Nuclear Disarmament, Climate Change
and the UN Summit of the Future
Disarmament requires reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. The purpose of Disarmament is to get rid of all weapons and arms of all kinds. The world needs cooperation and trust to succeed in this mission. The UN Disarmament Week is observed to raise awareness and improve understanding of the significance and challenges of Disarmament. The week starts on October 24, which marks the anniversary of the founding of the UN. The week-long annual observance was first called for in the special session of the General Assembly in 1978. Another factor in Disarmament is the weapons trade, which jeopardises peace and security and seriously endangers the lives of innocent people. The emergence of innovative technologies and autonomous weapons further threatens international peace and security. This year’s observation focuses on reducing the risk of nuclear war and a call for eliminating nuclear weapons by 2045 (when the UN turns 100). National security is a priority for every country and requires many funds. Typically, countries spend 2-3 % of their GDP on defence. The top ten countries in Defence expenditure are the US, China, Russia, UK, Germany, India, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Australia, France, Italy, and UAE, with US spending as high as $750 billion. Thirty-eight per cent of the defence expenditure world wise comes from the US.
Interesting information is about the countries; thirty-six do not have a military, like Costa Rica, Dominica, Greenland, Grenada, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Vatican City. The nature of conflict and violence has transformed since the UN was founded. Technological advances are contributing to the changing nature of the conflict. The concern is AI and ML’s potential role in enhancing cyber-attacks on armed systems. Development and Disarmament are interconnected in a multitude of ways. Conflict ravages countries and is the world’s number one cause of hunger. As John Lennon dreamed, imagine all the people living in peace without the fear of aggression, war, or conflict. Imagine a world where countries do not spend millions stockpiling their armoires and instead utilise those funds and resources for economic development and progress.
Disarmament must be brought back to the centre of our common efforts for peace and security.
António Guterres, UN Secretary General
Disarmament requires reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. The purpose of Disarmament is to get rid of all weapons and arms of all kinds. The world needs cooperation and trust to succeed in this mission. The UN Disarmament Week is observed to raise awareness and improve understanding of the significance and challenges of Disarmament. The week starts on October 24, which marks the anniversary of the founding of the UN. Disarmament and arms control have been one of the UN focus areas. The week-long annual observance was first called for in the special session of the General Assembly in 1978. In 1995, NGOs were invited to participate in the observations to reach out to the public about issues relating to Disarmament. Another factor in Disarmament is the weapons trade, which jeopardises peace and security and seriously endangers the lives of innocent people (women and children). In 1952, the UN set up United Nations Disarmament Commission to reduce the number of armed forces and weapons possessed by countries. The emergence of innovative technologies and autonomous weapons further jeopardises international peace and security. This year’s observation focuses on reducing the risk of nuclear war and a call for eliminating nuclear weapons by 2045 (when the UN turns 100).
The Oxford English Dictionary defines “war” as, A state of armed conflict between different countries or diverse groups within a country. There are many reasons for war: economic gain, territorial gain, religion, nationalism etc. and often, the leaders are prime motivators of conflict. Currently, there are six significant conflicts, the Afghanistan conflict, the civil war in Yemen, the drug wars in Mexica, the internal struggle in Myanmar and the Ethiopian civil war. The current conflict between Ukraine-Russian has raised the tensions world over. The conflicts in Sudan have impacted more than 60% who are unsure about their next meal. The Rwandan conflict has seen a genocide, with an estimated 800,000 people losing their lives. The calamities in the Congo wars, Boko Haram insurgency, and the Syrian Civil War are incredibly high.
National security is a priority for every country and requires many funds. Typically, countries spend 2-3 % of their GDP on defence. The top ten countries in Defence expenditure are the US, China, Russia, UK, Germany, India, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Australia, France, Italy, and UAE, with US spending as high as $750 billion. Thirty-eight per cent of the defence expenditure world wise comes from the US. Interesting information is about the countries; thirty-six do not have a military, like Costa Rica, Dominica, Greenland, Grenada, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Vatican City. Some countries, like France, Russia, and South Korea, have mandatory military service for varying duration.
War forces the involved governments to spend more on defence procurement, leaving little for welfare measures. Countries which are at war and have conflicts spend more money on arms. It is reported that Afghanistan’s defence expenditure could be more than half of its GDP.
They are long-lasting conflicts word wide, some lasting for more than one hundred years, to name some of them, Kurdish separatism in Iran, the Korean conflict, the Internal conflict in Myanmar, Arab-Israeli conflict. Worryingly, disputes are becoming fragmented. It is reported that the number of groups involved in the Syrian war has run into hundreds since the outbreak.
The nature of conflict and violence has transformed since the UN was founded. Technological advances are contributing to the changing nature of the conflict. The concern is about AI and ML’s potential role in enhancing cyber-attacks.
Development and Disarmament are interconnected in a multitude of ways. Conflict ravages countries and is the world’s number one cause of hunger. Hunger fuels conflict, and conflict fuels hunger. UN World Food Programme won the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize for its work to prevent the use of starvation as a weapon of war.
As John Lennon dreamed, imagine all the people living in peace without the fear of aggression, war, or conflict. Imagine a world where countries do not spend millions stockpiling their armoires and instead utilise those funds and resources for economic development and progress.
Imagine all the people, livin’ life in peace.
John Lennon
Toon: Shreya
Log: M Sai Baba
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