Italy’s Participation in the Conference on Disarmament
Italy has been a member of the Conference on Disarmament (CD) since its establishment in 1979. Following a monthly rotation mechanism among the 65 Member States, Italy most recently held the presidency of the Conference from 1 January to 21 February 2025. The current Permanent Representative of Italy to the Conference on Disarmament is Ambassador Leonardo Bencini, a career diplomat who took up his duties in Geneva on 18 May 2022.
The annual report of the Conference on Disarmament is transmitted to the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, which meets every year in New York for five weeks (four in October and one in November). The Committee examines all issues related to disarmament and international security, drafts, negotiates, and approves all resolutions on these matters, which are subsequently submitted to the General Assembly in December for final adoption.
Italy has long been committed to promoting disarmament, non-proliferation, and arms control across various multilateral fora.
Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation
Italy is a State Party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the cornerstone of the global regime for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. The country promotes the full implementation of the Treaty’s three pillars: disarmament, non-proliferation, and the peaceful use of nuclear energy. The next Review Conference of the NPT will take place in New York from 27 April to 22 May 2026.
Weapons of Mass Destruction
Italy is a State Party to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), which prohibits the development, production, stockpiling, and use of such weapons. The Ninth Review Conference of the Convention was held in Geneva from 28 November to 16 December 2022 under the presidency of Ambassador Leonardo Bencini. One of its most significant outcomes was the establishment of a Working Group on Strengthening the Convention, mandated to examine seven key themes throughout the 2023–2026 review cycle.
Conventional Weapons
In the field of conventional weapons, Italy was the first European Union Member State to ratify the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), the main multilateral instrument regulating the international trade in conventional arms in accordance with the highest standards of respect for human rights and international humanitarian law.
Italy is also a State Party to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its annexed Protocols, which prohibit or restrict the use of conventional arms considered excessively injurious or likely to have indiscriminate effects on civilian populations.
Landmines and Cluster Munitions
Italy has ratified the Ottawa Convention (1997), which bans the production and use of anti-personnel mines, and the Oslo Convention (2008), which prohibits the production and use of cluster munitions. Italy also funds numerous international cooperation and victim assistance programmes, remaining for years among the world’s leading donors in this field.