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GENERAL INFORMATION The Conference on Disarmament (CD), established in 1979 as the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of the international community, was a result of the first Special Session on Disarmament of the United Nations General Assembly held in 1978. It succeeded other Geneva-based negotiating fora, which include the Ten-Nation Committee on Disarmament (1960), the Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament (1962-68), and the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament (1969-78). As originally constituted, the CD had 40 members. Subsequently its membership was expanded to 66 countries, namely:
The CD has invited other UN Member States which have expressed a desire to participate in the CD's substantive discussions, but are not presently members of the Conference, to take part in its work. The CD has a special relationship with the United Nations; it adopts its own Rules of Procedure and its own agenda, taking into account the recommendations of the General Assembly and the proposals of its Members. It reports to the General Assembly annually, or more frequently, as appropriate. Its budget is included in that of the United Nations. Staff members of the the Geneva Branch of the Department for Disarmament Affairs service the meetings of the CD, which are held at the Palais des Nations. The Conference conducts its work by consensus. The terms of reference of the CD include practically all multilateral arms control and disarmament problems. Currently the CD primarily focuses its attention on the following issues: cessation of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament; prevention of nuclear war, including all related matters; prevention of an arms race in outer space; effective international arrangements to assure non-nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons; new types of weapons of mass destruction and new systems of such weapons including radiological weapons; comprehensive programme of disarmament and transparency in armaments. The CD and its predecessors have negotiated such major multilateral arms limitation and disarmament agreements as the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques, the seabed treaties, the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction, the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction and Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. The current Director-General of UNOG is the Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament as well as the Personal Representative of the UN Secretary-General to the CD. The Deputy Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament is also the Chief of the Geneva Branch of the Department for Disarmament Affairs. The Branch supports the work of the CD and the numerous workshops and conferences on all other disarmament-related issues that are convened at the Palais throughout the year including review conferences of existing multilateral arms control and disarmament instruments. The Branch maintains a reference collection of security, arms regulation and disarmament information and documentation. The United Nations Disarmament Fellowship, Training and Advisory Services Programme is also located at the Palais. On 12 September 2002, the Conference closed its 2002 session and adopted its report to the UN General Assembly. The Conference in Geneva met from 21 January to 29 March, 13 May to 28 June, and 29 July to 13 September. No specific actions were taken on the substantive portion of the Conference's agenda, which included prevention of nuclear war, but the Conference decided that the dates for its 2003 session would be: 20 January to 28 March; 12 May to 27 June; and 28 July to 10 September.
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