Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters
The Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters was established in 1978 pursuant to paragraph 124 of the
Final Document of the Tenth Special Session of the General Assembly, and received its current mandate
pursuant to General Assembly decision 54/418 of 1 December 1999. The
Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters has the following functions:
- To advise the Secretary-General on matters within the area of arms limitation and disarmament, including on studies and
research under the auspices of the United Nations or institutions within the United Nations system
- To serve as the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR)
- To advise the Secretary-General on the implementation of the United Nations Disarmament Information Programme
Membership
Meeting of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with the board members of his Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, 2009.
The Secretary-General chooses the members of the Board from all regions of the world for their knowledge and experience in the
field of disarmament and international security.
There are fifteen members in 2013.
The Director of UNIDIR is an ex officio member.
UNIDIR
In its role as Board of Trustees of UNIDIR, the Advisory Board reviews reports of the work of the Institute, including completed and on going projects, personnel and financial matters, and future plans. For further information about UNIDIR, see its website at http://www.unidir.org
Sessions
The Advisory Board holds two sessions a year, alternating between New York and Geneva. The Board adopts
its agenda based on requests from the Secretary-General for advice on specific disarmament issues and upon its own recommendations of items to be considered. The chairman of the Board rotates by region on a yearly basis, and is responsible for submission of a private report on the session to the Secretary-General. Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 38/183 O of 20 December 1983 (A/RES/38/183), the Secretary-General reports annually to the General Assembly on the activities of the Advisory Board.
- 60th Session: 26 - 28 June 2013, Geneva
- Issues to be discussed
- The relations between the nuclear-weapon-free zones in advancing regional and global security
- Disarmament and security implications of emerging technologies
- List of Members (PDF)
- 59th Session: 27 February - 1 March 2013, New York
- Issues discussed
- The relations between the nuclear-weapon-free zones in advancing regional and global security
- Disarmament and security implications of emerging technologies
- List of Members (PDF)
- 58th Session: 04 - 06 July 2012, Geneva
- Issues discussed
- Conventional arms regulation: the future United nations architecture
- Follow-up discussions on the issue of the revitalization of the CD
- List of Members (PDF)
- 57th Session: 22 - 24 February 2012, New York
- Issue discussed
- Ways to improve the work of the Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters
- Conventional arms regulation: the future United Nations architecture
- List of Members (PDF)
- 56th Session: 29 June - 1 July 2011, Geneva
- 55th Session: 23-25 February 2011, New York
- Issue discussed
- Follow-up on the issue raised at the High-level Meeting, including inter alia the possible establishment of a High-level panel of eminent persons with special focus on the functioning of the Conference on Disarmament
- List of Members (PDF)
- 54th Session: 7-9 July 2010, Geneva
- Issues discussed
- Follow-up of action on the 2002 United Nations Study on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education
- Exchange of views on the outcome of the 2010 NPT Review Conference
- Report presented to the GA at its 65th session (2010)
- List of Members (PDF)
- 53rd Session: 24-26 February 2010, New York
- Issues discussed
- Conceptual issues leading up to the 2010 NPT Review Conference
- Follow-up action on the 2002 United Nations Study on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education
- List of Members (PDF)
- 52nd Session: 1-3 July 2009, Geneva
- 51st Session: 18-20 February 2009, New York
- Issues discussed
- Cyberwarfare and its impact on international security
- Ways to strengthen the field of verification, including the role of the United Nations
- List of Members (PDF)
- 50th Session: 9-11 July 2008, Geneva
- 49th Session: 20-22 February 2008, New York
- Issues discussed
- Issues of energy security and environment in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation
- The 'Hoover Plan' for nuclear disarmament: Multilateralism and the UN dimension
- Emerging weapons technologies, including outer space aspects
- List of Members (PDF)
- 48th Session: 16-18 July 2007, New York
- 47th Session: 21-23 June 2006, Geneva
- 46th Session: 8-10 February 2006, New York
- Issues discussed
- Review of The Situation in the Field of Disarmament in the Light of the Decisions taken at the Summit held on the occasion of the Sixtieth Session of the General Assembly
- Measures to Prevent the Proliferation of Weapon Systems to Non-State Actors
- List of Members (PDF)
- 45th Session: 29 June-1 July 2005, Geneva
- 44th Session: 23-25 February 2005, New York
- 43rd Session: 30 June-2 July 2004, Geneva
- 42nd Session: 4-6 February 2004, New York
- 41st Session: 16-18 July 2003, Geneva
- 40th Session: 5-7 February 2003, New York
- Press releases
- Issues discussed
- Disarmament and development
- Review of the functioning and effectiveness of the Board in the context of the 25th anniversary of its establishment
- Open source data for disarmament
- List of Members (PDF)
- 39th Session: 17-19 July 2002, Geneva
- 38th Session: 30 January-1 February 2002, New York
- 37th Session: 25-27 July 2001, Geneva
- 36th Session: 31 January-2 February 2001,
New York
