Disarmament Week: Preventing Armed Conflicts, Mitigating Impacts

Disarmament Week is celebrated from October 24 to 31 to generate awareness on issues of disarmament, which is a tool to prevent armed conflicts.

Hyderabad:The Disarmament Week, starting on October 24, seeks to promote awareness and better understanding of disarmament issues and their cross-cutting importance.

Disarmament means a reduction or total abolition of military capabilities or means of a state. It is necessary to prevent arms races between countries, eliminate the threat to humanity, prevent suffering among civilians, and eliminate the burden of military expenditure from states. The UN has given highest priority to reducing and eventually eliminating nuclear weapons, destroying chemical weapons and strengthening the prohibition of biological weapons.

History:

The annual observance of Disarmament Week was first called for in the Final Document of the General Assembly’s 1978 special session on disarmament (resolution S-10/2). In 1995, the General Assembly invited governments, as well as NGOs, to continue taking an active part in Disarmament Week (resolution 50/72 B, 12 December 1995) in order to promote a better understanding among the public of disarmament issues.

Throughout history, countries have pursued disarmament to build a safer, more secure world and to protect people from harm. Since the foundation of the United Nations, disarmament and arms control have played a critical role in preventing and ending crises and armed conflict. Heightened tensions and dangers are better resolved through serious political dialogue and negotiation—not by more arms.

Agenda for Disarmament:

Disarmament defines four key pillars with practical measures to be achieved through stronger partnerships and unwavering determination:

• Disarmament that saves humanity by endeavouring for a world free of nuclear weapons, strengthening norms against other weapons of mass destruction, and preventing the emergence of new domains of strategic competition and conflict.
• Disarmament that saves lives by mitigating the humanitarian impact of conventional arms and addressing the excessive accumulation and illicit trade.
• Disarmament for future generations by ensuring responsible innovation and use of advances in science and technology, keeping humans in control of weapons and artificial intelligence, and ensuring peace and stability in cyberspace.
• Strengthening partnerships for disarmament by reinvigorating disarmament institutions and processes, engaging regional organisations, ensuring the full and equal participation of women, empowering youth as a force for change and enhancing participation by civil society and engagement by the private sector.

The Agenda for Disarmament addresses six different Sustainable Development Goals through nine actions. Disarmament and arms control remain inextricably connected with development in a multitude of ways, providing a unique opportunity to advance both the implementation of the SDGs and the Agenda for Disarmament.

Conventional arms – an intolerable threat to humanity

Conventional arms continue to be at the centre of the world’s conflicts, and it is civilians who continue to bear the brunt of such armed violence. The widespread availability of small arms and light weapons and their ammunition is a key enabler of armed violence and conflict. High levels of arms and ammunition in circulation contribute to insecurity, facilitate human rights violations and impede humanitarian access.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development importantly acknowledges the symbiotic relationship between peace and sustainable development. Sustainable Development Goal 16, in particular, recognizes that a significant reduction in illicit arms flows is necessary for peaceful, just and inclusive societies.

Beyond Goal 16, combatting the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons is necessary for the achievement of many goals, including those relating to poverty reduction, economic growth, health, gender equality, and safe cities and communities.

The need for disarmament in 21st century

Disarmament is a tool to help prevent armed conflicts and to mitigate its impacts when it occurs. Cold war tensions have returned, but in a much more complex and dangerous environment in a multi polar world. Armed conflicts have became more frequent and deadly for civilians due to use of modern weaponary.

Civil wars and conflict zones in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine are interconnected with regional and global rivalries involving many players, such as violent extremists, terrorists, organized militias and criminal elements. Global military spending is on the rise and is has doubled in inflation -adjusted dollars since the end of cold war. A 2017 study found that 12.6 per cent of the gross world product was devoted to containing all forms of violence.

According to the Uppsala Conflict Data, since 1989, 2704509 people have died in armed conflicts. The implementation of internationally agreed obligations are now decades overdue. Negotiations on strategic arms control are stalled and existing instruments are increasingly imperilled. 12,700 nuclear weapons remain an existential threat to humanity today. 26,000 people can be treated for malaria for the price of 1 battle tank.

Challenges for Disarmament:

Arms race and increase in military spending:The cold war produced an arms race between USSR and USA resulting in stockpiling of thousands of nuclear weapons, missiles and other deadly weapons. At one time in 1965, US has 35,000 nuclear weapons in its arsenal. Arms race between nations is a threat for Global peace. The Cold war might have ended but the competition between the nations have not ended. Global and regional players are spending in millions to acquire new technologies to counter adversaries.

According to the latest assessment by a British military think tank, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), global defence spending increased to a record $2.2 trillion 2023. China is increasing it arsenal to counter USA.

In our part of the World, India which is a tricky geographical position, facing adversaries on both sides of the border. So we are also increasing our arsenal to deter China and to give a fitting reply to Pakistan if necessary. Pakistan faced with imbalance in conventional warfare is increasing it Nuclear arsenal. It has more nuclear arsenal than India. Japan is also trying to counter ever-growing China by increasing its defence spending. In the middle east there is arms race between Iran and Saudi Arabia and UAE.

If Iran acquires nuclear weapons it would set the cat among pigeons hotting up the arms race in the middle east. In its annual report, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), said the current situation in several regions of the world has created a highly volatile security environment and it expected budgets to increase further in 2024.

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