ICRC submits Working Paper to the United Nations General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament and International Security, 81st session (2026)

Every day, ICRC staff around the world witness the unbearable human cost of armed conflict. The use of heavy explosive weapons in populated areas causes devastating civilian casualties and the destruction of essential infrastructure. Anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions, weapons thought to have been relegated to the past, continue to inflict appalling suffering long after their use. Poorly regulated and irresponsible arms transfers fuel vicious cycles of violence, while emerging and new technologies of warfare introduce new risks of harm to civilians. Above all, nuclear weapons continue to pose an existential danger to humanity as a whole. 

Disarmament and non-proliferation are indispensable tools to mitigate the impact of armed conflict, prevent war and strengthen international peace and security. In times of conflict and tension, more than ever, the First Committee has a critical responsibility to ensure that disarmament treaties and commitments are preserved, strengthened, and expanded – not ignored, neglected or abandoned. Now is the time for States to redouble their efforts to fully and faithfully implement existing disarmament treaties, bring them closer to universality, and develop new legally-binding and other instruments and mechanisms to address the risks posed by new technologies of warfare. 

This Working Paper reflects the ICRC’s views and recommendations on the key disarmament issues that will be debated in this First Committee. The ICRC remains committed to supporting States in their efforts to ensure that humanitarian disarmament and the protection of civilians remain at the center of the Committee’s work, and are promoted and strengthened through political resolve and concrete action.