UNODA

The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) is a department of the UN Secretariat that promotes nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, strengthens disarmament regimes for weapons of mass destruction, and supports disarmament efforts in the area of conventional weapons, including small arms and light weapons.

UNODA was originally established in 1982 as the Department for Disarmament Affairs, following recommendations from the General Assembly's first Special Session on Disarmament (SSOD-I, 1978). It has been restructured several times — becoming the Office for Disarmament Affairs in 2007 under Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who appointed a High Representative for Disarmament Affairs to head it. The office is based in New York, with branches in Geneva (supporting the Conference on Disarmament) and Vienna.

UNODA's substantive work is organized around several branches, typically including:

• Weapons of Mass Destruction Branch, supporting the NPT, BWC, and related instruments
• Conventional Arms Branch, servicing the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms
• Regional Disarmament Branch, which oversees the three Regional Centres in Lomé (UNREC, Africa), Lima (UNLIREC, Latin America/Caribbean), and Kathmandu (UNRCPD, Asia-Pacific)
• Information and Outreach Branch

The Office services meetings of the First Committee of the General Assembly, the UN Disarmament Commission, and review conferences of major treaties. It also administers the UN Register of Conventional Arms and the Secretary-General's Mechanism for investigating alleged use of chemical and biological weapons. UNODA does not negotiate treaties itself — that role belongs to member states — but provides analytical, logistical, and secretariat support, including for the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.

The High Representative reports directly to the Secretary-General and presents the Securing Our Common Future: An Agenda for Disarmament, launched by António Guterres in 2018, as a guiding framework for the office's priorities.