International Day of Disarmament and Non-proliferation

The 2025 Conference on Disarmament , the world's single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum, will hold the first public plenary of its session on Tuesday, 21 January. The meeting will start at 10 a.m. under the Presidency of Italy. The Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva and Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament , have addressed the Conference at a later date. Public meetings, which will be held in the Tempus building of the Palais des Nations, can be followed in-person or through listen-live. The 2025 session of the Conference on Disarmament will be divided up into three successive parts, from 20 January to 28 March, from 12 May to 27 June, and from 28 July to 12 September. The Presidency of the Conference rotates among its Member States according to the English alphabetical order, with each President holding office for four working weeks. After Italy’s Presidency (20 January to 14 February), the following countries will also take the Pre...

The discussions – held at a secret location near Geneva – were described as “serious, frank, and constructive” by Iranian, French, British, and German diplomats, following the first of two days of talks. Representatives of these countries had already met in late November in the Swiss city. On Tuesday evening, Iran’s foreign minister added he had “sensed a serious willingness” from France, the United Kingdom, and Germany to resume negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program . Both sides had agreed to frame the talks as “consultations” rather than formal “negotiations,” providing an opportunity for Iran and the European powers to address several topics, including the critical issue of Iran’s nuclear development. But behind the diplomatic formalities lies a growing urgency. European nations are increasingly alarmed by rapid advancements in Iran nuclear programme. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – the UN’s nuclear watchdog – Iran is now capable of enriching uraniu...

The launch of yet another ballistic missile by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is of serious concern, a senior official told the United Nations Security Council , highlighting the persistent threat to global efforts towards disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation.  The Assistant Secretary-General for peacebuilding and political affairs, Mr. Khaled Khiari, briefed ambassadors two days after the DPRK, commonly known as North Korea, fired off what it described as a new type of intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile (IRBM) loaded with a hypersonic glide vehicle . He cited an official statement from Pyongyang which said the missile flew in line with its predetermined flight trajectory at 12 times the speed of sound before landing in the sea. ‘Serious military strike’ While the DPRK said the launch had no negative impact on the security of neighbouring countries, no airspace or maritime safety notifications were issued, he added. “The statement reported that...