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Global norms for disarmament are vital Secretary-General appoints Sergio de Queiroz Duarte of Brazil
United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) The Department of Disarmament Affairs was established in January 1998 as part of the Secretary-General’s programme for reform in accordance with his report A/51/950 to the General Assembly. It was originally established in 1982 upon the recommendation of the General Assembly's second special session on disarmament (SSOD II) and functioned as a department until 1992. From 1992 until the end of 1997, it was a Centre under the Department of Political Affairs. The Office promotes the goal of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation and the strengthening of the disarmament regimes in respect to other weapons of mass destruction, chemical and biological weapons. It also promotes disarmament efforts in the area of conventional weapons, especially land mines and small arms, which are the weapons of choice in contemporary conflicts. UNODA provides substantive and organizational support for the norm-setting in the area of disarmament through the work of the General Assembly and its First Committee, the Disarmament Commission, the Conference on Disarmament and other bodies. It fosters preventive disarmament measures, such as dialogue, transparency and confidence building on military matters, and encourages regional disarmament efforts; these includes the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms and regional forums. It also provides information on the United Nations disarmament efforts. UNODA supports the development and implementation of practical disarmament measures after a conflict, such as disarming and demobilizing former combatants and helping them to reintegrate in the civil society. Activities of UNODA
UNODA STRUCTURE The United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs is structured in five branches: CD Secretariat & Conference Support Branch (Geneva) The CD Secretariat and Conference Support Branch (Geneva) provides organizational and substantive servicing to the Conference on Disarmament (CD), the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of the international community, and its Ad hoc Committees. (Geneva Branch). Weapons of Mass Destruction Branch (WMD) The WMD Branch provides substantive support in the area of the disarmament of weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, chemical and biological weapons). It supports and participates in multilateral efforts to strengthen the non-proliferation of WMD and in this connection cooperates with the relevant intergovernmental organizations and specialized agencies of the United Nations system, in particular the IAEA, the OPCW and the CTBTO PrepCom. (WMD Branch) Conventional Arms (including Practical Disarmament Measures) Branch (CAB) The CAB focuses its efforts in the conventional field ( all weapons not considered WMD) of promoting transparency and confidence-building, curbing the flow of small arms in regions of tension, and developing measures of practical disarmament.. (Conventional Arms Branch) Regional Disarmament Branch ( RDB ) The Branch provides substantive support, including advisory services, to Member States, regional and subregional organizations on disarmament measures and related security matters; (Regional Disarmament Branch). RDB oversees and coordinates the activities of the three (3) regional centres:
Information and Outreach Branch (IOB ) The IO Branch organizes a wide variety of special events and programmes in the field of disarmament, produces ODA publications (Disarmament Yearbook..) and occasional papers, and maintains the database for specialized areas like Register of Conventional Arms, Status of Treaties and Article 7 - Mine-Ban Convention. (IO Branch)
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