Disarmament, Arms Control, and Security

This chapter examines the context and role of disarmament in security affairs and its interrelationship with related processes, such as arms control and non-proliferation, as well as restrictions on the use of weapons during armed conflict. It describes the role of the United Nations (UN) system in disarmament and the global organisation’s disarmament machinery. Disarmament and related measures can limit arms races by prohibiting the possession, acquisition, and supply of certain weapons and requiring their elimination. Disarmament treaties can also contribute to preventing human suffering by eliminating weapons, such as anti-personnel mines, which are indiscriminate or inflict excessive injuries when compared to the military utility. The General Assembly is authorised under the UN Charter to ‘consider the general principles of cooperation in the maintenance of international peace and security, including the principles governing disarmament and the regulation of armaments’. Traditionally, the conclusion of disarmament treaties was led and managed by the great powers.