1. introduction to the committee 4 glossary 5
INTRODUCTION TO THE COMMITTEE
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- 3. INTRODUCTION TO THE ISSUE
- 4. HISTORY OF THE ISSUE
- ● Treaty of Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons opened for signature on July 1 st
- ● Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and
- ● South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty (Rarotonga Treaty) signed on August 6 th
- ● Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia opened for signatures on
- ● Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (Outer Space
- ● Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I) signed by USA and Soviet Socialist
- 6. COUNTRIES’ POSITIONS ON NUCLEAR ARMEMENT
- 7. REASONS FOR OPPOSITION AGAINST DISARMAMENT
- 8. REASONS FOR DECREASING GLOBAL MILITARY SPENDING
- 9. TRANSPARENCY IN MILITARY SPENDINGS
- 10. QUESTION OF SOVEREIGNTY
- 11. ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED
- 12. FURTHER READINGS AND RESOURCES
1. INTRODUCTION TO THE COMMITTEEThe Charter states “To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace;”1 as one of UN’s purposes, and the first committee of the United Nations General Assembly: Disarmament and International Security aims to meet this purpose and is concerned with threats to international security, and disarmament, abiding by the Charter of the United Nations and relating to other powers and organs of the UN. DISEC is one of the 6 main bodies of the United Nations. The first committee cooperates with the United Nations Disarmament Commission and the Geneva-based Convention on Disarmament. DISEC sessions are structured into 3 main sections, these 3 sections consist of:
General debate about the agenda item, Thematic discussions during which all aspects of the agenda item is considered in detail, Action on drafts to prepare a document about possible solutions to the issue given with the agenda. DISEC is also the only main committee of the GA which is entitled to verbatim records coverage as stated in the Rule 58 (a) of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly. The UN also has Disarmament Commission, Conference on Disarmament, and Department for Disarmament Affairs working alongside DISEC for disarmament.
2. GLOSSARYWMD: Weapons of Mass Destruction MAD: Mutually Assured Destruction Strategic Nuclear Weapons: Nuclear weapons with intercontinental range and magnitude between 150 kilotons and 5000 kilotons (stronger that that dropped at Hiroshima). Tactical Nuclear Weapons: Nuclear weapons with a battle-field range and magnitude around or less that that dropped at Hiroshima. No-first-use Policy: A policy adopted by some countries stating that they won’t be the first to use nuclear weapons. Cluster Munition: “A cluster munition, or cluster bomb, is a weapon containing multiple explosive submunitions. Cluster munitions are dropped from aircraft or fired from the ground or sea, opening up in mid-air to release tens or hundreds of submunitions, which can saturate an area up to the size of several football fields.”2 3. INTRODUCTION TO THE ISSUE“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defence than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”3 Martin Luther King Jr. Total world military spending was $ 1.69 trillion in 2016, in other words 2.2% of the global GDP, that’s a lot of money, money that can be used for much more beneficial purposes. For this reason nations have tried to reduce military spending and be open about the amount of their spending throughout the 20th and the 21st century. The League of Nations aimed that and so does the UN. Past UN Secretary General Kofi Annan “ has identified three key objectives for successful, comprehensive peace-building: (a) consolidating internal and external security; (b) strengthening political institutions and good governance; and (c) promoting economic and social rehabilitation and transformation. The disarmament of former combatants, their demobilization from war service, and their successful reintegration into civilian life are major parts of achieving the peace-building objectives.”4 “Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes … known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few.… No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.”5 James Madison Military spending causes debt and prevents proper allocation of financial resources. A good example of that would be North Korea where the focus on military spending has had a negative impact on the living standards of its citizens. Military spending can also increase the likelihood of going to war. Immanuel Kant once said that “Standing armies (miles perpetuus) excite the States to outrival each other in the number of their armed men. Peace becomes in the long run even more oppressive than a short war; and Standing Armies are thus the cause of aggressive wars undertaken in order to get rid of this burden”6. As it was the case during the Cold War, increase in militarization causes tension. The Cold War included many examples of brinkmanship, proxy wars, and aggression. Even though the 2 biggest military spenders of the war never engaged in direct armed conflict against each other, it is undeniable that they affected the world negatively during that period. Even the conflict between North and South Korea was a result of that tension. According to George C Wallace, “pairs of nations that end up going to war are characterized by much more rapid military growth in the period immediately prior to the conflict.7”The amount of military spending done by a country can also be used as an excuse to engage in war with that nation due to the perceived need to attack before being attacked according to Martin Patchen. Patchen also mentioned that even spending on defence may be perceived as a threat. 4. HISTORY OF THE ISSUEMilitarization was one of the biggest issues of the 20th century, one that UN has aimed to solve since day one. Even before UN was founded, this issue has been deliberated on. The St. Petersburg Declaration of 1868 declared that weapons that aggravate the sufferings of disabled should be out of usage while The Hague Conferences of 1899 and 1907 prohibited the usage of poisoned weapons. The Geneva Convention of 1925 has also banned poison gas. a. SIGNIFICANT PAST UN RESOLUTIONSThe 1980 General Assembly Resolution 35/142 B called upon UN member states to voluntarily report their military spending. The 1991 Resolution 46/36L, called upon UN member states to annually provide the UN with data on their conventional weapon imports and exports, background information regarding their military holdings, procurement through national production and relevant policies. The register for that was established at January 1992. The 1997 Resolution 52/38 G emphasized the importance of practical disarmament. The General Assembly resolution 55/33 E, about the need for a study on disarmament education which lead to the 2002 United Nations Study on Disarmament and NonProliferation Education (A/57/124). b. PAST ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE UNThe United Nations has held 3 special sessions focusing on disarmament 1970s were declared the decade of disarmament by the UN, but weren’t very fruitful. 1980s were declared the second disarmament decade There have been areas of the world declared as Nuclear-weapon-free zones. Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty is one of the milestone achievements of the UN. UN Peacekeepers have undertaken the disarmament of fighters through collecting their weapons, destroying them and trying to integrate the combatants into more peaceful endeavours in El Salvador, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and other UN operations. UN has also cooperated with NGOs on the topic. September 26th is the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. c. PAST TREATIESThere have also been numerous treaties aiming to provide this problem with a solution. These include but are not limited to: ● Treaty of Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons opened for signature on July 1st,1968, and entered into force on March 5th, 1970 that focused on “the prevention of wider dissemination of nuclear weapons”8 , nuclear disarmament, affirmation of the principle that the benefits of nuclear research should be available to all states, and discontinuance of test explosions. ● Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty opened for signature on September 24th, 1996, and never entered into force, that banned nuclear testing in order to achieve nuclear disarmament, and protect the environment. It also planned to create a Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization that consists of All States Parties in order to overlook the process.
1963, opened for signatures on August 8th, 1963, and entered into force on October 10th, 1963, which did aim for an absolute end to nuclear testing but settled for a partial ban, and desired to put an end to contamination of nature through nuclear testing. Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare (1925 Geneva Protocol) signed on June 17th, 1925. Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction (Biological Weapons Convention), opened for signatures on April 10th, 1972, entered into force on March 26th, 1975, and was the first international agreement providing for real disarmament by the elimination of a category of existing weapons Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (Chemical Weapons Convention) signed on January 13th, 1993, entered into force on April 26th, 1997. ● Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention) opened for signature on December 3rd-4th, 1997, entered into force onMarch 1st, 1999, “The CWC is regarded as the first globally verifiable multilateral disarmament treaty”9 Convention on Cluster Munitions opened for signatures on December 3rd, 2008, entered into force on August 1st, 2010, that addressed the cluster munition issue which took many innocent lives. Arms Trade Treaty opened for signature on June 3rd, 2013, entered into force on December 24th, 2014, aiming to regulate arms trade, and promoting transparency. Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco) opened for signatures on February 14th, 1967. ● South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty (Rarotonga Treaty) signed on August 6th,1985, entered into force on December 11th, 1986. Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (Bangkok Treaty) opened for signatures on December 15th, 1995, entered into force on March 27th, 1997. African Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Pelindaba) signed at April 11th, 1996, entered into force on July 15th, 2009. ● Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia opened for signatures onSeptember 8th, 2006, entered into force on March 21st, 2009. Antarctic Treaty signed on December 1st, 1959, entered into force on June 23rd, 1961 that declared Antarctica as an area that can be used exclusively for peaceful purposes. Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (Moon Treaty) opened for signature on December 18th, 1979, entered into force on July 11th, 1984, desiring to prevent conflict on the moon ● Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (Outer SpaceTreaty) opened for signatures on January 27th, 1969, entered into force on October 10th, 1969. ● Treaty on the Prohibition of the Emplacement of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction on the Sea-Bed and the Ocean Floor and in the Subsoil Thereof (Sea-bed Treaty) opened for signatures on February 11th, 1971, entered into force on May 18th, 1972. ● Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I) signed by USA and Soviet SocialistRepublic at July 31st, 1991, entered into force on December 5th ,1994. Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), signed by USA and the Russian Federation on April8th, 2010, and entered into force on February 5th, 2011, it is still in force, Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons adopted on July 7th, 2017, not yet in force, which is “the first multilateral legally-binding instrument for nuclear disarmament to have been negotiated in 20 years.”10 d. WHY NO PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADEDespite being a pressing topic which is frequently discussed, we haven’t experienced much progress in disarmament. One of the main reasons why that happened is because of the differences between countries, especially the East and the West. Even back in 1946, when the US proposed to create an atomic energy development authority to oversee all phases of manufacturing and using atomic energy and the Soviet Union wanted to destroy the stocks and cease manufacturing; this disaccord caused discussions fail. It was also the reason why the second special session on disarmament was not fruitful when it was the NATO members and Warsaw Pact members who came head to head. The United States has even argued that deterring nuclear attacks through the threat of retaliation has been important for keeping peace during the Cold War. Another reason why the progress is so slow is that many countries distrust others to disarm effectively. Just because a the global progress is slow, it doesn’t mean that there has been no advancements whatsoever, some of the advancements include South Africa ending its undisclosed nuclear program in the early 1990s, and Argentina and Brazil ending their rival nuclear programs 1991. 5. CURRENT SITUATIONIn 2016 $1.69 trillion was spent on militarization worldwide. 10 countries spent about 73% of that, these include USA, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, India, France, UK, Japan, Germany, and South Korea. The US made the top of the list with $611 billion, and has spent nearly 3 times the country which comes in second, that being China with $215 billion. There are also 9 countries which have nuclear weapons. These include The United States, Russia, the UK, France, China, North Korea, India, Pakistan, and Israel, but only 5 of these countries’ nuclear weapons are legal, these are China, France, Russia, the UK, and the USA. In total there are believed to be around 16,300 nuclear weapons in these countries. The US and Russia have 93% of all nuclear warheads in the world. 
Figure 1 Overview of world military spending in 2016. Data and graphic: SIPRI 
Figure 2 Overview of world military spending in between 1988 and 2016. Data and graphic: SIPRI 
Figure 3 The 15 countries with the highest military expenditure in 2016 Data and graphic: SIPRI 
Figure 4 Share of world military expenditure of the 15 countries with the highest military expenditure in 2016 Data and graphic: SIPRI 
Figure 5 The Countries With The Biggest Nuclear Arsenals Graphic: statista 
Figure 6 World Nuclear Forces Data and graphic: SIPRI 6. COUNTRIES’ POSITIONS ON NUCLEAR ARMEMENTIt is very important to know the positions of some of the key players on the nuclear discussions. Currently none of the nuclear-weapon owner states nor their allies wish to be the first to start disarming due to concerns about the others not following suit and them being exposed to attacks without the deterrent protection of owning nuclear weapons. Russia has proposed in the past that countries must keep their nuclear weapons within their countries. Since its nuclear superiority is one of its most valuable assets, it does not accept disarming first. China has declared that it won’t be the first to use nuclear weapons but wants the US and Russia to take lead in significant arms reduction. The West has never adopted a no-first-use policy. United States refuses to reduce their nuclear strength to anything less than that of Russia. The UK has reduced their nuclear weapons to a minimum deterrent posture. Many nuclear-weapon states (including USA, Russia and North Korea) and their allies have stayed out of the negotiations of the recent Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons adopted in July 7th 2017. Delegations of USA UK and France have expressed that they won’t ever become a part of this treaty.
not restricted to: Distrust in others to stay disarmed, Difficulties of dismantlement of nuclear weapons, Distrust in other countries to not have hidden weapons, Ethical dilemma of needing to help those in need of military assistance, The hardships of filling in the economical gap left by the military sector. 8. REASONS FOR DECREASING GLOBAL MILITARY SPENDING“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its labourers, the genius of its scientists, and the hopes of its children.”11 Dwight Eisenhower As it was mentioned before, money that is used for militarization can be used for better purposes such as:
Climate change prevention, Improvement of global education, Improvement of global living standards, Improvement of the accessibility of basic needs (including food, water, and shelter) by all Improvement of global welfare Scientific research Medical research Providing those in need with health care Helping refugees 9. TRANSPARENCY IN MILITARY SPENDINGSTransparency in military spending is very important in making sure that money is spent where it needs to be spent. Lack of transparency creates a high vulnerability to corruption, in order to avoid corruption and excessive spending in this highly predisposed sector, all spending information must be accessible to all and the data provided must be accompanied by reasons why that money was spent. Transparency is also an important factor in building international trust. Public procurement of weapons is also very prone to corruption. Some of the main obstacles of transparency include but are not restricted to: Lack of effective planning, budgets, and policies, Weak civilian and democratic control (including parliamentary control) over military (the control may be discouraged by the military itself), Money being spent which is not included in the designated budgets but from resources such as science or infrastructure budgets, special Presidential funds, or loans whose repayments come from the Ministry of Finance, Security concerns with disclosing information deemed sensitive. 10. QUESTION OF SOVEREIGNTY“It is regarded as axiomatic that the autonomy of a state is secured by its sovereignty and sovereignty by its war potential. A war establishment is universally held to be an indispensable institution in practically every state…. The survival prospects of the institution of war, on the one hand, and of the nation-state as we know it, on the other, are closely related.” 12Anatol Rapoport According to Rapoport, giving up military power would be replacing sovereignty with autonomy, without power to wage war and defend themselves, countries would be dependent on some sort of global police to keep them safe. Now, some may worry that a global authority may not always be in benign hands, and that it would be too risky. 11. ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSEDWhat are the main obstacles to disarmament? What can be done differently? How can the UN make sure that member countries abide by a disarmament plan? How can you fill the economic gap left behind by the enormous military industry? How can you get countries to agree to a disarmament plan? How can member states’ military transparency be guaranteed? 12. FURTHER READINGS AND RESOURCEShttp://acuns.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/TheUnitedNationsandDisarmament.pdf http://ucdp.uu.se/ https://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/summary.htm https://unoda-web.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/wpcontent/uploads/assets/publications/more/treaties/disarmament-treaties.pdf https://www.unroca.org/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/264435/number-of-nuclear-warheads-worldwide/● http://visuals.sipri.org/ 13. BIBLIOGRAPHY“United Nations, Main Body, Main Organs, General Assembly.” United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org/en/ga/first/index.shtml. “United Nations Report on Military Expenditures.” United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, www.un.org/disarmament/convarms/milex/. Beattie, Andrew. “How Military Spending Affects The Economy.” Investopedia, 1 Aug. 2015, www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/072115/how-military-spendingaffects-economy.asp. Potter, Thomas S. Racing to War: Arms Competitions, Military Spending, and the Tendency of Nations to Engage in Armed Conflict. Gettysburg College, 2 Nov. 2016, cupola.gettysburg.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1542&context=student_scholarshi p. Cluster Munition Coalition.” What Is a Cluster Bomb? | Cluster Bombs | CMC, www.stopclustermunitions.org/en-gb/cluster-bombs/what-is-a-cluster-bomb.aspx. “Transparency and Accountability in Military Spending.” SIPRI, www.sipri.org/commentary/topical-backgrounder/2016/transparency-andaccountability-military-spending. Pennington, Kenneth. “We Have Money to Fight Climate Change. It's Just That We're Spending It on Defence | Kenneth Pennington.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 8 Oct. 2016, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/08/climatechange-defense-spending-fighter-plane-climate-change-defense-spending-fighterplane-program. “Global Issues Overview.” United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/global-issues-overview/. Doherty, Ben. “UN Votes to Start Negotiating Treaty to Ban Nuclear Weapons.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 27 Oct. 2016, www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/28/un-votes-to-start-negotiating-treaty-to-bannuclear-weapons. “Why Not Nuclear Disarmament?” The New Atlantis, www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/why-not-nuclear-disarmament. Boothby, Derek. “The United Nations and Disarmament.” Academic Journal on United Nations System, Edited by Jean Krasno and Roseann Iacomacci, 2002, “United Nations Study on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education – UNODA.” United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org/disarmament/topics/education/. UN, United Nations, UN Treaties, Treaties.” United Nations, United Nations, treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI- 9&chapter=26&clang=_en. “UN Conference Adopts Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons.” UN News Center, United Nations, 7 July 2017, www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=57139#.WdDzyWiCxPZ. “Major Episodes of Political Violence 1946-2016.” CSP - Major Episodes of Political Violence, 1946-2013, www.systemicpeace.org/warlist/warlist.htm. “Nuclear Weapons, Elimination, Disarmament, Peace, Security, Stockpiling, Testing, Nuclear, Destruction, War, Weapons of Mass Destruction.” United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org/en/events/nuclearweaponelimination/index.shtml. Ross, Eleanor. “The Nine Countries That Have Nuclear Weapons.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 6 Jan. 2016, www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/the-nine-countries-that-have-nuclearweapons-a6798756.html. Blanchfield, Kate. “World Military Spending Was $1.69 Trillion in 2016.” Military Spending in 2016, visuals.sipri.org/. “Treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on Strategic Offensive Reductions (START I).” Nuclear Threat Initiative - Ten Years of Building a Safer World, www.nti.org/learn/treaties-and-regimes/treatiesbetween-united-states-america-and-union-soviet-socialist-republics-strategicoffensive-reductions-start-i-start-ii/. “Treaty between The United States of America and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START).” Nuclear Threat Initiative - Ten Years of Building a Safer World, www.nti.org/learn/treaties-and-regimes/treaty-between-the-united-states-of-americaand-the-russian-federation-on-measures-for-the-further-reduction-and-limitation-ofstrategic-offensive-arms/. Goldblat, Jozef. Nuclear Disarmament: Obstacles to Banishing the Bomb. I.B. Tauris in Association with the Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research, 2000. Stout, Mark. “The Tactical versus Strategic Distinction: It’s A Big Deal, Right?” The Wright Stuff, 13 May 2010, The Tactical versus Strategic Distinction: It’s A Big Deal, Right? Pike, John. “Worldwide Nuclear Forces.” GlobalSecurity.org - Reliable Security Information, www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/summary.htm. “Global nuclear weapons: Modernization remains the priority.” SIPRI, 3 July 2017, www.sipri.org/media/press-release/2017/global-nuclear-weapons-modernizationremains-priority. “Military expenditure.” SIPRI, SIPRI, www.sipri.org/research/armament-anddisarmament/arms-transfers-and-military-spending/military-expenditure. 1 The Charter, Chapter 1, Article 1 2 Cluster Munition Coalition 3 Martin Luther King Jr. , 1967 4 Derek Boothby, The United Nations and Disarmament 5 James Madison, Political Observations, 1795 6 Kant [1795] 2010, 3 7 Wallace, 1979 8 UNODA Disarmament and related treaties, page 4 9 Derek Boothby, The United Nations and Disarmament 10 http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=57139#.WdDzyWiCxPZ 11 Eisenhower, Change for Peace Speech, 1953 12 Rapoport, 1997 Directory: uploads uploads -> 587 Return function, r i(X) r i(0) r i(1) r i(2) r i(3) 1 0 2 4 6 Thermal Station, I 2 0 1 5 6 3 0 3 5 6 10 uploads -> Department of science and humanities department of mathematics part-a questions and answers uploads -> The Case Against the nypd’s Quota-Driven ‘Broken Windows’ Policing What Is It? uploads -> For want of a nail uploads -> Ownership Models There are two different types of ownership models uploads -> Police Militarization uploads -> City of rising star regular meting thursday, july 14, 2016 uploads -> Township of winfield uploads -> Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act of 2014 uploads -> The Black Panther Party’s Ten-Point Program What We Want Now! 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