The following statement on humanitarian disarmament was delivered by Bonnie Docherty,  Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic, at the UNGA First Committee on Disarmament and International Security, on October 17, 2025. 

Humanitarian disarmament has made a critical difference over the past three decades in saving countless lives around the world and in setting norms that endure over time. The people-centered approach aims to prevent and remediate arms-inflicted human suffering and environmental harm, and it has shown its ability to weather geopolitical tempests.

Since last year’s First Committee meeting, humanitarian disarmament has faced attacks on multiple fronts that have challenged the progress it has made. The use of antipersonnel landmines and cluster munitions as well as threats of the use of nuclear weapons highlight the ongoing dangers posed by internationally banned weapons. Some states have decided to withdraw from the Mine Ban Treaty and Convention on Cluster Munitions, further endangering civilians due to the prospect of additional new use. The failure of states to comply with the Arms Trade Treaty and implement the commitments of the Political Declaration on the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas has meant civilians have not been protected in current armed conflicts. Progress on a treaty on autonomous weapons systems is not keeping pace with technological developments.

Nevertheless, while not a panacea, humanitarian disarmament has helped reduce the human cost of weapons for decades and will continue to do so. It has made a concrete difference in the protection of civilians by stigmatizing and decreasing use of certain weapons, reducing stockpiles, and advancing clearance and victim assistance measures. In the process, it has overcome hurdles, such as the post-9/11 world, changing governments, economic turmoil, and the evolving nature of war.

The central principles of humanitarian disarmament can both sustain this movement and ensure that it responds to today’s global challenges, including the growing disregard for the rule of law and financial shortfalls for the humanitarian sector. Those principles include:

1. A humanitarian focus: The goal of protecting civilians is a purpose that can transcend political and national differences.
2. A cooperative approach: States should meaningfully involve and work in partnership with each other, civil society, international organizations, and survivors in decision-making processes to benefit from their expertise and preserve the humanitarian focus.
3. A commitment to international law: International law, including humanitarian disarmament, creates obligations for states parties and standards that influence states and other actors outside of a treaty. States should not only create new law, but also implement, defend, and strengthen the law that already exists.
4. Ability to adapt: Humanitarian disarmament is adaptable, as shown by its move from conventional weapons to weapons of mass destruction and its application to new topics, such as the environment and armed conflict, the destruction of cultural heritage during conflict, and torture-free trade.

To maximize the influence of humanitarian disarmament and help it address current challenges, we urge states to:

• Ensure that the core characteristics of humanitarianism, cooperation, rule of law, and adaptability guide all efforts addressing disarmament issues;
• Highlight the humanitarian concerns raised by problematic weapons in the course of discussions at First Committee;
• Call, depending on the specific issue, for upholding the existing norms, improving implementation, and creating new or stronger law; and
• Join and fully implement and comply with humanitarian disarmament instruments. States should act now to push back against the threats to international law and help humanitarian disarmament achieve its full potential. Doing so is in the interest of us all.

Click here to read the full joint statement and access the list of signatories.