Reaching Critical Will's other activities, please write to us!

 

In peace,

Ray Acheson, RCW Project Director

UN First Committee: Week 4 in Review

During the fourth week of the UNGA First Committee delegations continued to discuss regional disarmament and security as well a disarmament machinery. The following African states made presentations - Morocco and Egypt, as well as the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

Non-governmental organisations were also given an opportunity to address the meeting. The following presentations were made:

• Military expenditure, human security, and nuclear power, Ms. Alicia Godsberg, Peace Action New York State
• Implementation of the 2010 NPT outcome document, Ms. Katherine Prizeman, Global Action to Prevent War
• Outer space, Ms. Tiffany Chow, Secure World Foundation
• Revitalizing multilateral disarmament negotiations, Dr. John Burroughs, Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy
• Arms Trade Treaty, Mr. Jeff Abramson, Contol Arms
• UN Programme of Action on Small Arms, Ms. Michele Poliacof, International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA)
• Landmines, Mr. Zach Hudson, International Campaign to Ban Landmines
• Cluster munitions, Ms. Alicia Pierro, Cluster Munition Coalition
• UN Programme of Action on small arms and light weapons and the Arms Trade Treaty, Mr. Ted Rowe, President of the World Forum on the Future of Sport Shooting Activities (WFSA)
• Proposed Arms Trade Treaty, Mr. D. Allen Youngman, Defense Small Arms Advisory Council

For a full list of Draft Resolutions and Decisions, Voting Results, and Explanations of Vote
from First Committee 2011 please click HERE.

UN First Committee: Week 3 in Review

During the third week of the UN General Assembly First Committee, delegations began with statements on 'Other WMD'. No African delegations made statements during the 'Other WMD' session.

South Africa, Senegal, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Lesotho, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania and Botswana, as well as the Non-Aligned Movement made statements during the session on Conventional Weapons.

During the session on 'other disarmament matters and security', South Africa and the Non-Aligned Movement Algeria presented statements. The session on 'regional disarmament and security included statements by the UN Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa, Algeria, the Non-Aligned Movement and the African Group.

South Africa, the Netherlands and Switzerland together put forward document A/C.1/66/L.39 under 'Proposals for revitalizing multilateral disarmament negotiations'.

The Third Edition of the First Committee Monitor can be downloaded HERE.

First Committee 2011: Week 2

During week 2 of the UNGA First Committee, states concluded the general debate and proceeded with the thematic debate. The following African states made statements during the second week of general debate: Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Eritrea,  Liberia, Togo. Copies of the available statements can be found HERE.

From 12 October, the thematic debate commenced with statements by representatives of the UN and intergovernmental organizations including the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs at Geneva, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chempical Weapons and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

States then moved on to the theme of nuclear weapons. Thus far, three African states - Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania - have made statements. Copies of these statements can be downloaded HERE.

First Committee 2011: General Debate

The United Nations First Committee opened on 3 October 2011 with the General Debate. UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, H.E. Mr. Sergio Duarte kicked off the session, which continued till 7 October.

A number of African states made statements including Algeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Libya, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, and Uganda, as well as Nigeria on behalf of the African Group and groups including African states such as the Non-Aligned Movement and New Agenda Coalition.

Copies of the statements can be found HERE.

For a copy of the First Committee Monitor, which provides an NGO perspective on the General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament and International Security click HERE.

Reaching Critical Will: First Committee Monitor Preview Edition

Preview Edition
3 October 2011

Please find the preview edition of the First Committee Monitor, the weekly publication from the NGO Working Group on the First Committee, online for download in PDF or viewing in HTML. The editorial for this week's edition is also included below.

The First Committee Monitor is coordinated, edited, and distributed by the Reaching Critical Will project of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Reaching Critical Will also collects and posts online all statements, draft resolutions, and other documentation from the First Committee.

Africa’s Contribution to a World Free of Nuclear Tests

31 August 2011

Amelia Broodryk, Researcher, Arms Management Programme

On 29 August, the international community observed the second International Day against Nuclear Tests. The UN General Assembly created the event in December 2009 through the unanimous adoption of resolution 64/35. This year, the International Day against Nuclear Tests also marked the 20th anniversary of the closure of the nuclear weapons test site at Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan. According to UN resolution 64/35, the day is “devoted to enhancing public awareness and education about the effects of nuclear weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosions and the need for their cessation as one of the means of achieving the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world”. The UN Office for Disarmament will be hosting two events on the 1st and 2nd of September at the UN Headquarters in New York to commemorate the day – a high-level workshop looking at meeting the targets of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) action plan and an informal meeting of the General Assembly.

For a full version of the article, click HERE.