International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness 2024; March 5th.

FORUM: "It’s time to stop the madness. We need disarmament now!." International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness 2024. Since the founding of the United Nations, the goals of multilateral disarmament and arms limitation have been central to the Organization’s efforts to maintain international peace and security. Weapons of mass destruction, in particular nuclear weapons, continue to be of primary concern, owing to their destructive power and the threat that they pose to humanity. The excessive accumulation in conventional weapons and the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons jeopardizes international peace and security and sustainable development, while the use of explosive weapons in populated areas is seriously endangering civilians. New and emerging weapon technologies, such as autonomous weapons, pose a challenge to global security and have received increased attention from the international community in recent years. Why Do You think disarmement is important?; Follow the conversation with the hashtags: #IDDNPA2024, #Disarmament, #disarmamentawarenessday, #5march, #nonproliferationawarenessday #VCS, #peaceandsecurity.

EVENTS: Activities to Commemorate the International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness Day 2024.

During the Month of March; A Conversation Series event on reducing the human cost of weapons through a gender lens, with a focus on conventional arms. A Vienna Conversation Series event, planned in cooperation with the Diplomatic Academy Vienna, the Austrian Research Association, and the Kyrgyz Republic, seeks to raise awareness on the role of disarmament in advancing international peace and reducing the human cost of weapons, with a focus on conventional arms. The event also seeks to make a link to International Women’s Day (8 March), highlighting the gendered impact of weapons, as well as the importance of women’s full and equal representation in disarmament processes.


From February 28th to March 8th 2024- You’re invited to participate to a interactive game entitled ’’Visibility among the Vienna community”. The Office for Disarmament Affairs’ (ODA) in Vienna will be kicking off a series of activities to mark the International Day. There will be an exhibition booth at the Rotunda of the Vienna International Center, featuring educational materials on the human cost of weapons, an interactive game on disarmament facts and fiction, and short videos. Social media activities, including ODA’s e-learning opportunities, will continue during the week.


On March 25th 2024; The Cine-ONU screening of the BBC documentary “Nuclear Armageddon: How Close Are We?”. The Vienna Office is partnering with UNIS Vienna Cine-ONU’s initiative to screen the BBC documentary, “Nuclear Armageddon: How Close Are We?”. It will be followed by a panel discussion. Open to public, this event aims to raise awareness on the importance of nuclear disarmament.


On March 5th 2024; A Online Public Social Campaign on the International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness Background Observed. On the International Day, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) will launch a social campaign to raise awareness on disarmament. The campaign will be kick off with video messages from UN Resident Coordinators in Asia-Pacific. The public can post video responses to Why do you think disarmament is important?” on social media using the hashtag #IDDNPA2024.


On March 5th 2024; You are invited to participate to the Youth for Humanitarian Disarmament contest. Mexico, in its capacity as the President of the 12th Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, will launch a youth contest “Igniting change – Youth for Humanitarian Disarmament: Advancing the goals of the Convention on Cluster Munitions”. The contest calls on young people worldwide to share their thoughts, insights and perspectives on the unacceptable harm caused by the use of cluster munitions, focusing on three main themes: risk education, humanitarian disarmament, and the Sustainable Development Goals. For more information on how to join the Youth for Humanitarian Disarmament contest, please click here. Register here to participate in person or online.

 Statement of the Secretary-General on the International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness 2024; March 5th.

This second International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness comes at a perilous moment, marked by rising levels of military spending, deepening geopolitical tensions and growing violent conflicts across the globe.

Meanwhile, some leaders are using apocalyptic rhetoric on the use of nuclear weapons. The proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons, the use of explosive devices in populated areas, and the growing military application of new and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, are also serious concerns.

Today reminds us that disarmament and non-proliferation are critical not only to a peaceful future, but to our very existence.

Global leaders must invest in peace by strengthening the systems and tools that prevent the proliferation and use of deadly weapons — including the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons — and by developing disarmament solutions.

The proposed New Agenda for Peace includes new strategies and approaches to eliminate the threats posed by nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and other emerging dangers, such as autonomous weapons systems.

On this important day, let us speak with one loud, clear and united voice.

It’s time to stop the madness. We need disarmament now.

António Guterres.

COVENTION ON CLUSTER MUNITIONS

Advancing the goals on the cluster munition convention