Public research body · Policy · New York, NY (UN Headquarters); with offices and operational support across UN system locations including Geneva (UNODA Geneva). · Est. 1998
The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) is a UN Secretariat office that supports disarmament and arms control processes and helps enable multilateral negotiations and implementation across the UN’s disarmament architecture. It advises and assists UN Member States, relevant UN bodies, and partners on workstreams spanning nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, biological and chemical weapons conventions, conventional weapons (including small arms and light weapons), and transparency/confidence-building measures.
UNODA also supports UN bodies and processes such as the UN Programme of Action on small arms and light weapons (and its associated review processes), and various disarmament-related transparency instruments (for example, the UN Register of Conventional Arms and the UN Report on Military Expenditures), and it publishes disarmament research products such as the UNODA Occasional Papers series. Strategically, UNODA’s role is primarily “convening + enabling”: it provides substantive and organizational support to negotiations and implementation of international instruments, supports institutional and policy coordination across disarmament forums, and provides capacity-building and support mechanisms that translate agreed goals into practical work on the ground (notably through trust-facility and project-based models for conventional arms issues). In the near term, UNODA’s output continues to track major global treaty cycles and review processes—particularly around nuclear non-proliferation and related disarmament work—while also addressing cross-cutting challenges such as emerging technologies and expanding domains of security policy.
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UNODA circulated opening remarks for the United Nations Disarmament Commission informal 2026 substantive session, reflecting the High Representative’s office and the UN Disarmament Commission’s role in multilateral disarmament work.
Disarmament Week context: UNODA’s role supporting UN disarmament bodies and implementation of disarmament agendasUNODA’s role is described in UN’s Disarmament Week background material, including support for disarmament and arms control efforts across conventional weapons and related transparency activities.
UNODA Occasional Papers (No. 46) framing on biological weapons convention implementation support and regional capacityUNODA published Occasional Papers No. 46, including foreword material emphasizing UNODA’s support through the Biological Weapons Convention Implementation Support Unit in Geneva and related regional support through its network.
UNODA High Representative statement/remarks ahead of NPT-related regional consultationsUNODA provided remarks delivered on behalf of the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, reflecting disarmament/non-proliferation priorities and the importance of NPT-related engagement as part of the Review Conference cycle.