The BWC, the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning the production and use of an entire category of weapons, entered into force on 26 March 1975. Over the intervening years, increasing numbers of States joined the Convention, which currently has 165 States Parties. The BWC effectively prohibits the development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpiling and use of biological and toxin weapons and is a key element in the international community's efforts to address the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Armed violence — the intentional, threatened or actual use of arms to inflict death or injury — takes many forms, ranging from political to criminal to interpersonal violence. According to the Global Burden of Armed Violence report, "more than 740,000 people die each year as a result of the violence associated with armed conflicts and large – and small-scale criminality. The majority of these deaths occur outside war zones."

After the United Nations was founded, the Cold War prevented progress in military transparency. But the flaring up of conflict in the late 1980s reignited widespread concern about the excessive build-ups of weaponry. In 1991, the General Assembly established a Register of Conventional Arms and called upon all Member States to provide annually data on their arms transfers as well as background information on military holdings and domestic arms purchases.

The General Assembly (GA) of the United Nations held its first session in 1946, and has convened annual sessions every year since then. The GA is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all Member States have equal representation. The very first resolution adopted by the GA in 1946 identified the goal of eliminating atomic weapons and all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction from national armaments.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) prohibits all use, stockpiling, production and transfer of Cluster Munitions. The CCM was adopted in Dublin on 30 May 2008. It has 108 signatories. The Convention became binding international law when it entered into force on 1 August 2010 after 30 States had ratified it. As of September 2011, 60 States have ratified the CCM and future States Parties will accede to the Convention by submitting their ratifications to the United Nations.

The International Day against Nuclear Tests is meant to galvanize the efforts of the United Nations, Member States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, youth networks and the media in informing, educating and advocating the necessity of banning nuclear tests as a valuable step toward achieving a safer world.

The "hibakusha" are the surviving victims of the atomic bombs which fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. While these individuals survived the immediate effects of the blasts, the hibakusha have suffered from the effects of radiation sickness, loss of family and friends, and discrimination.

The Antarctic Treaty establishes Antarctica as a scientific preserve, banning military activity on the continent. The Antarctic is one of nine internationally recognized Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones, which include Latin America and the Caribbean, the South Pacific, Southeast Asia, Africa, Central Asia, Mongolia, the seabed, and outer space.

A slideshow presenting the permanent disarmament collection, which is one of the highlights of the guided tour of the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

The web-based Disarmament Treaties Timeline provides highlights of key events in the development of disarmament and non-proliferation international agreements as well as a brief history of how DNP issues have evolved since the creation of the UN. Browse the timeline to learn about important disarmament and non-proliferation milestones from 1946 to the present.

This PowerPoint presentation provides a general view of disarmament by highlighting a broad range of multilateral disarmament issues and initiatives undertaken by the international community. It includes a timeline of arms regulation treaties and a map of agreed nuclear-weapons free zones. The presentation shows the imbalance between global expenditures on military and resources devoted to social and environmental global problems.