About the Arms Control Association

The Arms Control Association, founded in 1971, is a national nonpartisan membership organization dedicated to promoting public understanding of and support for effective arms control policies.

Through our public education and media programs and our flagship journal, Arms Control Today, we provide policymakers, the press, and the interested public with authoritative information, analysis, and commentary on arms control proposals, negotiations and agreements, and related national security issues.

In addition to regular press briefings that the Arms Control Association holds on major arms control developments, our staff provides commentary and analysis on a broad spectrum of issues for journalists and scholars both in the United States and abroad.

Reporters: If you are interested in contacting one of our experts, please contact our communications team at [email protected] or (202) 463-8270, ext. 105. 

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Arms Control Association Statement of Principles on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion      
Issued by the Board of Directors, February 2024

Over the years, the Arms Control Association (ACA) has sought to advance and secure effective arms control, and nonproliferation, and disarmament initiatives to reduce and eliminate the dangers that nuclear, chemical, biological, and certain types of conventional weapons pose to humanity.

ACA has done so by working in collaboration with other segments of civil society and by delivering authoritative information, ideas, and analysis on technically complex and politically sensitive issues that help shape the public policy debate in Washington, across the United States, and around the world. In particular, through our work, we seek to prevent nuclear war and challenge the notion that nuclear weapons possession and the threat of their use by a few states is a sustainable and realistic approach to peace and global security.

We recognize that some types of weapons harm disproportionately or differentially based on sex and gender. The impacts of nuclear weapons can be racialized and discriminatory. Since the beginning of the nuclear age, disempowered, often indigenous populations and other communities of color, and poor and rural communities in particular have been disproportionately harmed by nuclear weapons production, and mining, and testing activities pursued by the governments of the nuclear-armed states. Nuclear weapons also reinforce inequities in global governance.

We must take into account the full range of perspectives regarding the effects of nuclear weapons and other weapons of war on human health, the environment, gender, and the power structures that reinforce systemic forms of injustice, in order to eliminate the threats posed by nuclear weapons, reduce the most egregious effects of war, and advance international peace and security for all.

We recognize these and other forms of systemic racism and discrimination exist in society today and are reflected in the broader arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament field. Understanding and addressing the intersectional impacts of the most dangerous types of weapons requires more meaningful diversity in the field.

Effective decision making in the arms control and disarmament field requires the participation of all parts of society. We recognize, historically, women and minority groups have not been included in the decision-making process and remain under-represented today. Inclusion of these groups is imperative for diverse perspectives and more effective solutions.

The ACA Board of Directors recognizes that our organization and that of the broader “arms control community” have a responsibility to actively support and advance initiatives and practices that achieve a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable field.

We are committed to helping to create a culture, workspace, and field-wide practices that achieve equity for all persons regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and class, and we recognize that addressing systemic forms of injustice within and outside the field will enhance the pursuit of international peace and security.

Therefore, we commit actively to pursue – on our own and in concert with partner organizations and initiatives – actions that more effectively promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. Specifically, we will continue to actively identify opportunities to amplify the voices and perspectives of historically under-represented groups -- in particular, women, persons of color, and younger people -- in our publications, at our conferences and events, and education activities on arms control, nonproliferation, disarmament, and related national and international security issues.

Seeking diversity alone will not lead to the change we seek. We will also need to actively explore efforts that truly build inclusivity (the integration and respect of people’s experiences, knowledge, and perspectives) and equity (justice from the legacy of past harms and systems of oppression).

DEI work requires sustained effort and continuous learning. Therefore, we commit to ongoing exploration, including with our peer organizations, to help inform further actions ACA can take to advance these goals.