United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research
Encyclopedia
The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) was established in 1980 by the United Nations General Assembly
to inform States and the global community on questions of international security
, and to assist with disarmament
efforts so as to facilitate progress toward greater security and economic and social development for all.
Recognizing the need for objective, empirical and comprehensive research on disarmament and security, the General Assembly specified that UNIDIR would be an autonomous entity within the United Nations structure, so that its work could be conducted in scientific independence.
UNIDIR explores both current and future security issues, examining topics as varied as tactical nuclear weapons, refugee security, computer warfare, regional confidence-building measures, and small arms.
Working with researchers, diplomats, government officials, NGOs and other institutions, UNIDIR acts as a bridge between the research community and United Nations Member States. UNIDIR's work is funded by contributions from governments and donor foundations.
UNIDIR is based in Geneva
, the primary centre for security and disarmament negotiations, home of the Conference on Disarmament
, and global focal point for humanitarian concerns such as human rights, refugees, migration, health and labour issues.
UNIDIR's mandate is as follows:
The Mandate is from Article II, Paragraph 2 of the Institute's Statute, which may be found here.
The previous UNIDIR Director was Dr. Patricia Lewis
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
to inform States and the global community on questions of international security
International security
International security consists of the measures taken by nations and international organizations, such as the United Nations, to ensure mutual survival and safety. These measures include military action and diplomatic agreements such as treaties and conventions. International and national security...
, and to assist with disarmament
Disarmament
Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear arms...
efforts so as to facilitate progress toward greater security and economic and social development for all.
Recognizing the need for objective, empirical and comprehensive research on disarmament and security, the General Assembly specified that UNIDIR would be an autonomous entity within the United Nations structure, so that its work could be conducted in scientific independence.
Background
Through its research projects, publications, small meetings and expert networks, UNIDIR promotes creative thinking and dialogue on the disarmament and security challenges of today and of tomorrow.UNIDIR explores both current and future security issues, examining topics as varied as tactical nuclear weapons, refugee security, computer warfare, regional confidence-building measures, and small arms.
Working with researchers, diplomats, government officials, NGOs and other institutions, UNIDIR acts as a bridge between the research community and United Nations Member States. UNIDIR's work is funded by contributions from governments and donor foundations.
UNIDIR is based in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, the primary centre for security and disarmament negotiations, home of the Conference on Disarmament
Conference on Disarmament
Conference on Disarmament is a forum established by the international community to negotiate multilateral arms control and disarmament agreements...
, and global focal point for humanitarian concerns such as human rights, refugees, migration, health and labour issues.
Mandate
UNIDIR works on the basis of the provisions of the Final Document of the First Special Session of the UN General Assembly Devoted to Disarmament and also takes into account relevant General Assembly recommendations. The work programme is reviewed annually and is subject to approval by the UN Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, which also functions as UNIDIR's Board of Trustees. The Director reports yearly to the General Assembly on the activities of the Institute.UNIDIR's mandate is as follows:
The work of the Institute shall aim at:
(a) Providing the international community with more diversified and complete data on problems relating to international security, the armaments race and disarmament in all fields, particularly in the nuclear field, so as to facilitate progress, through negotiations, towards greater security for all States and towards the economic and social development of all peoples;
(b) Promoting informed participation by all States in disarmament efforts;
(c) Assisting ongoing negotiations on disarmament and continuing efforts to ensure greater international security at a progressively lower level of armaments, particularly nuclear armaments, by means of objective and factual studies and analyses;
(d) Carrying out more in-depth, forward-looking and long-term research on disarmament, so as to provide a general insight to the problems involved and stimulating new initiatives for new negotiations.
The Mandate is from Article II, Paragraph 2 of the Institute's Statute, which may be found here.
Management
All inner workings and research done by UNIDIR is supervised by a Board of Trustees and the Director. The Board also serves as the Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters. Each member must be knowledgeable in security, arms control and disarmament. Each member is elected by the Secretary General to serve a two year term.Director
The current Director of UNIDIR is Theresa Hitchins, former Director of the Center for Defense Information (CDI), USA.The previous UNIDIR Director was Dr. Patricia Lewis
Patricia Lewis
Dr. Patricia Lewis is a British nuclear physicist and arms control expert, who is currently the Deputy Director and Scientist in Residence at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. She was previously the Director of the United...
Board Members
The current Board of Trustees members are:- H.E. Mr Vicente Berasategui (ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
) - Ms Christiane Isabelle Agboton Johnson (SenegalSenegalSenegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
) - Mr Anatoly I. Antonov (Russian Federation)
- Mr Pascal Boniface (FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) - H.E. Ms Elisabet Borsiin Bonnier (SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
) - H.E. Ms Perla Carvalho Soto (MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
) - Prof. Michael ClarkeMichael ClarkeMichael Clarke may refer to:* Michael Clarke * Michael Clarke , Australian cricketer* Michael Clarke , American musician* Michael Clarke , Australian ornithologist...
(United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) - H.E. Mr Gelson Fonseca, Jr. (BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
) - H.E. Mr Hasmy Agam (Malaysia)
- H.E. Prof. Kuniko InoguchiKuniko Inoguchiis a Japanese political scientist and politician. She was serving as Minister of State for Gender Equality and Social Affairs.- Careers as a researcher :...
(JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
) - H.E. Mr. Jeremy issacharoff (IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
) - H.E. Mr Mahmoud Karem (EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
) - H.E. Mr Ho-Jin Lee (Republic of Korea)
- H.E. Dr Maleeha Lodhi (PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
) - Prof. Harald Müller (GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) - H.E Prof. Mrs.U. Joy Ogwu (NigeriaNigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
) - H.E. Mr Jayant PrasadJayant PrasadJayant Prasad was born on June 5, 1952 and educated in Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University. After lecturing on modern Indian history for two years at St...
(IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
) - Mr Stephen G. Rademaker (United States of America)
- Ms Jill Sinclair (CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
) - H.E. Ms Kongit Sinegiorgis (EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
) - H.E. Mr Tibor Tóth (HungaryHungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
) - Mr Zhang YanZhang YanZhang Yan, né Chu Yan , also known as Zhang Feiyan , was the leader of the Heishan bandits during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was a native of Zhending, Changshan commandery .He was born Chu Yan...
(People's Republic of ChinaPeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
)
See also
- International Atomic Energy AgencyInternational Atomic Energy AgencyThe International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
- Nuclear Non-Proliferation TreatyNuclear Non-Proliferation TreatyThe Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to...
- UN System