UN Office of the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs

Summary

UNODA is the United Nations body responsible for promoting multilateral disarmament and non-proliferation across conventional weapons, weapons of mass destruction, and emerging technologies. It facilitates international treaties, norms, and dialogue on the governance of potentially destabilizing technologies, including autonomous weapons systems and AI in military contexts. It serves as a key international coordination point for efforts to prevent catastrophic risks from advanced weaponry.

Key Points

• •Leads UN efforts on disarmament across nuclear, biological, chemical, and conventional weapons domains.
• •Increasingly engaged with governance of autonomous weapons systems (LAWS) and AI in military applications.
• •Facilitates multilateral treaties, confidence-building measures, and international norms development.
• •Hosts the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) discussions on lethal autonomous weapons systems.
• •Relevant to AI safety through its work on preventing misuse of advanced technologies in armed conflict.