During the plenary session held on March 14, 2019 the Conference on Disarmament failed to achieve consensus on the draft decision that would have re-established four Subsidiary Bodies to work on the issues related to the CD agenda items.
Subsidiary Bodies were first established by the Conference on Disarmament in 2018 "with a view to make progress on its agenda items." The 2018 Subsidiary Body 2, "Prevention of nuclear war, including all related matters," focused primarily on the the ban of the production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons and other nuclear explosive devices. The report on its work was adopted by the CD in September 2018.
The 2019 draft decision that failed to gain support proposed establishing the following Subsidiary Bodies:
- Subsidiary Body 1: Cessation of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament (agenda items 1 and 2), and prevention of nuclear war, and all related matters, building on the possible ways forward identified in document CD/2138, with a particular focus on elements of legally binding instruments and additional measures, and options for negotiations.
- Subsidiary Body 2: Fissile material for nuclear weapons and other explosive devices )agenda items 1 and 2), building on the possible ways forward identified in document CD/2139, with a particular focus on elements of a ban of the production of such material, and options for negotiations.
- Subsidiary Body 3: Prevention of an arms race in outer space (agenda item 3), building on the possible ways forward identified in document CD/2140, with a particular focus on elements of legally binding instruments and additional measures on PARIS, and options for negotiations.
- Subsidiary Body 4: Effective international arrangements to assure non-nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons (agenda item 4), building on the discussions in Subsidiary Body 4 in 2018, with a particular focus on elements of legally binding instruments and additional measures on such arrangements, and options for negotiations.