Position Paper For The Disarmament And International Security Committee

The following topics are before the General Assembly’s first committee: Long-Range Missiles: Implications of its Testing and Uses on Modern Society; Ramifications of Conventional War on Peoples and Infrastructure; and Chemical Weapons – Uses and Impacts.

The Kingdom of Spain believes that these topics have significance within the international community and looks forward to discussing them at the upcoming meetings of the First Committee.

Long-Range Missiles:

Implications of its Testing and Uses on Modern Society Missiles deliver explosive warheads to their target using rocket propulsion, they are easy to guide and are used by many countries. Long-range missiles are strategic guided missiles and tend to transport nuclear warheads. It is known that the number of nuclear weapons in the World is steadily falling, but it is a threat and global concern making politics very tense. Weapons of mass destruction like nuclear weapons make the notion of death in combat more widely accepted, it removes humanity from combat and targets mass numbers. If this topic is not addressed the implications of future war, technology and diplomacy are unknown and can lead to devastating outcomes. Spanish policies are inspired by principles such as: protecting peace and stability, promoting human rights and creation of security conditions necessary for people, institutions and states for to develop. It is in that objective that Spain has signed and ratified the main non-proliferation and disarmament treaties and conventions. Furthermore, Spain actively participates in relevant organizations and forums. Spain also is a State Party in the fundamental treaties in this particular field, and it follows all the initiatives and regimes stated in such treaties. Going forward, Spain wishes to reaffirm its will towards a world without nuclear weapons as the final objective of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. This can be done by active cooperation, strengthening of the non-proliferation system, and by supporting the international efforts to limit the proliferation of long-range missiles which can transport weapons of mass destruction. Ramifications of Conventional War on Peoples and Infrastructure In the past decade, armed conflicts have increasingly taken place in population centers leading to civilian mortality and destruction of facilities and infrastructures for the civilians of the specific area. Conventional weapons used in conventional war have become more accessible than ever leading to even more civilian mortality. This affects the people of the said area during and even long after the conflict is resolved since some explosives such as landmines and military ammunition that failed to detonate remain on-site posing a real humanitarian threat to the civilians. If this issue is not addressed more casualties will occur and will hinder states as they try to recover. Spain signed the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons on April 10, 1981. This treaty which was also signed by 50 other states aims to protect the civil population and its combatants. This is for humanitarian principles. Civilians are protected from the weapons used in conflicts and the combatants from the particularly harmful effects of certain weapons used in such conflicts. Spain also signed the Mine Ban Treaty, a treaty prohibiting all usage of anti-personnel mines. Also, Spain has been very committed and has taken a major role internationally and locally in regards to the clearance of remnants of war, demining and aiding victims. The generous contribution Spain has made to the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Action, the Organization of American States Voluntary Fund and the Fund for Action against Mines in the Balkans in recent years should be noted as well. In the future, Spain will continue to be so involved in working to remediate this issue. To fix this issue, perhaps region to region communication, sharing and exchanging knowledge, enhancing the capacity to market, to trace and record-keeping could all be very beneficial in promoting peace and security. Using awareness campaigns in hopes to reduce the misuse of firearms could also be a very interesting option in addition to the suggestions made above.

Chemical Weapons: Uses and Impacts

Chemical weapons have existed for a little bit over a century now and their effects have gotten deadlier with the advancement of technology. This weapon of mass destruction can now kill thousands at a time and has caused millions of casualties globally. In recent years, their use has been steadily increasing in battlefields in the Middle East. These weapons have caused great humanitarian concern for the combatants and non-combatants, terrorist usage in harming civilians and the harmful effects on ecosystems and the environment. If these weapons are not regulated and handled properly the result could introduce a terrorizing new reality and make nations completely helpless when confronted with chemical attacks since there is no effective way to combat chemical clouds.