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Israel will be in the driver’s seat of the UN-linked Conference on Disarmament starting on Monday, assuming the organization’s presidency for one month.Israel’s ambassador to UN organizations in Geneva, Eviatar Manor, will take the gavel at the first formal session to be held on Tuesday, in the presence of UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon.The Conference on Disarmament is the sole multilateral body for negotiating agreements for disarmament and arms control, and Israel has been a member state since 1996.This is the second time Israel has assumed the role of president, having previously done so in June 2003.The presidency of the conference rotates among its member states according to the English alphabetic order, with each president holding the office for four working weeks.The role will give Israel greater input than usual into the topics to be discussed. Iran held the presidency of the conference in June 2013 , during which time the US refused to send its ambassador to the deliberations, and North Korea served a term as president in July 2011.