Disarmament
According to one understanding, disarmament is the body of international law that prohibits or regulates the production, stockpiling, and/or transfer of weapons. There is no formal definition of the term disarmament under international law, and differing views exist as to its precise meaning.
Disarmament means in general parlance the reduction or destruction of some of a state's weapons (or the withdrawal of armed forces). In international weapons law it refers to treaties or initiatives that prohibit or restrict the production, stockpiling, and/or transfer of weapons. It thus overlaps with arms control, a notion that encompasses efforts between different states to build confidence that force will not be used between them by limiting or reducing certain arms or military forces.
Last updated on: 30 November 2013