In General Assembly resolution 73/266, the Secretary-General was requested to establish a Group of Governmental Experts on Advancing responsible State behaviour in cyberspace in the context of international security. The GGE held its first meeting in 2019 and is to submit its final report to the General Assembly in 2021. The group is comprised of 25 members and its Chair will hold two informal consultations with all UN Member States in between its sessions. The mandate also includes consultations on the subject to be held with regional organizations, such as the African Union, the European Union, the Organization of American States, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Regional Forum of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The Group of Governmental Expert comprises of experts from 25 States working in their personal capacity. The Group has elected Ambassador Guilherme de Aguiar Patriota of Brazil to Chair the Group.

Pursuant to the request of the General Assembly contained in resolution 72/55 “Problems arising from the accumulation of conventional ammunition stockpiles in surplus”, adopted by consensus in 2017, the Secretary-General established a group of governmental experts in 2020. In accordance with the request of the General Assembly, the Group has considered matters relevant to problems arising from the accumulation of conventional ammunition stockpiles in surplus, taking into account the exchanges in the open, informal consultations held in 2018 and 2019.

The second session of the GGE on LAWS meeting will be held from 2 to 6 November in room XVII of the Palais des Nations.

Registration

We request delegations to kindly send note verbals or official letters (in the case of civil society and academia) to ccw@un.org  no later than Tuesday, 20 October 6PM Geneva time listing the names and the titles of only those delegates that will speak, and the mode of participation (in-person or remote) of each speaker. Please note that for remote speakers it is important to indicate the email address in the note verbal to ensure an access link can be sent.

Delegates who participate in the meeting in person or wish to take the floor remotely are also requested to register on Indico by Friday 30 October. Please note that in line with UNOG guidelines and regulations in response to COVID-19, delegates who already have a UN grounds pass are also required to register on Indico in order to participate in the meeting in person.

When registering on Indico, kindly provide the note verbal or official letter and choose one of the three options for mode of participation: “primary speaker in-person”, “alternate speaker in-person” or “remote speaker”.

For technical questions, such as account creation or QR code, please contact directly support.accreditation@un.org.

Delegates who will follow the proceedings remotely on UN Web TV without taking the floor do not need to register on Indico.

In-person participation

Due to distancing requirements and reduced capacity in all conference rooms at the Palais des Nations, each delegation is requested to nominate only one delegate and one alternate speaker to participate in the meeting in person in Room XVII. Please note that, unless given permission in advance to have an additional delegate in the room, the primary and alternate in-person speaker must alternate and cannot be present in the room at the same time.

Any leftover seats in the room, after the in-person delegate of each delegation has been confirmed, will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis to delegations who express their interest in having one more delegate present in Room XVII. Kindly note, that the secondary rows behind the seats with microphones are sealed off to ensure distancing and cannot be occupied. 

In-person participants who need to be granted access to the Palais des Nations premises can pick up their badges starting from 8AM on Monday 2 November at Pregny Gate, once their Indico registration is approved.

Remote Participation

The meeting will follow the same modalities as the first session of the Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS in September. For remote speakers, further information and instructions on how to join the meeting will be sent to the email address indicated in the note verbal or official letter.

If possible, kindly send statements in advance to speeches@un.org copying ccw@un.org, clearly indicating in the subject line the room number (Room XVII), meeting (CCW GGE on LAWS), the session (morning/afternoon), the date and the entity or organization that will deliver the statement.

Website

Updated information will be available on UNODA Meetings Place

Disarmament and International Security

• First Committee website
• First Committee Documents
• Status of documentation for the First Committee
• Provisional programme of work and timetable of the First Committee for 2020
  • Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly
  • Allocation of agenda items to the First Committee