On 15 March 2024, the UNODA Vienna Office, in partnership with the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, the Austrian Research Association, and the Permanent Mission of the Kyrgyz Republic to the United Nations in Vienna, organized another Vienna Conversation Series (VCS) event. Aimed at celebrating the International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness on March 5, and International Women’s Day on March 8, this edition of the VCS, entitled “Reducing the human cost of weapons: human-centred disarmament through a gender lens”, shed light on the human cost of conventional weapons focusing on gender-based violence, gender mainstreaming, and human-centred approaches to disarmament.

The event, held at the premises of the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, featured several high-level speakers from international organizations, academia and think tanks. They drew attention to the alarming issue that the widespread availability, diversion, and misuse of small arms and light weapons fuel armed violence and conflict, including gender-based violence. Additionally, the panellists discussed the varying gendered impacts of weapons, armed conflict, and security. The fruitful exchange underscored the necessity of adopting a gender lens to formulate and implement better and more effective policies and programmes, and ensuring women’s participation and leadership in disarmament processes with the ultimate goal of reducing the human cost of weapons and arriving at more inclusive and sustainable solutions.