Failing to involve women in any part of disarmament and non-proliferation undermines half of the population's right to participate in shaping our common future and security. Redistributing voices more equally between women and men … is also the smart thing to do, as it brings more effective inputs and innovative outcomes.

Developments and trends, 2022

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Connecting gender and disarmament agendas

In 2022, the cascading impact of the war in Ukraine and increasingly antagonistic relations between nuclear-armed States contributed to global and regional tensions while exacerbating humanitarian and human rights challenges. Global military spending, which hit an all-time high, brought disruptive implications for attaining the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly its targets related to women's empowerment and gender equality.

Cognizant of those worsening dynamics, several Governments, United Nations entities and civil society organizations highlighted the need to better tackle disarmament priorities within frameworks for gender equality and, likewise, to further integrate gender considerations into the work of disarmament. In their calls to better connect global disarmament and gender agendas, many supporters recognized the role of arms control in preventing gender-based and sexual violence. For example, the United Nations Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict, a network of United Nations entities, established arms control as a central piece of the new United Nations Framework for Preventing Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, in line with the Secretary-General's recommendation in his annual report to the Security Council on conflict-related sexual violence (S/2022/272).

At the same time, on a global scale, gender-based violence continued to rise with a disproportionate impact on women. The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) released a report showing that, on average, five women and girls are killed by a family member every hour. In Latin America and the Caribbean, tackling firearms-related femicides remained a top priority. The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean launched two new courses, for judges and prosecutors, on firearms investigations from a gender perspective. In addition, the Centre trained representatives from the security sector in conducting gender-sensitive firearms-related criminal investigations.[1]

Meanwhile, the role of weapons in perpetrating violence and holding back women's rights gained further international attention in 2022. Speaking at an event of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights highlighted how increased militarization and the illicit flow of small arms each impacted the human rights of women and girls, leading to restrictions on their freedom of movement, right to health and right to education, among other rights and freedoms. In that context, she urged the international community to integrate weapons-related issues into normative frameworks on women, peace and security at both national and global levels.

Similarly, in disarmament meetings, several States highlighted the potential of connecting the women, peace and security agenda with the implementation of instruments such as the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and Security Council resolution 1540 (2004). Notably, in the outcome document of the eighth Biennial Meeting of States on the Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons, States called for national focal points to coordinate with their counterparts for the women, peace and security agenda to share national good practices and experiences at the global level.

At the same time, the Secretary-General featured disarmament issues in his annual report on women, peace and security (S/2022/740), reiterating the United Nations' commitment to partnering with civil society organizations to advocate for governments and parliamentarians to reduce military spending and reallocate resources.

However, disarmament remained relatively absent from the Security Council's annual debate on women, peace and security. During the October exchange, only 5 (Bangladesh, Guatemala, Guyana, Malta and Namibia) of the 78 States that addressed the Council spoke on disarmament or arms control, focusing primarily on small arms and light weapons when they did so. Meanwhile, three countries[2] adopted national action plans on women, peace and security in 2022, resulting in 105 countries with such action plans. In Kazakhstan's action plan (2022-2025), it committed to involve women diplomatic personnel in international negotiations and consultations on disarmament, non-proliferation and international security.

In 2022, Switzerland and South Africa co-chaired the fourth capital-level meeting of the Women, Peace and Security Focal Points Network, held in Geneva in May. Participants were invited to participate in three working-group sessions, including one on the protection of women's rights and recognizing women's agency with a focus on linkages to small arms and light weapons.

Beyond their implementation of the women, peace and security agenda at the national level, Chile, Colombia, Germany and Liberia each announced the adoption of a feminist foreign policy in 2022.[3] Sweden, which in 2014 became the first country to adopt such a policy, abandoned use of the term in 2022.

Advances and pushback

The year 2022 saw progress for global gender equality alongside the rollback of some earlier gains. For instance, as the erosion of democratic institutions and civic space further endangered defenders of women's rights in some countries, the Secretary-General focused on protecting such defenders in his annual report to the Security Council on women, peace and security (S/2022/740). Women activists in disarmament were also at risk; in a new report, the International Action Network on Small Arms highlighted threats against women working to prevent gun violence in Argentina, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan, the Philippines and South Africa.

Furthermore, to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25 November), the Secretary-General called on Governments to increase funding for women’s rights organizations and movements by 50 per cent before the end of 2026.

Meanwhile, other global crises were bringing new challenges to efforts for gender equality. As the priority theme for its sixty-sixth session, the Commission on the Status of Women addressed gender equality in the context of climate change (E/2022/27-E/CN.6/2022/16). During the meetings, civil society actors called on the United Nations to develop and fund a programme for demilitarization and disarmament to help mitigate the climate crisis and ensure women's rights (E/CN.6/2022/NGO/127).

Despite some pushback, many States, international and non-governmental organizations, and researchers continued to collectively incorporate a gender perspective in all their efforts within the disarmament field, both to improve the functioning of the disarmament machinery and to strengthen international peace and security. Furthermore, many called for coordination and sharing of good practices to advance gender equality in disarmament. Within multilateral frameworks such as those of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the Convention on Cluster Munitions, States established focal point mechanisms to advance gender dimensions. In addition, several United Nations entities and agencies, including the Office for Disarmament Affairs, UNIDIR and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, promoted the implementation of gender provisions in various multilateral instruments by, for example, incorporating gender in national policies and programmes for managing small arms and ammunition. In the General Assembly, States adopted a revised version of the biennial resolution on women, disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control (77/55),[4] committing States to advance women’s full and effective participation in disarmament while encouraging countries to address the gendered impact of armed violence. As in 2021, about one third of the General Assembly's disarmament resolutions contained references to gender, including some resolutions introduced for the first time. Furthermore, many States contributed to the Secretary-General's report to the General Assembly on women, disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control.

However, increasingly divided opinions on the role that gender should play in disarmament persisted. Some States expressed their stance that human rights and gender equality should be considered in other forums and addressed less often in disarmament discussions.

Diversity and inclusion in international disarmament forums

Noting the gaps in ensuring the meaningful participation of women, the Secretary-General continued calling for the establishment of gender quotas to accelerate women's inclusion in all areas of peace and security, including disarmament. Meanwhile, gender gaps persisted within delegations to multilateral disarmament forums. Less than a third of statements to disarmament meetings, such as the First Committee of the General Assembly, were delivered by women in 2022.

However, progress in women's meaningful participation was not entirely elusive. For example, progress towards gender parity continued in the Open-ended Working Group on Security of and in the Use of Information and Communications Technologies (2021-2025), where women delivered nearly half of the statements of the third substantive session. Initiatives such as the “Women in Cyber Fellowship”, which supported women's attendance at the Working Group and offered cyber-focused negotiation training sessions to women diplomats from across regions, promoted parity in that forum.

In addition, several States joined civil society organizations and young people in calling for international forums to broaden their discussions on gender inclusion and address intersecting perspectives such as age, disability, ethnicity or race. The Office for Disarmament Affairs and the United States held events on diversity and inclusion on the margins of the tenth Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference and the ninth Biological Weapons Convention Review Conference. In a joint statement to the General Assembly First Committee, civil society organizations focused on broadening the understanding of diversity and gender norms, noting how weapons had racialized impacts. Similarly, they called for an intersectional approach towards weapons and war, including by engaging with those most impacted by militarism to develop credible disarmament and arms control processes.

Furthermore, gender experts, States, civil society representatives and other speakers attending side events and other discussions on gender, peace and security often highlighted the need for increased focus on cultural concepts of masculinity as they related to disarmament and arms control.[5]

Multilateral disarmament forums

General Assembly

For the first time since 2019, States delivered a joint statement on gender in the General Assembly First Committee, welcoming significant work in recent years to advance gender-related issues across disarmament and international security subject areas. The statement was delivered by Ireland on behalf of 78 countries.[6]

Moreover, several States delivered or endorsed statements to the Committee by which they explicitly supported the full participation of women in all disarmament discussions. Some of those States advocated for gender mainstreaming, including countries that had not highlighted such considerations in the past. In a statement fully dedicated to gender, Costa Rica urged the Committee to overcome destructive gender biases, utilize the power of gender inclusivity to foster international peace and security and take a feminist perspective on military spending.

Likewise, the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs focused on the issue of gender equality and women's empowerment in her annual briefing addressed to the First Committee on the follow-up on resolutions and decisions adopted at the previous session of the Committee and on the presentation of reports of the Secretary-General. During her remarks, the High Representative highlighted the latest report of the Secretary-General on women, disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control (A/77/122).

Earlier in the year, as per the General Assembly's request in 2020 (resolution 75/48, para. 10), the Secretary-General sought the views of Member States on the implementation of the biennial resolution on women, disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control, as well as ways and means of promoting the role of women in disarmament. Eleven States, three United Nations entities, the European Union, and the Southern African Development Community contributed to the report (A/77/122).

States also negotiated a new iteration of that biennial resolution with strengthened language. Adopted by the General Assembly as resolution 77/55 on 7 December, the latest version encouraged, for the first time, that data collection on small arms and light weapons be disaggregated, where feasible, by income, sex, age, race, ethnicity, marital status, migration status, disability, geographical location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts. The resolution also called for the utilization of analysis mechanisms for gender-sensitive policymaking and programming, as well as the development of response mechanisms to address the differing impacts of the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons on women, men, girls and boys. Building on the measure’s pre-existing language on funding to policies and programmes, the General Assembly encouraged States to consider financing for advocacy, education, training and research on gender-responsive small-arms control. Lastly, the Assembly urged Member States to voluntarily share good practices and experiences of the successes of the role of women at the national, regional and global levels to promote and strengthen coordination and cooperation in disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control.

While the General Assembly adopted resolution 77/55 as a whole without a vote, States voted on nine of its constituent paragraphs in 2022 — an unprecedented number. At most, 28 States[7] abstained from voting on the paragraph referring to the Arms Trade Treaty’s provisions on gender-based violence.

Such divergences were not limited to the biennial resolution on women, disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control. When the General Assembly considered its recurring resolution on improvised explosive devices (77/64), which had previously been passed without a vote, four States (the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Russian Federation and the Syrian Arab Republic) abstained on paragraphs calling for equal opportunities for men and women’s participation and recognizing the importance of addressing the differential impacts of the threat of improvised explosive devices on women, men, girls and boys.

Of the 66 disarmament resolutions adopted by the General Assembly in 2022, 20 included references to gender, and 1 referred to diversity.[8] Substantive gender perspectives, such as a recognition of the gendered impact of weapons, were included in 13 of those resolutions, covering areas that included the arms trade, cluster munitions, nuclear weapons, small arms and light weapons, regional disarmament and explosive weapons. In the resolution entitled “Destructive direct-ascent anti-satellite missile testing” (77/41), adopted for the first time in 2022, the General Assembly reaffirmed that the equal, full, and effective participation of both men and women is one of the essential factors for the promotion and attainment of sustainable peace and security. By its resolution on steps to building a common road map towards a world without nuclear weapons (77/76), the Assembly reaffirmed the importance of ensuring the equal, full and effective leadership of women and men, and of integrating a gender perspective into all aspects of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation decision-making processes. Through its resolution on a programme of action to advance responsible state behaviour in the use of information and communications technologies in the context of international security (77/37), the General Assembly agreed, for the first time, to stress the importance of narrowing the “gender digital divide” and promoting the full, equal and meaningful participation and leadership of women in decision-making processes related to the use of information and communications technologies. Additionally, the Assembly’s resolution on transparency in armaments (77/69) included, for the first time, an acknowledgement that nearly half of the members in the current Group of Governmental Experts on the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms were women. (See also figure 6.1, entitled “Gender perspectives in General Assembly First Committee resolutions, 2010-2022”.)

Conference on Disarmament

In Geneva, the Conference on Disarmament heard statements by States and Groups of States advocating for the inclusion of gender perspectives and the issue of women’s participation in the Conference’s work. On 8 March, in commemoration of International Women’s Day, Colombia convened an informal plenary discussion on women's perspectives, attended by the Vice-President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, and several expert panellists (CD/PV.1615). In her keynote speech, the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs called for systematic gender analysis to consider the needs, experiences, and perspectives of both men and women. The Cuban presidency presented a draft decision tasking the Secretariat to propose amendments to the rules of procedure to reflect equality between women and men along the lines of previous proposals by Australia and Canada or, as a second option, to state, in a footnote, that references to men would also refer to women. Peru, on behalf of 28 States,[9] and Sweden, on behalf of 3 Nordic countries,[10] made joint statements urging the Presidents of the Conference on Disarmament in 2022 to explore ways of making concrete progress on updating the Conference’s rules of procedure to reflect the equality between men and women. Member States did not reach an agreement on either of the proposed options for the rules of procedure.

During the plenary meeting, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, France, Italy, the United States and the European Union also underscored the importance of both women’s meaningful participation and advancing the women, peace and security agenda.

Small arms and light weapons

In 2022, States continued to advance gender perspectives in the context of instruments on conventional weapons. In July, during the eighth Biennial Meeting of States on the United Nations Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons, States decided to retain provisions on gender mainstreaming in the outcome document, as well as recognize the need for the full, equal, meaningful and effective participation of women in the implementation of the Programme of Action and the International Tracing Instrument. By that same document, States also encouraged addressing the differential impact of the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons on women, men, girls and boys in the implementation of the Programme of Action and the International Tracing Instrument. Through the document, States also continued to encourage, where feasible, the collection of data disaggregated by sex, age and disability. Furthermore, States called for coordination between their national focal points for the Programme of Action and for women, peace and security to encourage the sharing of good practices and experiences between them at the national, regional and global levels.

Later in the year, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights highlighted the need for data on small arms and light weapons to be disaggregated based on age and gender in the 2022 report on the impact of arms transfers on human rights (HRC/51/15). The Secretary-General, in his report to the General Assembly on assistance to States for curbing the illicit traffic in small arms and light weapons and collecting them and the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects (A/77/77), recommended that States share good practices and lessons learned with regard to modalities and procedures for targeting and further promoting gender considerations in the implementation of the Programme of Action.

Other conventional weapons

The Open-ended Working Group on Conventional Ammunition[11] held its first substantive session in New York in May and its second substantive session in Geneva in August. A group of 32 countries issued a joint statement calling for gender considerations to be part of any future global framework on through-life conventional ammunition management. Before the second session, Panama, Small Arms Survey and UNIDIR submitted a working paper on how to incorporate gender perspectives in all stages of through-life conventional ammunition management, in addition to ensuring women’s meaningful participation across the ammunition life cycle in any future global framework in that area.

In June, a group of States agreed on a political declaration on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. In the declaration, the endorsing States recognized the unacceptable humanitarian consequences and different gendered impacts resulting from such use. The States encouraged further research into the gendered impacts of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, and they welcomed work to “empower, amplify, and integrate the voices of all those affected, including women and girls”. They also called for data on civilian harm to be disaggregated by sex and age, and for victim assistance to be approached in a gender-sensitive manner.

At the tenth Meeting of States Parties on the Convention on Cluster Munitions from 30 August to 2 September, States reviewed the terms of reference decided in 2021 for the Convention on Cluster Munitions Gender Focal Points (CCM/MSP/2022/9). Meanwhile, a new fact sheet on gender and diversity in the Convention was launched by the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining and the Geneva-based International Gender Champions Disarmament Impact Group.

Additionally, the Group of Experts of Amended Protocol II of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, which considered the issue of improvised explosive devices, discussed gender-sensitive guiding questions in four of its five panel discussions in 2022, and heard a presentation on gender and disarmament. During the discussions, for the first time, panellists highlighted how women's participation in technical roles within demining operations could help strengthen women’s status within communities as well as their economic empowerment.

Information and communications technologies

An exploration of gender perspectives on cybersecurity continued in 2022. In July, through the consensus adoption of its first annual progress report (A/77/275), the Open-ended Working Group on Security of and in the Use of Information and Communications Technologies (2021-2025) welcomed the high level of participation of women delegates in its sessions and the prominence of gender perspectives in its discussion. States also highlighted the importance of narrowing the “gender digital divide” to ensure equal Internet access by men and women. In the context of discussions on capacity-building in the field of information and communications technology security, States noted the need to raise awareness of the field’s gender dimensions and to promote gender-sensitive capacity-building both at the policy level and in the operationalization of projects. To facilitate such awareness-raising and the further substantive consideration of gender, the Open-ended Working Group recommended that States engage in focused discussions at its forthcoming fourth and fifth sessions, in 2023, on the gender dimensions of security in the use of information and communications technologies.

Weapons of mass destruction

At the first Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, States parties adopted the Vienna Action Plan and agreed on ways to implement the Treaty's gender provisions, including for gender considerations to be taken into account across all Treaty-related national policies, programmes and projects. Looking ahead to the intersessional period, States parties agreed to work to develop the following: (a) guidelines for ensuring age- and gender-sensitive victim assistance; and (b) guidelines for the integration of gender perspectives in international cooperation and assistance, taking into account relevant approaches in other humanitarian disarmament instruments. States parties also pledged to work with affected communities to provide age- and gender-sensitive assistance to survivors of the use or testing of nuclear weapons.

During the meeting, several States stressed the importance of the equal, full and effective participation of women in nuclear disarmament diplomacy and for the Treaty’s scientific advisory group, when it is established, to be gender-balanced and geographically diverse. In a joint working paper (TPNW/MSP/2022/WP.2), Chile, Ireland, Mexico and UNIDIR encouraged the group to convene a meeting to discuss and develop gender-responsive, intersectional methodologies for its activities, as well as recommendations to operationalize the gender provisions of the Treaty. Furthermore, the Office for Disarmament Affairs, together with Ireland, UNIDIR and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, co-organized a panel discussion on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and gender-responsive disarmament. In her opening remarks at the event, the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs called for more research and analysis of gender roles and concepts of power and masculinity in relation to nuclear weapons. Such work, she said, could help in understanding the drivers of nuclear proliferation and in integrating provisions of the Treaty into frameworks and national action plans for women, peace and security.

At the same time, participants of the 2022 Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, hosted in June by Austria, discussed the need to involve affected communities, in particular the hibakusha and victims of nuclear testing, to address both the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons and the disproportionate harm of atomic radiation on girls and women (see also the Chair's summary of the Conference).

In August, at the tenth Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in New York, 67 States parties signed a joint statement on gender, diversity and inclusion delivered by Canada. The statement was intended to encourage the full, equal and effective involvement of women in all aspects of the Conference’s work. Furthermore, the authors highlighted that nuclear weapons had different effects on different demographics and that the intersections of race, gender, economic status, geography, nationality and other factors had to be taken into account as risk multipliers in relation to nuclear weapons. States also highlighted that women and other under-represented groups must not only be given a seat at the table but also be provided with real opportunities to shape conversations, policies and outcomes. Additionally, in an event hosted by the United States and the Office for Disarmament Affairs on diversity and inclusion in the Treaty, the President of the Conference brought forth attention to issues of discrimination and called for accessibility and inclusion of persons with disabilities. Although States parties ultimately did not adopt an outcome document, the final draft contained a commitment to ensure the equal, full and effective participation and leadership of women and men in the Treaty’s implementation and to further integrate a gender perspective in all aspects of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation decision-making processes.

Meanwhile, in extending the mandate of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004) through resolution 2663 (2022), the Security Council encouraged the Committee, for the first time, to give due consideration to the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in all its activities. While several Council members (Albania, Ghana, Ireland, Mexico, Norway and the United Arab Emirates) emphasized the importance of women’s participation, the added sentence was also met with opposition during the negotiation of the draft resolution. Moreover, during the open consultations of the resolution’s comprehensive review, several States expressed support for gender equality and for the resolution’s interconnectedness with the women, peace and security agenda. Mexico and Norway developed a non-paper on ways to integrate the women, peace and security agenda into work related to the implementation of the resolution. Furthermore, in a side event hosted by Norway and Brazil on the same topic, the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, in her opening statement, expressed support for bridging the gap between Security Council resolutions 1540 (2004) and 1325 (2000) to bring benefits to both areas.

The ninth Biological Weapons Convention Review Conference took place in Geneva from 28 November to 16 December. Building upon efforts in 2021, Panama submitted a working paper to the Preparatory Committee of the Review Conference on “Enhancing Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment as an Integral Part of the Institutional Strengthening of the Biological Weapons Convention” (BWC/CONF.IX/PC/WP.8) and language proposals for inclusion in the final document of the Conference (BWC/CONF.IX/WP.48). While no gender-related language could be agreed upon, the proposal garnered considerable attention and received wide support from several States parties. Before and on the margins of the Review Conference, States, United Nations staff members, civil society representatives and young people discussed gender and diversity issues during the following activities: an event on gender equality in the Biological Weapons Convention; an event on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in the Convention; and the Biosecurity Diplomacy Workshops for Young Scientists from the Global South, which published a set of Youth Recommendations for the Review Conference that included a call for women’s meaningful participation in multilateral disarmament.

Furthermore, the Group of Seven’s Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction, under Germany’s presidency, convened a Conference on Current Biosecurity Challenges on 7 October with a breakout session on biosecurity and gender chaired by UNIDIR. As a result of the session, the Partnership’s members affirmed their commitment to promote gender equality in the creation and delivery of their programmatic activities and to raise awareness regarding the gender-related impact of biological threats.

Women's participation

Through the adoption of resolutions, outcome documents, and individual commitments, Member States reaffirmed their intention in 2022 to achieve women’s equal, full and effective participation in the field of disarmament. However, progress remained slow and uneven. In most multilateral forums, women represented only 30 to 40 per cent of delegates registered to attend the meetings, and their representation dropped further among heads of delegation. For example, although women comprised 46 per cent of the registered delegates to the first Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, exceeding the average level of representation, women made up only 33 per cent of heads of delegation and 28 per cent of those who took the floor to deliver statements (for the list of participants, see TPNW/MSP/2022/INF/4). Likewise, in the First Committee of the General Assembly, 28 per cent of the delegates who took the floor were women, only 3 per cent more than in 2021.[12]

Similarly, women made up 20 per cent of speakers at the Conference on Disarmament,[13] 22 per cent of speakers in the general debate held during the open consultations of the comprehensive review of Security Council resolution 1540 (2004) and 24 per cent of speakers in the Disarmament Commission.

However, some large meetings saw slightly higher levels of meaningful participation. Women comprised 33 per cent of the speakers at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference,[14] 34 per cent of the speakers in the eighth Biennial Meeting of States on the United Nations Programme of Action and 38 per cent of the speakers in the ninth Biological Weapons Convention Review Conference.[15] UNIDIR, the European Union and a cross-regional group of States co-organized a photo exhibition, during the Biological Weapons Convention Review Conference, portraying women professionals in the field of biosecurity. In the Open-ended Working Group on Conventional Ammunition, the proportion of women speakers increased from 26 per cent during the first session to 39 per cent during the second session. One other meeting stood out in 2022: the Open-ended Working Group on Security of and in the Use of Information and Communications Technologies 2021–2025, where women made up 43 per cent of speakers in the first session and 49 per cent of speakers in the second session. For those open-ended working group meetings, initiatives such as the Women in Cyber Fellowship programme supported progress towards parity. (See also figure 6.2, entitled “Percentage of women speaking in multilateral disarmament forums, 2021-2022”.)

Furthermore, in the Group of Experts of Amended Protocol II to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, women made up over 75 per cent of the panellists in 2022 thanks to active efforts by the Group’s coordinators, Colombia and France.[16]

In 2022, the Office for Disarmament Affairs revised its policy for establishing gender-balanced groups of governmental experts to include provisions for maintaining gender distribution when experts are replaced, as well as recommended actions to enhance inclusivity. The Group of Governmental Experts on Nuclear Disarmament Verification[17] and the Group of Governmental Experts on the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms were both composed of 40 per cent women and 60 per cent men. Additionally, the Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters achieved stronger gender representation, with eight women and seven men.

Moreover, the Office promoted targeted efforts for women’s capacity-building, empowerment, networking and mentorship across different areas of disarmament. In one example, in October, the Office organized a “Regional Women’s Conference on Preventing the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction to Non-State Actors” to support opportunities for women’s involvement and leadership in the field of weapons of mass destruction non-proliferation, with a particular focus on Security Council resolution 1540 (2004). The event targeted early-to-mid-career women professionals working in that field from Africa and beyond.

In another example, the Office initiated a network of women ammunition technical experts to promote diversity in that field and make women more visible in international-level technical ammunition management roles. To build the network, the Office partnered with the Ammunition Management Advisory Team, Small Arms Survey and UNIDIR to hold a workshop in Geneva in November under the United Nations SaferGuard programme. The event brought together 13 women experts from across the globe and from a range of different backgrounds, career paths and areas of expertise to discuss substantive matters related to through-life conventional ammunition management. Through the workshop, the participants strengthened their skills in communication, training and advocacy.

The Office also continued to promote women’s participation and diversity in disarmament fellowships, scholarships, training activities and workshops. Specifically, it supported opportunities for women in the United Nations Programme of Fellowships on Disarmament, which helps train officials to hold multilateral and disarmament-related posts within their respective Governments;[18] the fifth edition of the Scholarship for Peace and Security, administered by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Office to educate young professionals from the organization’s region;[19] the Biosecurity Diplomacy Workshops for Young Scientists from the Global South, which saw an increase in women’s participation in 2022;[20] the sponsorship programme to support participation at the adoption ceremony of the Political Declaration on explosive weapons in populated areas; the training of experts under the Secretary-General’s Mechanism for Investigation of Alleged Use of Chemical and Biological Weapons;[21] and a joint disarmament orientation course organized by the Office and UNIDIR for newly arrived representatives of Permanent Missions to the United Nations in Geneva.[22] More than 1,300 participants took part in 42 disarmament training and capacity-building activities organized or co-organized by the Office during the year. Of those participants, 44 per cent were women, 51 per cent were men, and 5 per cent did not report their gender.[23]

Additionally, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme of the International Atomic Energy Agency continued to provide scholarships for women students entering nuclear-related fields.[24]

Gender mainstreaming

In addition to promoting gender-balanced participation, the United Nations continued to support the operationalization of policy decisions to mainstream a gender perspective in disarmament and arms control. In 2022, the Office for Disarmament Affairs publicly launched its Gender Policy, and one third of the Office’s events, training sessions and other activities were considered to, significantly or fully, contribute to gender equality.[25]

Of particular note, the Office continued to implement a project on the gender dimensions of ammunition management policy and practice in partnership with the Small Arms Survey, an independent research institute. In 2022, the partners launched a briefing paper entitled Extracting Evidence: Opportunities and Obstacles in Assessing the Gendered Impacts of Diverted Ammunition, exploring the gendered impacts of conflict and crime involving diverted ammunition. Noting the limitations of past work on “ammunition profiling” (research on ammunition aimed at informing local and national efforts to curb illicit ammunition flows), the briefing paper presents findings both from a pilot case study on such profiling conducted in Kosovo and from a review of Brazil’s policy on marking ammunition.

Furthermore, the Saving Lives Entity (SALIENT), a United Nations funding facility, continued to support local implementation efforts on armed violence reduction with a gender perspective in Cameroon, Jamaica and South Sudan. In Jamaica, a gender analysis was conducted as part of a legislative review for the national Draft Firearms Bill. The gender analysis ensured that nuances related to women were captured, including an assessment of gender implications of existing firearms legislation and law related to domestic violence.

Moreover, more than half of applications to the United Nations Trust Facility Supporting Cooperation on Arms Regulation (UNSCAR) indicated plans to highlight the thematic priority of 2021–2022, which was to promote the implementation of Security Council resolutions on women, peace and security. In one example, Parliamentarians for Global Action, a non-governmental organization, hosted a subregional workshop for women parliamentarians in Trinidad and Tobago in October 2022. The workshop served as an opportunity for women parliamentarians from the Caribbean to share national and regional experiences related to the illicit trade in small arms, exchange best practices, and identify different ways to increase the involvement of women parliamentarians in national decision-making processes related to small arms.

Flagship project on gender and small arms

In 2022, the Office for Disarmament Affairs implemented the final 10 months of its three-year flagship project to support gender-mainstreamed policies, programmes and actions in the fight against trafficking and misuse of small arms, in line with the women, peace and security agenda. The European Union provided financial support for the project. Over three years, the Office, its three regional centres and an implementing partner, the International Action Network on Small Arms, aimed to contribute to international peace, security, gender equality and the Sustainable Development Goals by supporting gender-sensitive and gender-responsive small-arms control at the national level.

That project successfully concluded on 31 October. Over the course of its three-year span, the Office and its partners conducted over 50 activities at the regional and national levels on mainstreaming gender in small-arms control. They also built the capacity of civil society to engage with relevant authorities on gender considerations while strengthening the linkages between disarmament and the women, peace and security agenda. As the project concluded, the Office intended, in the coming years, to carry forward and build upon the significant progress achieved.

Under the project, the Office produced and published a training manual on gender-mainstreaming small-arms control in October. The manual was intended to guide the integration of gender dimensions into national small-arms-control processes by explaining relevant normative agendas, international, regional and national policies, and operational aspects. The training manual was accompanied by an annex featuring 45 practical exercises and guided discussions to allow workshop participants to practice their new knowledge.

Furthermore, on the margins of the General Assembly First Committee meetings in October, the Office hosted a virtual event on “Gender-Responsive Small-Arms Control: Lessons from National Implementation”. Panellists representing diverse geographical regions and entities discussed the importance of linking the women, peace and security agenda to disarmament, as well as their related successes in national contexts. As the panellists highlighted challenges to further advancing gender-responsive small-arms control, they recommended responses that included cooperating within and between regions, creating rosters of women experts, and aligning research with policy and programmatic decision-making.

Additionally, the Office's regional centres for Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia and the Pacific continued to carry out impactful activities to help translate global policies into regional and national strategies and practices.

United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa

Throughout 2022, the Centre, based in Lomé, undertook research and analysis as it trained Government officials in mainstreaming gender in their national small-arms-control policies and practices. That work included, for example, producing specialized policy briefs to facilitate the integration of gender considerations into small-arms control in Sierra Leone. Those efforts culminated in a gender-mainstreamed action strategy on small-arms control developed by the National Commission on Small Arms of Sierra Leone.

The Centre also carried out a review and gender analysis of small-arms-control programmes and policies in the Central African Republic. The resulting report — the first research initiative in the country to directly link gender dimensions to diverse areas of small-arms control — provided a baseline of knowledge for the national Government and future stakeholders to use when defining national priorities. Significantly, the Permanent Secretary of the National Commission on Small Arms endorsed the final report.

In Burundi, from 11 to 14 July, the Centre held a three-day in-person training session[26] and a follow-up workshop[27] on mainstreaming gender in small-arms control, which were attended by officials of the National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons of Burundi; military and police personnel; representatives of the ministries of gender, communications and the interior; parliamentarians; and civil society organizations. Both activities raised awareness among key stakeholders and assisted them in integrating gender dimensions into the effective implementation of small-arms control. Participants also developed action-oriented recommendations and supported inclusive approaches for youth engagement and empowerment. In addition, the workshop produced a matrix with concrete proposals for integrating gender-related elements into a forthcoming national action plan on small arms and light weapons.

United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean

From its Lima office, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean conducted several webinars and specialized training courses to further the project’s overall objectives. Targeting relevant government officials and civil society organizations, the Centre held four national webinars for four countries: Peru on 1 March; the Dominican Republic on 12 April; Jamaica on 3 May; and Trinidad and Tobago on 5 May. Those webinars promoted an inter-institutional approach to addressing and preventing gender-based armed violence against women. Eighty-two per cent of the audience were women.[28]

In addition, the Centre ran seven specialized, in-country training courses, six of them held virtually and one in person. Across the seven courses, 54 per cent of the participants were women.[29] The workshops included five iterations of the course entitled “Firearms Investigations from a Gender Perspective”, held in the Dominican Republic from 25 April to 6 May; in Argentina from 9 to 19 May; in Jamaica from 24 to 31 May; in Trinidad and Tobago from 27 June to 6 July; and in Peru on 3 and 4 August.

Furthermore, the “Specialized Course for Judges on Firearms Cases from a Gender Perspective”, held in Argentina in June, was aimed at strengthening the technical knowledge and capacity of participants to incorporate gender perspectives as a method of analysis for the evaluation of evidence and the judicial resolution of cases of violence against women involving firearms. The Centre also held the “Specialized Course for Prosecutors on Firearms Investigations from a Gender Perspective” in Costa Rica in June and July. That course was intended to strengthen the application of gender perspectives both in prosecution strategies and in the construction of case theories involving firearms-related violence against women.

The Centre also held two regional webinars, one for Caribbean States on 22 June and one for South and Central American States on 14 July, on the nexus between violence against women and small arms, as well as the challenges and opportunities in measuring related linkages. States, civil society organizations and international organizations[30] were invited as panellists to enrich the discussion and present tools, including a statistical framework and registries of femicides. Seventy-two per cent of the audience for those webinars were women.[31]

United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific

The Centre in Kathmandu also carried forward the project’s objectives through a series of national webinars and workshops. Its efforts included, in March, a national consultation workshop to review existing national action plans relevant to gender-responsive small-arms control in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.[32] During the workshop, participants discussed the benefits of harmonizing national agendas on sustainable development, gender equality, sustaining peace and implementation of the United Nations Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons. The Centre also held in-person training sessions on mainstreaming gender in small-arms control, which took place in Nepal from 6 to 8 April; in Timor-Leste from 10 to 12 May; and in Bangladesh from 21 to 23 June, with women making up 54 per cent of the participants.[33] The training targeted Government ministry officials, security and defence forces, civil society organizations and United Nations agencies, and each session featured thematic presentations as well as experience sharing. In Bangladesh and Timor-Leste, the course was followed by a session focused on national coordination mechanisms and national action plans on small arms and light weapons.

In addition, the Centre cooperated with national authorities in Cambodia and Papua New Guinea to review, with a focus on gender, their key policies and frameworks on small-arms control. Its reviews included gap analyses, as well as recommendations for addressing identified challenges and opportunities for the consideration of national authorities.

As part of a regional approach, the Centre also conducted an online training session on national reporting on the United Nations Programme of Action in preparation for the eighth Biennial Meeting of States. The training provided government officials with a technical and thematic overview of the reporting template by United Nations experts. It also highlighted the role of the national reports in measuring indicators for the Sustainable Development Goals.

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