“…the General Assembly may consider the general principles of cooperation in the maintenance of international peace and security, including the principles governing disarmament and regulation of armaments…”

– Article 11 of the UN Charter

First Committee

“The Disarmament and International Security Committee” is concerned with disarmament and related international security questions.

United Nations Disarmament Commission

Created by the General Assembly in 1952, the United Nations Disarmament Commission (UNDC) has a general mandate to discuss disarmament questions. It convenes each year for a three-week period in April.

Resolutions and decisions

The Disarmament Resolutions and Decisions Database contains records of action taken by the General Assembly and its First Committee on disarmament-related resolutions and decisions, as well as related information.

Establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the region of the Middle East

The General Assembly decided in 2018 to convene a conference on the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.

Information and communications technologies security

In 2020, the General Assembly decided to establish an open-ended working group on security of and in the use of information and communications technologies 2021–2025.

Outer space

Member States decided in 2022 to establish a United Nations Group of Governmental Experts “to consider and make recommendations on substantial elements of an international legally binding instrument on the prevention of an arms race in outer space, including, inter alia, on the prevention of the placement of weapons in outer space”.