Disarmament and non-proliferation

The Disarmament Section promotes and defends Switzerland’s interests in the various Geneva-based bodies dealing with disarmament issues. It implements the Federal Council’s Arms Control and Disarmament Strategy and Switzerland’s Mine Action Plan 2023–2026, which define the country’s priorities and objectives in these areas.

Geneva is the principal multilateral platform for disarmament and arms control. It hosts the Conference on Disarmament, several international disarmament treaties, and numerous institutions and processes dedicated to these issues. It also brings together a dense network of governmental, intergovernmental, and non-governmental actors active in the field.

Conference on Disarmament

Switzerland is one of the 65 Member States of the Conference on Disarmament. As the only permanent multilateral negotiating forum on disarmament, it has negotiated a number of treaties of major importance for international security, including the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

The Conference currently focuses on four main issues:

  • A treaty banning the production of fissile material for use in nuclear weapons
  • Nuclear disarmament
  • Negative security assurances
  • Prevention of an arms race in outer space.

Switzerland strongly believes in the importance of these four issuesand supports the launch of negotiations aimed at developing legally binding norms in all of these areas. It is particularly committed to overcoming the deadlock that has affected the Conference for many years.

International treaties

Five of the principal multilateral disarmament treaties are based in Geneva, where the implementation review process takes place. Switzerland supports both the universalization and full implementation of these instruments, as well as their strengthening where necessary.

The Biological Weapons Convention

Within the framework of the Biological Weapons Convention, Switzerland promotes the adoption of concrete measures to support implementation and strengthen the Convention institutionally. This includes addressing challenges arising from advances in the life sciences and issues related to verifying compliance with the Convention’s provisions.

Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW)

The Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons originates from international humanitarian law. It prohibits or restricts the use of certain types of weapons considered to cause unnecessary suffering to combatants or to strike civilians indiscriminately. It includes five protocols covering:

  • Weapons that injure through fragments undetectable by X-rays
  • Mines, booby traps, and other devices
  • Incendiary weapons
  • Blinding laser weapons
  • Explosive remnants of war

The CCW currently focuses on autonomous weapon systems, reflecting the growing use of highly autonomous weapons by armed forces. Switzerland is convinced of the need to develop an international instrument governing such systems, ensuring full compliance with international humanitarian law and maintaining meaningful human control.

The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)

The ATT, whose secretariat has been based in Geneva since 2016, is the first instrument to establish legally binding standards regulating the international trade in conventional arms and combating illicit arms trafficking, with the aim of contributing to peace and security and reducing human suffering.

Mine Ban and Cluster Munitions

Within the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention and the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Switzerland works to promote their full implementation and address challenges such as universalization, demining, and needs related to cooperation and assistance. Switzerland regularly assumes coordination roles within the frameworks supporting these instruments.

Emerging issues

Preventing an Arms Race in Outer Space

Major powers are increasingly competing in outer space, with significant implications for security. Other states and private actors are also playing a growing role. These developments raise questions regarding international regulation and coordination.

Switzerland believes that conflict in outer space must be prevented, as it would have humanitarian, economic, and social consequences on a global scale. It therefore advocates preventing an arms race in outer space through the strengthening and development of relevant governance instruments.

New Technologies

Digitalization and technological advances, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, are changing the nature of warfare.

AI in the military domain entered UN discussions during the 79th session of the General Assembly in 2024. On 24 December 2024, the General Assembly adopted Resolution 79/239, “Artificial Intelligence in the Military Domain and Its Implications for International Peace and Security,” the first UN resolution on this topic.