International Disarmament Institute — The International Disarmament Institute is an academic center providing world-class education and research on global disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation policymaking. The Institute aims to generate and disseminate new thinking on the humanitarian and human rights policy and other challenges posed by weapons of mass destruction, conventional weapons and methods of armed violence that have indiscriminate and/or disproportionate effects, the arms trade, emerging weapons technology and militarization. It also plays a “Track Two” convening role for associated diplomatic, advocacy, activist, scholarly and practitioner communities. The Institute is only two express subway stops from United Nations Headquarters, housed with the Dyson College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Political Science on Pace University’s New York City campus.   by Rob Clarke

What does disarmament mean?

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The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) promotes Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation. This means they aim to reduce military forces and weapons and prevent more countries from gaining weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

Your Challenge:

Your challenge is to find out how the United Nations programme the UNODA works. Their aim is Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, but how do they work and what are the challenges they face in 2017? This is what you will research and find out!

Follow this Process:

  1. Watch this video about a safer and more secure world where UN disarmament chief Izumi Nakamitsu discusses new challenges that the Disarmament office faces in 2017.

  1. Discuss Izumi mentions cyber security and artificial intelligence as new challenges that the Disarmament office faces. Discuss with a partner how these new challenges could put a country’s security at risk and also how these challenges are different from security risks in the past before advanced technology.

  1. Research using websites including the UNODA website to find out how the UNODA works. On the website read through the overview, vision and structure sections and record any new information you find out.

  2. Discuss why there is a need for the UNODA programme. Discuss what the students have found out from their research including the aims of the UNODA. Do the students think there is a need for the UNODA programme to encourage disarmament?

  3. Summarise what you have found out about the UNODA, including its vision, how it works and its structure. After this ask them how security and disarmament issues are different now in 2017 with advanced technology, list these ideas on the board.

  4. Take action disarmament and non-proliferation in the UNODA comes down to promoting peace and stability around the world. Create a poster that promotes peace and stability around the world. What symbols or visuals show what peace and stability look like? Create a design sketch and then create the final poster. Or write a blog post to the UNA website with your opinion on disarmament. Do you think encouraging disarmament is the best way to promote peace? Try to make your blog post as persuasive as possible.

Capture and share by showing your poster to other students and explain how it promotes peace and stability. Also send it to this website to inspire others. Or email your blog post to us when you have finished and we can put them on our website.

Educator Notes

To make it more accessible:
Instead of the research step of the UNODA and its website, lead discussions with the students about what disarmament and non-proliferation mean more generally.

After discussing what disarmament and non-proliferation mean ask them to create the posters that aim to promote stability and peace. Get them to think about and plan their process, including asking them what peace and stability look like to them and ask them to show their posters and explain them to other students in the class.


To make it more challenging:
Instead of the poster exercise ask the students to write an explanation on why they think or do not think disarmament and non-proliferation are the best ways to achieve peace and stability around the world.

In this written response ask them to include information they have learned about the UNODA and if they think cyber security issues mean a different approach is necessary.

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