Revitalizing the Conference on Disarmament: Workshop Report

Abstract

The Conference on Disarmament (CD) has played a significant role in the negotiation of several major multilateral agreements that continue to contribute to global peace and security. More recently, however, negotiation in the CD has reached an impasse, leaving it unable to make progress on its agenda at a point of growing geopolitical tension. To address this issue, the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), with the support of France and Germany, organized a high-level retreat in Montreux, Switzerland, on 22–23 June 2023 to discuss ideas to revitalize the work of the CD and its relationship with the wider disarmament machinery. Seventy-nine participants from 60 States (including 51 CD Member States and 9 States that have applied for Observer status to the CD) participated in the retreat in their personal capacity. This report provides a factual summary of the discussion in Montreux.