General Assembly, First Committee: Disarmament and International Security Background Guide Written by: Austin Thomas, Baldwin Wallace University As one of the six main committees of the United Nations General Assembly, the First Committee (DISEC) deals with issues relating to disarmament, global challenges and threats to international peace and security and seeks to solve these challenges in the international security regime. With all UN member states maintaining a presence in the committee, DISEC is among the largest committees in the United Nations and works closely with United Nations Disarmament Commission and the Geneva-based I. Addressing the Occupation of Ukraine Four years ago in 2014, the Russian Federation annexed Crimea from the country of Ukraine causing conflict to ensue ever since. It has led to roughly 10,090 people to be killed including 2,777 civilians as well as the injuring over 23,000 citizens. The situation in Ukraine s Northern Province has ravished the country of Ukraine leading to a large amount of Internally Displaced Person (IDP) to exist with the number being 1.6 million. 1 The United Nation s General Assembly and Security Council have displayed public disapproval of Russia s actions leading to heavy sanctions being issued to the country but with little affect. Even with the creation of UN Resolution 68/262 that specifically listed rules and regulations in regards to the disruption of Ukrainian territorial integrity, the Federation of Russia has continually ignored international laws. 2 Russia claims that a referendum was held on 2014 in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol with an overwhelming populous in the area voting to be part of Russia. The United Nations has disavowed any legal recognition of the referendum due to it taking place while the Crimea was under Russian occupation. 3 This disavowing of the 1 Conflict in Ukraine Enters Fourth Year With no End in Sight - UN Report. UN News, 13 June 2017. 2 Resolution 68/261. UN General Assembly, 1 April 2014. 3 Resolution 68/261. 1
referendum was placed in UN Resolution 68/262 and restated in UN Resolution 71/205 with the reaffirmed non-recognition of the annexation. 4 Resolution 71/205 further condemned the Federation of Russia for its violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and listed actions the Federation of Russia should follow including the protection of Ukrainian rights. The Federation of Russia has claimed that the military personnel in Ukraine are separatists with no direct ties to Russia but NATO s release of satellite images have shown the use of Russian tanks and personnel counteracting the claims. 5 Ukraine has attempted various methods to counteracting Russian aggression in their country. One of the most effective attempts and methods being utilized is the partnering and growing alliance created between the EU and Ukraine. In 2014, this partnership was clearly effective when Ukraine agreed to sign an EU trade pact. The past president who was allied with Putin refused to sign the agreement due to Russian pressure. 6 This signature helped show a change in leadership in policy but it also helped curve reliance and pressure from Russia. With this trade pact, it further allied Ukraine with the EU meaning direct confrontation with Ukraine also meant confronting the EU. Immediately after the signing ceremony, Russia s deputy foreign minister warned of serious consequences to be faced by Ukraine. European leaders also threatened to impose more sanctions if Russia did not curb violence in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine has most recently been attempting to join the EU and NATO as a member to further safeguard the country from invasion by Russian forces. Though unlikely of such an invasion due to western retaliation, Ukraine has been moving forward with negotiations and talks to try to bring the issue to the NATO and EU agenda. In 2008 NATO leaders promised Ukraine they would one day join the alliance and this promise has increased Russian tensions. Russian President Putin has threatened to respond effectively to aggressive steps taken by NATO and to restore trust in Europe. President Putin also vocalized his concerns of attempts by NATO to deploy new bases and military infrastructure near Russia s borders. 7 Most recently, the EU ratified the Association Agreement with Kiev focused on the rights of Ukrainians to travel to Europe s Schengen zone without visas. This agreement almost was approved but was shut down by Ukraine due to the lack of wording reflecting a plan to incorporate the country into the EU. Ukraine recognizes the impact of joining the EU would have on Russian relations with the Ukraine which has led to a heavy push in policy. With the lack of commitment by state actors to directly helping the Ukraine, nonprofits and relief forces have helped fill those roles to promote progression. 2/3rds of IDPs in Ukraine 4 Resolution 71/205. UN General Assembly, 1 February 2017. 5 Lackey, Katharine and Dorell, Oren. Ukraine-Russia Conflict: What You Need to Know. USA Today, 31 August 2014. 6 Higgins, Andrew and Herszenhorn, David. Defying Russia, Ukraine Signs E.U. Trade Pact. New York Times, 27 June 2014. 7 Osborn, Andrew. Putin Warns NATO Against Closer Ties with Ukraine and Georgia. Reuters, 19 July 2018. 2
struggle financially obtaining a monthly average salary of $75 a month or approximately $2.50 per day. 8 In addition to the lack of financial security, abuses from the Russian occupational forces have been cited with falsified evidence and unlawful holding of citizens. 9 Fortunately, nonprofits and governmental organizations such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have worked closely with the government of Ukraine to affectively assist in helping the civilians who were/are impacted by the conflict. The IOM provides seminars and gives grants to IDPs for vocational training to help promote self-employment and micro-entrepreneurship to help communities build up services they lack. Most IDPs do not have access to markets and the IMO helps build up these companies and entrepreneurs to help bring business once again to meet these demands from IDP communities. 10 Through these programs and outreach systems, the IDP employment has gone up from 35% to 42% and has helped over 138,000 people. 11 Efforts from organizations like the IOM aid in providing resources that state actors cannot provide without further escalating state relations. Non-profit, NGOs, and international organizations help combat harsh conditions faced by the Ukrainians without directly involving other state actors. The Ukrainian conflict is soon to reach its 5 th year of continuation and as the global community approaches this date, the importance of ending the issue grows. Russia has been a global force that has directly impacted the sovereignty of Ukraine and the global community has not acted harshly enough to deal with the issue. Sanctions and trade agreements help facilitate progression and prevent further aggression but it does not end the killings and human right abuses in the Crimea. It does not also help the 1.6 million IDPs who are forced to live in their country under such horrific conditions. The world must come together and stay steadfast in dealing with this issue as it means the saving of millions of lives but also shows the commitment towards enforcing rules no matter the power of the country. Questions to Consider What has your country s position been in regards to EU and NATO alliances with the Ukraine? Has your country provided humanitarian support or trade agreements with Ukraine? What concerns does your country face with providing more support to Ukraine politically, economically, and socially? 8 With Barely Enough Money for Food, Conflict-Displaced Ukrainians Struggling to Survive UN. UN News, 16 May 2017. 9 Ukraine. Human Rights Watch. 10 IOM s Assistance Bi-Monthly Report. International Organization for Migration, December 2017. 11 With Barely Enough. 3
How can the General assembly work with other bodies of the UN to advance efforts to assist Ukraine? What solutions or ideas has your country provided when dealing with the conflict? 4
II. Preventing Illicit Arms Trade Crime has always paid and that rings true with the illicit sale of weaponry. This lucrative business has been active since the creation of the armed weapon and has contributed to human suffering, political repression, crime and terror among civilian populations. In 2011 with the United States alone, there was the sale and transfer of $10.5 billion worth of weaponry with $85.3 billion worth of weaponry sold worldwide. 12 The United Nations has tried dealing with this issue before and has created multiple organizations with the UN to try to combat this issue. With the United Nations of Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) in place, the creation of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) came into fruition to try to address the growing security problem. ATT called for signatories to provide transparency of their global arms transaction to help track and monitor the weapons being traded. It had 130 signatories and 92 ratifications and accounts for the tracking of an estimated 90% of all global arms trade. 13 Though the percentage is high, this agreement tracks arms that are traded by state powers not by non-state actors. This is one of the various problems that arise when trying to consider the next step to take towards illicit arm trades. Tracking of illicit arm trading has been transparent with the ATT but there still is a lack of global comprehensive registries and systematic marking of weapons. 14 This factor is attributed to a lot of reasons. One of these reasons being poor infrastructural design in countries that do not have the proper experience or equipment to create such a complex tracking system. For example, Boko Haram steals a large amount of its weaponry from Nigeria due to a lack of infrastructural safeguards in place to protect these weapons. Without enough security measures for protecting their own arms, the ability to track them is an unrealistic outcome. Another reason for poor tracking systems is the lack of international unity and agreeance towards treaties such as the ATT. China was not a signature on the agreement and the country does not report its global arms trade. A country as large and productive as China 12 Grimmett, Richard and Kerr, Paul. Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 2004-2011. Congressional Research Service, 24 August 2012. 13 The Arms Trade. UNODA. 14 Countering Illicit Arms Trafficking and its Links to Terrorism and Other Serious Crime UNODC s Global Firearms Programme. UNODC, 17 may 2017. 5
not being transparent with their arms sales provides an obstacle towards any unified attempt at creating a tracking system capable of observing arms deals. One of the issues when considering the next step to take when combatting illicit arms trade is the increase in technological advances. With the internet and the dark web, acquiring weapons is easy and hard to trace. This can be a problem because terrorist attacks such as the Charlie Hebdo and Munich attacks were caused by a disused arsenal acquired from the dark web. 15 Utilizing the dark web has become a common source to utilize when trying to acquire illegal arms where 42% of the most common listing was firearms. 16 Most of these sales come from the United States that leads with 60% of all the firearms sales originating from the country. Fortunately, the dark web is only capable of sending a certain quantity of illicit arms but these arms are still utilized by lone wolves terrorists and small groups including gangs threatening country s domestic peace. Technological advances prove troublesome for federal governments as there has not been a global strategy of combatting technological sales of weaponry as the tracking and prevention methods are lacking. With new threats emerging every day including 3D printed weaponry, the demand to keep up with new threats is overwhelming. One of the issues with illicit arms trade being transnational is the ability for the global community to cooperate to stop these trades from occurring. Different values and conflicting international relationships tend to complicate cooperative attempts at stopping arms from getting placed in the hands of terrorist organizations and bad actors. Illicit arms trade is a billion dollar business with the cost reaching 88.4 billion in 2016 alone. 17 Though agreements such as the ATT were formed to increase transparency, the economic incentive of this lucrative trade prevents countries from taking accurate steps to safeguard and combat the issue. The United States has recently been accused of giving weapons to Saudi Arabia that have been used to kill Yemenis civilians. 18 Saudi Arabian weaponry has also been purchased heavily by the United 15 Countering Illicit Arms Trafficking. UNODC. 16 International Arms Trade on the Dark Web. Rand Europe. 17 Financial Value of the Global Arms Trade. SIPRI. 18 Schmitt, Eric. US Commander Urges More Transparency in Yemen Strike on School Bus. New York Times, 27 August 2018. 6
Kingdom who has sold 5.1 billion pounds worth of weaponry to the country to be utilized during the Yemen conflict. 19 Countries do indeed need to strengthen international cooperation and be transparent with information exchange but the problem of profit prevents global unity and attempts at preventing these deals. Illicit arms trades is a progressive issue that evolves with technology and that has various problems associated with it. It economic incentive prevents a lot of countries from trying to combat the issue. Poor infrastructural design and lack of accessible resources to prevent illicit arms agreements from occurring is another obstacle that prevents any progression from being met. Overall, weaponry is complex and the politics behind the sales of the weapons is even more complex with its multifaceted areas of involvement. The accessibility to these illegal markets and weaponry threatens instability as well as the safety of civilian lives abroad. There is a need for unified approaches to this issue to help truly understand and create a solution. Questions to Consider What safeguards does your country implement to prevent illicit arms agreements? Is your country a signatory of the ATT? Does your country sell weapons to other countries? What is the profit from these sales? Does your country deal with arms related incidents such as terrorist attacks? 19 Agerholm, Harriet. Yemen Civil War: Poll Shows Most Britons Oppose Saudi Arabia Arms Sales, as MPs Call Emergency Debate. Independent, 11 September 2018. 7