The proliferation of small arms and light weapons deserves no less attention than the dangers posed by weapons of mass destruction, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today as its thematic debate on conventional weapons continued.
First Committee
Positions hardened over two competing approaches to preventing an outer space arms race — one promoting responsible behaviours through voluntary commitments and the other calling for an early start of negotiations on a legally binding instrument — as the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) concluded its thematic debate on the subject today.
Outer space is becoming a contest for supremacy, drawing on space-based communications and intelligence assets, and the early development of anti-satellite weaponry, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today as its thematic debate opened on preventing an arms race in that realm.
Delegates in the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today traded allegations over non-compliance with treaties banning biological and chemical weapons, which some called “morally repugnant” and a “breeding ground” for terrorists.
Disarmament is not a lofty ideal, but a practical imperative, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today as it concluded its thematic debate on nuclear weapons and began debating other mass destruction weapons.
Speakers in the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today expressed grave concern about the Russian Federation’s announced intention to withdraw from the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), as they continued their thematic debate on nuclear weapons.
Today’s world is one of “nuclear giants and ethical infants” that know more about war than peace and killing than living, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today as it began its thematic debate on nuclear weapons.
The growing number and repetitive nature of draft resolutions in the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) is stressing the capacity of smaller delegations to participate in negotiations on the texts, speakers cautioned today as the body took up revitalization of its work.
A third world war fought piecemeal and the return of nuclear threats require a collective response that brings a durable peace built on fraternity, not on the precarious balance of deterrence, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today as it concluded its general debate.
Treaties are being trampled, the tenets of the world order are being challenged, the UN's disarmament machinery is mired in chronic paralysis and boxed in by lethargy, and business as usual has brought humankind to the current dangerous stage, delegates in the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) warn during the penultimate day of their general debate.