Starting annually on October 24 (United Nations Day) and continuing through October 30, United Nations Disarmament Week was established during the historic 1978 Special Session on Disarmament of the UN General Assembly. This solemn global mobilization calls for the abolition of weapons of mass destruction, strict regulation of small arms trafficking, and the redirection of trillions in military expenditure toward climate resilience, health, and education.
The Catastrophic Nuclear Reality
Over 12,500 nuclear warheads remain deployed or stockpiled across nine nations, with hundreds on high-alert hair-trigger readiness. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which entered into legal force in January 2021, represents a landmark international treaty declaring the possession, development, and testing of nuclear weapons illegal under international law.
The Humanitarian Cost of Small Arms & Explosive Munitions
Disarmament is not limited to apocalyptic weapons. Illicit small arms claim hundreds of thousands of lives in civil conflicts, gang violence, and domestic homicides every year. Disarmament Week mobilizes governments to ratify the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and clear unexploded cluster munitions and landmines that terrorize rural civilians decades after active wars conclude.
