Conceptualising a COP for Weapons

On the 26^th of February, SCRAP held an event titled “Toward Sustained Disarmament Dialogue: Conceptualising a ‘COP for Weapons’”. This event was a first-step in exploring and highlighting the ideas of our Global Youth Competition winners regarding the design and approach of a potential Conference of Parties (COP) style framework for weapons governance. 

The event began with an introduction by SCRAPs Board and Advisory Committee member, Tom Kono. He opened his speech with a reminder of the dangerous international security environment faced by the world today, citing ongoing crises in Ukraine, Gaza and the West Bank, and beyond. Kono further related the current security climate to increased military spending, and a decreased attention to disarmament and arms control. He linked the conversation in the end to the greater questions raised by the event: What might it take to revive ‘disarmament machinery’ forums in today’s diplomatic climate? And what can we learn from other kinds of diplomatic streams?

This was followed by a brief talk by UNODA Senior Political Affairs Officer and Deputy Chief, Michael Spies. Spies gave the panel and audience an historical overview of UN disarmament organs and diplomacy, inciting optimism regarding possible avenues. He closed his remarks with a statement on how diplomatic proposals and encouragement of participation can contribute to the project of a secure world in the future. After this, the panel heard remarks by SOAS Senior Lecturer Dr. Harald Heubaum. Focusing on the current Conference of Parties model, Dr. Heubaum outlined the UNFCCC process and its similarity to various disarmament efforts. He shared the relevance of the COP summits to disarmament processes, explaining the various benefits and challenges that would face such a concept. The talk was concluded with the reminder that such a process might open up for a ‘ratchet mechanism’ in disarmament, allowing states to slowly build ambition.

The Global Youth Panel winners were given centre stage. All four participants were given time to share their ideas from their essays. Junior analyst and EU delegate to the UN Thelma Kergroach opened up with a statement on the weaponisation of current UN institutions. Her contributions centred on the future reform necessary for a COP for Weapons to take place, including in political momentum, transparency, and accountability. She was followed by international affairs specialist Guilherme Ferreira, who shared an overview of challenges to the current challenges to disarmament talks. His contributions included a concept of a continental rotation system of the COP for Weapons forum. After this, PhD researcher Joel Naoki Cristoph provided a diagnosis statement on the current stalling of disarmament talks, naming issues of veto powers in major forums, and topical siloes. He provided a game theory account of how a COP for Weapons might be able to lower the bar for entry and cooperation in disarmament talks. Finally, legal practitioner and peace advocate Olusola George provided an inspiring image of what a COP for Weapons could look like, giving an in-depth analysis of what such a process would entail, including ideas of youth committees, expert bodies, as well as various technical innovations.

After the panel, SOAS Professor and director of the SCRAP Weapons Project, Prof. Dan Plesch provided closing remarks on the panel. He noted the quality and depth of the contributions of the panel, celebrating the occasion. An invitation was put out to continue this forum of debate, setting the scene for future collaboration. We would like to thank all of our panellists and participants at the event. 

You can find the essays of the winners of our competition here.

Learn more about the initiative here