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.
In an op-ed published by Friends of Europe, the High Representative for Disarmament stated that gender must be at the heart of arms policy and highlighted the impact of weapons, in particular small arms, on the prevalence of sexual violence in conflict.
The High Representative for Disarmament spoke during the Global Week of Action Against Gun Violence saying that intimate partner violence is even more perilous when guns are involved, abetting sexual and domestic violence, and potentially femicide. She called for governments to deny access to guns to those who have been convicted of domestic or interpersonal violence, saying that through gender-responsive legislation and licensing policies, violence against women can be punished, prevented and eliminated.
High Representative for Disarmament participated in a thematic panel on gender and gender-based violence during the of Fifth Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty (CSP5) and called for deepened understanding and implementation of gender-responsive arms control. [Gender and gender-based violence (GBV) was the thematic priority of Fifth Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty (CSP5) 2019 and in the final report of the conference, States agreed to strengthen the ability of States Parties to apply the GBV risk assessment criteria and to review progress on an ongoing basis.
The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) held two sub-regional seminars on “Preventing Armed Violence Against Women Through Arms Control” targeting national authorities from Central America (in El Salvador) [Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama. Also participating were officials and experts from UNDP, UNODC, UN Women, the Organization of American States, the Central American Integration System, and the Center of Excellence for Statistical Information on Government, Crime, Victimization and Justice] and Caribbean States (in Trinidad and Tobago) [ Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname. 12 civil society organizations participated, as well as 3 regional organizations. ] with direct responsibilities in arms control and prevention of violence against women and girls. The seminars focused on arms control as a fundamental pillar of public policies aimed at preventing and reducing violence against women. They likewise provided opportunities for non-governmental organizations and government representatives from the two sub-regions to exchange ideas, discuss strategies, and consider possibilities for joint initiatives to address challenges vis-a-vis armed violence against women.
The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) organized a “Workshop for Pacific Island States on Gun Violence and Illicit Small-Arms Trafficking from a Gender Perspective” in Fiji where sexual violence and violence against women was a core part of the discussions with civil society organizations and parliamentarians from the Pacific [Fiji, Papa New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Island and Vanuatu]. It was the final sub-regional workshop in a series of training events.
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.
UNLIREC organized the first Regional Women and Security Symposium for Latin America and the Caribbean, where the discussion focused on, among other issues, how the SDGs can contribute to improving the lives and security of women. Some of the recommendations reached at the symposium focused on the need for solid national legislation and policy responses to gender-based armed violence and for promoting an inclusive security response to such violence.