Ranjan K Baruah
(With direct inputs from UN/WHO publication and feedback may be sent to bkranjan@gmail.com)
We might say that peace prevails on earth, but the fact is that we are living in dangerous times. We have seen how protracted conflicts are causing unspeakable human suffering. Armed groups are proliferating, equipped with a vast array of weapons. At the same time, global military spending and competition in arms are increasing, and the tensions of the Cold War have returned to a world that has grown more complex.
The matter is not different when it comes to India, as we have seen in our relationship with our close neighbors. In today’s multipolar environment, the mechanisms for contact and dialogue that once helped to defuse tensions between two superpowers have eroded and lost their relevance. This new reality demands that disarmament and non-proliferation be put at the centre of the work of the United Nations, which is the backdrop for my agenda for disarmament.
The International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness, which is observed on March 5 around the world, seeks to promote better awareness and understanding of disarmament issues among the public, especially young people. Since the founding of the United Nations, the goals of multilateral disarmament and arms limitation have been central to the organisation’s efforts to maintain international peace and security. We should know that 26,000 people can be treated for the price of one battle tank. This brings an opportunity for the young people to work in the areas of disarmament and nonproliferation awareness around the world and amongst countries where there are tensions or conflicts. We have seen that weapons of mass destruction, in particular nuclear weapons, continue to be of primary concern, owing to their destructive power and the threat that they pose to humanity.
Apart from organisations like the United Nations, there are few other global organisations working in the field of disarmament. It is also needed in regions like the Northeast, where we have seen conflicts. No weapons of destruction have been used here, but any weapon that kills others is dangerous. The excessive accumulation of conventional weapons and the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons jeopardise international peace and security and sustainable development, while the use of explosive weapons in populated areas seriously endangers civilians.
Observed on March 5, the International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness plays a role in deepening the global public’s understanding of how disarmament efforts contribute to enhancing peace and security, preventing and ending armed conflicts, and curbing human suffering caused by weapons. On this occasion, António Guterres, Secretary General of the UN on the occasion said that “disarmament and non-proliferation are investments in peace. They are investments in our future. Let’s end these threats before they end us.” In 2018, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres launched Securing our Common Future: An Agenda for Disarmament, outlining a vision of disarmament actions that help set our world on a path towards sustainable peace and security for all. The Secretary-General’s Agenda for Disarmament further recognises the important contribution of disarmament and arms control to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In 2018, the Secretary-General also recognised young people as a tremendous force for change in the world who had “proved their power time and again in support of the cause of disarmament”.
The Office for Disarmament Affairs at the UN supports multilateral efforts aimed at achieving the ultimate goal of general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control. The office also works to address the humanitarian impact of major conventional weapons and emerging weapon technologies, such as autonomous weapons, as these issues have received increased attention from the international community.
On this first-ever International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness, let us try and ensure that nuclear, chemical, biological, unpredictable autonomous, and other indiscriminate weapon systems have no place in our world. Together, we can make a big difference, for which we need commitment to work for peace and disarmament.