In the course of a few weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the world political agenda, had tragic human consequences and put severe strain on the global economy. It is quite hard to talk and/or think about anything else these days. Even harder to recall that a few weeks ago the disarmament community was gearing up for one of the most-awaited conferences of the year: the NPT Review Conference, which was eventually officially postponed “to a later date but no later than April 2021”.

Meanwhile, this week Germany is hosting a virtual two-day meeting on autonomous weapons systems and the upcoming 2020 group of governmental experts (of which sessions one and two are set to take place in June and August). Topics of discussion at the virtual Berlin Forum will include: defining the human role in the use of force, developing the guiding principles (as a reminder of the principles see annex IV) and exploring possible elements of the normative and operational future framework and the implications for the GGE.

On a lighter note and to take your mind off the virus even for a few minutes only, let’s kick off the week with the 10 most uplifting songs in the world (at least according to the “feel good song” formula developed by Dutch cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Jacob Jolij). Stay home, stay healthy!