Rectifying the UN Disarmament Machinery

On July 12th, 2011, the VCDNP along with the Polish Institute for International Relations (PISM) welcomed a presentation by Dr. Marcin Zaborowski, Director of PISM. The presentation, entitled "Rectifying the UN Disarmament Machinery," focused on the existing deadlock in the Conference on Disarmament and various proposals to overcome it and move nuclear disarmament negotiations forward.

In his presentation, Dr. Zaborowski explained that the Conference had been unable to move forward primarily because of political divisions, an outdated framework, and institutional paralysis. In order to counteract these obstacles, Zaborowski encouraged radical reform, suggesting that cosmetic change will be insufficient and "shock therapy" is needed to move the machinery forward. In order to achieve this, Dr. Zaborowski suggested the creation of an independent high level panel of experts as well as a much stronger role for the UN Secretary General. The presentation was followed by a round table dialogue and question and answer session.