United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/69/61

Sixty-ninth session

Agenda item 96 (r)

The General Assembly,

Recalling that the Charter of the United Nations reaffirms the equal rights of women and men,

Recalling also its resolutions 65/69 of 8 December 2010, 67/48 of 3 December 2012 and 68/33 of 5 December 2013,

Recalling further General Assembly and Security Council resolutions on the issue of women and peace and security,

Welcoming the call for the full and meaningful participation of women in efforts to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit transfer of small arms, pursuant to Security Council resolutions 2106 (2013) of 24 June 2013, 2117 (2013) of 26 September 2013 and 2122 (2013) of 18 October 2013,

Reaffirming that the equal, full and effective participation of both women and men is one of the essential factors for the promotion and attainment of sustainable peace and security,

Recognizing the valuable contribution of women to practical disarmament measures carried out at the local, national, subregional and regional levels in the prevention and reduction of armed violence and armed conflict, and in promoting disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control,

Recognizing also that the role of women in disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control should be further developed and in particular the need to facilitate the participation and representation of women in policymaking, planning and implementation processes related to disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control,

Noting the imminent entry into force of the Arms Trade Treaty, and therefore encouraging States parties to fully implement all the provisions of the Treaty, including the provision on serious acts of gender-based violence,

Noting with appreciation the efforts of Member States to increase the participation of women in their national and regional coordination mechanisms on disarmament-related matters, including in efforts to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects,

1. Urges Member States, relevant subregional and regional organizations, the United Nations and the specialized agencies to promote equal opportunities for the representation of women in all decision-making processes with regard to matters related to disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control, in particular as it relates to the prevention and reduction of armed violence and armed conflict;

2. Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General on the measures taken by Member States to implement General Assembly resolution 68/33;

3. Also welcomes the continuing efforts of the United Nations organs, agencies, funds and programmes to accord high priority to the issue of women and peace and security, and in this regard notes the role of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) in promoting the implementation of all resolutions related to women in the context of peace and security;

4. Encourages Member States to better understand the impact of armed violence, in particular the impact of the illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons on women and girls, through, inter alia, strengthening the collection of data disaggregated by sex and age;

5. Urges Member States to support and strengthen the effective participation of women in organizations in the field of disarmament at the local, national, subregional and regional levels;

6. Calls upon all States to empower women, including through capacity-building efforts, as appropriate, to participate in the design and implementation of disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control efforts;

7. Also calls upon all States to develop appropriate and effective national risk assessment criteria to facilitate the prevention of the use of arms to commit violence against women and children;

8. Requests the relevant United Nations organs, agencies, funds and programmes to assist States, upon request, in promoting the role of women in disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control, including in preventing, combating and eradicating the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons;

9. Requests the Secretary-General to seek the views of Member States on ways and means of promoting the role of women in disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control and to report to the General Assembly at its seventy-first session on the implementation of the present resolution;

10. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-first session, under the item entitled “General and complete disarmament”, the sub-item entitled “Women, disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control”.

62nd plenary meeting 2 December 2014