Newsletter April 2023
April was a busy month here at SCRAP Weapons! Having carried out a round of successful consultations and discussions in Brussels, Geneva, London, New York, Vienna, Washington DC and at the G7 Youth Summit in Hiroshima, SCRAP Weapons has continued to pursue activating a Special Session on Disarmament (SSOD-IV) at the UN General Assembly, compiling a proposal of ideas to include SSOD-IV in the New Agenda for Peace.
SCRAP Weapons suggests support for the UNGA’s mechanism of (SSOD), to advance an agenda of comprehensive disarmament for the full and effective implementation of a programme of Peace and Prevention, as detailed in the recommendations of the High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism in the Report for the New Agenda for Peace.
If you would like to convey your support for a Special Session on Disarmament and SCRAP Weapons’ work, we ask that you kindly email the Interdepartmental Team of the New Agenda for Peace at NewAgendaforPeace@un.org and cc scrap.weapons@soas.ac.uk.
The second episode of In Conversation With SCRAP Weapons is out!
In this episode Ben and Philip dive into some of the geopolitical contexts surrounding disarmament, particularly in the Asia-Pacific theatre, and look at various ways in which SCRAP Weapons’ strategic policy and verification tools can play a role in promoting peace, and shaping a compliance system, to uphold the implementation of a comprehensive disarmament treaty. Available on Spotify and YouTube.
Articles
SCRAP Weapons’ Project Coordinator Eloisa Romani co-authored together with H.E. Ambassador Maritza Chan, Permanent Representative of Costa Rica at the UN in New York, an article in the Special Issue of the journal ZeFKo Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies, with the title: “Represented but not always heard: an analysis of the progress of gender equality at the United Nations through the lens of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons”.
Upcoming Events
Open Source Investigations in the Age of Google Earth
How did a journalist find out who was responsible for bombing hospitals in Syria without leaving his desk in New York? How can South Sudanese activists safely track and detail the weapons in their communities, and make sure that global audiences take notice? What are policy makers, lawyers, and intelligence agencies doing to keep up with and make use of these activities? Join Henrietta Wilson tomorrow at 1pm BST as she presents her forthcoming edited volume which tackles these questions. Register here to join
Feminist Leadership in Disarmament 3.0
SCRAP Weapons Feminist Leadership in Disarmament webinar series is now entering its third year with a renewed set of webinars, research and publications discussing and promoting the role of women especially from the Global South in matters related to disarmament. Join us for the first webinar of the series on Wednesday 17th May at 10am to discuss Gender, Environment and Disarmament. Register here to join
Conversations on the Arms Industry
Having kicked off the series last month with a successful webinar on a glimpse into the laws and regulations governing the arms trade (available on YouTube), join us for the second webinar on Monday 22nd May at 1pm BST for a conversation on bridging the way forward with research and development in disarmament technologies. Register here to join.