United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs
Background
The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) provides substantive analysis and advice to the Secretary-General on disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation issues. The Office assists Member States in promoting and strengthening multilaterally negotiated principles and norms in all areas of disarmament and non-proliferation. Additionally, it assists Member States in their efforts to prevent the destabilizing and excessive accumulation of illicit small arms and light weapons. The Office promotes transparency, based on the principle of undiminished security for all, and confidence-building measures in the field of disarmament. Through its regional centres for peace and disarmament, UNODA assists Member States in promoting regional approaches to disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation in support of regional and international peace and security.
Policy framework
The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) contributes to policy development including on the gender aspects of disarmament, and executes disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation programmes at the regional, subregional and national levels through its three UN Regional Centres for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC); Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD); and Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC). The Secretary General’s Agenda for Disarmament Securing our Common Future calls for greater efforts to be made towards achieving equal, full and effective participation of women in all decision-making processes related to disarmament and for gender-responsive arms control to reduce violence against women and girls in both public and private spheres. UNODA committed to undertake concrete activities in this regard in the agenda’s implementation plan. The Office began mainstreaming a gender perspective into its work in 2001, with the issuance of briefing notes on "Gender Perspectives on Disarmament", followed by a Gender Action Plan, the first such plan at the UN Secretariat. In 2006, UNODA issued guidelines for "Mainstreaming Gender for the Effective Implementation of the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms", which were revised in 2010. In addition, ODA supports Member States in the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and General Assembly resolution 65/69 (2011). UNODA chairs the inter-agency coordination mechanism on arms, the arms trade and ammunition (CASA), where gender aspects are fully taken into account. In 2017, CASA adopted a Modular Small-arms-control Implementation Compendium (MOSAIC) module on women, men, and the gendered nature of small arms and light weapons. The module provides guidance for practitioners on implementing gender-responsive programming on small arms and light weapons control. UNODA also participates in UN-wide joint programming to prevent and reduce armed violence. Finally, UNODA has developed a long-standing cooperation with the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) on gender aspects of the small arms / arms trade issue.
Areas of Focus
Weapons of mass destruction, military expenditures, disarmament & development, arms trade, small arms, landmines, cluster munitions, transparency and confidence-building.
The High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, become an International Gender Champion and as such, committed to raise global awareness about the gendered impact of weapons, from small arms and light weapons to weapons of mass destruction.
The High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, published an op-ed on the relationship between gender equality and gun violence against women and girls
The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) also presented at a regional workshop on Enhancing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Northeast Asia, which aimed to address global linkages and synergies between disarmament and Women, Peace and Security efforts, as well as gender aspects and approaches in regional disarmament initiatives.
ODA promoted the Modular Small-arms-control Implementation Compendium (MOSAIC) module on “Women, men and the gendered nature of small arms and light weapons”.
At the Third United Nations Conference to Review Progress Made in the Implementation of the Programme of Action, States agreed on progressive language on gender in the outcome document, including, for the first time, the recognition that eradicating the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons is a key part of combating gender-based violence. UNODA provided substantive secretariat support to the Review Conference, including regional consultations. Additionally, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) held a dedicated session on a gendered approach to the UN Programme of Action (PoA) on Small Arms and Light Weapons at a regional preparatory meeting the for the Third Review Conference on the PoA.
The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) initiated a region-wide project on the issue of women, disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control. UNRCPD conducted two sub-regional workshops on gun violence and illicit small-arms trafficking from a gender perspective, for Southeast Asia in July and for South Asia in September, respectively.
The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) organized a technical workshop on ATT Evaluation of Transfers and Reports for Guatemala. The training covered risk assessment under the ATT, which requires that States assess the risk that the conventional arms, ammunition or parts and components being transferred are being used to commit or facilitate serious acts of gender-based violence or serious acts of violence against women and children. UNLIREC also carried out a Gender & ATT Table Top Exercise in San Salvador aimed at assisting the State in understanding the obligations under the ATT and providing practical insights into the ATT´s risk assessment methodology, emphasizing the importance of gender-based criteria. UNLIREC organized a training course on Firearms and Ammunition Evidence Management, which underlined the gendered aspects of small arms and highlighted the links between armed violence and gender-based violence.
Following the Sixth Biennial Meeting of States on small arms and light weapons in all its aspects, ODA revised the Programme of Action national reporting template to include for the first time two questions regarding gender considerations in the implementation of the Programme of Action, allowing. Reports are publicly available on the ODA website.
The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) launched a project on measuring illicit trafficking and community security through participatory SDG 16-based indicators and conducted capacity building sessions on the indicators, one of which is violence against women at the community level.
The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) published a study on the criminal use of ammunition and trafficking based on data collected from crime scenes in the Dominican Republic and Peru. The study discussed gender aspects, such as ammunition used in gender-specific crimes, gender of victims of crimes involving ammunition, gender roles in the trafficking of ammunition, and the inclusion of women in criminal investigations involving ammunition.