What is humanitarian disarmament?
Humanitarian disarmament is a people-centred approach that puts the prevention and reduction of human suffering and environmental harm at the heart of weapons control. Its aim is to promote better regulation and the prohibition of indiscriminate weapons that, by their nature or use, cannot distinguish between civilians and military personnel. These include antipersonnel landmines, cluster munitions, the use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas, armed drones and the so-called “killer robots''. Beyond banning specific types of weapons, humanitarian disarmament also seeks to control the arms trade, oblige states to eliminate stockpiles, and require the provision of victim assistance and the clearance of contaminated land.
Drawing on a long tradition of peace movements, this approach has grown through the collective action of activists and civil society, in collaboration with states, UN agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).These collective efforts have produced landmark achievements: the bans on antipersonnel landmines and cluster munitions, the Arms Trade Treaty and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, as well as two Nobel Peace Prizes, awarded to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines in 1997 and to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons in 2017.
What is at stake?
Civilian protection lies at the heart of humanitarian disarmament, yet it faces an unprecedented threat. High levels of conflicts and violence are becoming the new normal: with almost 60 active armed conflicts worldwide, declining prospects for peacemaking, weakening of humanitarian systems, civilians are paying the highest cost.
In 2025, more than 37,000 civilians were killed across 20 armed conflicts. Missiles, bombs and other explosive weapons used in cities and populated areas continued to cause extensive civilian harm. Alarmingly high numbers of civilian fatalities from the use of explosive weapons were reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, Myanmar, Nigeria, the Sudan, Ukraine, Yemen, the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Civilian harm extends beyond death and injuries. Hospitals, schools, places of worship, water and sanitation infrastructure, electricity grids and telecommunications networks are repeatedly targeted in armed attacks or damages during hostilities. This disrupts essential services, with cascading, long-term negative effects for civilians. At the same time, nuclear threats have resurged, while the proliferation of drone warfare and the development of autonomous weapons raise further concerns about civilian protection and the regulation of emerging weapons technologies.
An arms race at the cost of sustainable development and peace efforts
Rising military spending, increasing geopolitical rivalries and repeated violations of international law are challenging humanitarian disarmament efforts. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), global military expenditure reached $2.8 trillion in 2025 - the highest global level ever recorded. In June 2025, almost all NATO Member States committed to increasing defence and security-related spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, signaling that the upward trend in military expenditure is likely to continue. Meanwhile, donor countries from the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) have made substantial cuts to official development assistance, reducing their contributions to international solidarity at a time when humanitarian needs remain acute and progress towards the SDGs is faltering.
These alarming trends were highlighted at the opening of the UN General Assembly’s First Committee on Disarmament in October. The message of several delegations from Global Majority countries was unequivocal: increasing military spending comes at the expense of sustainable development as it crowds out essential resources for food, education, climate resilience, economic stability, poverty reduction and peacebuilding.
As also stressed in a 2025 report of the UN Secretary General, chronic underinvestment in these areas hinders the conditions for long-term sustainable development and deepens existing vulnerabilities, contributing to protracted humanitarian crises and conflicts, particularly in low-income and fragile states. The resulting instability and unrest are, in turn, used as a political justification by states to ramp up their military spending, reinforcing the action-reaction cycle of arms racing.
Why humanitarian disarmament matters
These developments underline the continuing need to place humanitarian disarmament at the centre of the global peace architecture, especially in times of heightened insecurity and mistrust among states. Over the years, humanitarian disarmament has demonstrated its capacity to achieve meaningful progress through international cooperation and the development of shared norms. It has offered valuable tools and frameworks for civilian protection, while advancing a broader understanding of security that goes beyond military spending and capabilities to address people’s needs and the conditions for sustainable peace. Efforts in this direction must continue.
In particular, preserving and building on these achievements requires states to defend existing norms, maintain a humanitarian focus in disarmament discussions, invest resources, strengthen multilateral cooperation, and, above all, demonstrate the political will to translate commitments into action.
