RIMUN 2014: Study Guide
Disarmament and International Security Committee
Disarmament and International Security Committee
The First Committee of the General Assembly is the Disarmament and International Security
Committee. It deals with issues that are a very core of the United Nations, as disarmament
and international security are both important factors involved in the founding of the UN
after the end of World War II. These issues relate to disarmament, more specifically to
resolving global challenges and threats to peace that affect the international community,
and seeking out solutions to the problems that arise in international security.
This Committee considers all disarmament and international security matters within the
scope of the UN Charter or relating to the powers and functions of any other organ of the
United Nations. These matters include the general principles of cooperation in the
maintenance of international peace and security, as well as principles governing
disarmament and the regulation of armaments. Further matters include the promotion of
cooperative arrangements and measures aimed at strengthening stability through lower
levels of armaments.
The Disarmament and International Security Committee works in close cooperation with the
United Nations Disarmament Commission and the Geneva-based Conference on
Disarmament.
http://www.un.org/en/ga/first/
During the RIMUN 2014 conference, members of DISEC will draft resolutions, debate and
vote on these resolutions in the Committee, and submit resolutions that pass to the GA for
consideration and potential adoption.
Many of the issues that are an absolutely imperative part of the UN and more specifically of
DISEC are complicated issues that do not have simple solutions. These issues can be debated
on several different occasions without concrete resolution. The challenge of the Committee
is to find imaginative and innovative solutions to both frequently discussed issues, and newly
emerging ones.
The topics for this Committee are:
(1) Reduction of national military budgets
(2) Prohibition of development of new types of weapons of mass destruction
Countries represented are:
USA, Russia, China, France, UK, India, Iran, Cuba, Germany, Spain, South Africa, South Korea,
North Korea, Belarus, Canada, Brazil, Thailand, Austria, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Mexico, Israel,
Turkey
For further reference please see:
http://www.un.org/en/ga/first/
http://www.un.org/disarmament/HomePage/DisarmamentCommission/UNDiscom.shtml
http://www.unog.ch/80256EE600585943/(httpHomepages)/$first?OpenDocument
Topic 1: Reduction of national military budgets
The reduction of national military budgets is a crucial aspect of disarmament and
international demilitarization. Spending less money on the military is a clear step towards
peace, also because this money can instead be invested in something else, such as
development aid to LEDCs. This topic will focus on how the reduction of national military
budgets can be facilitated through international cooperation.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has recorded data showing
international military expenditure between 1988 and 2011. These figures show that while in
between 1988 and 1996 there was a 28 percent decline in international military spending,
which is an average of approximately 4.5 percent per year, in the wears between 1996 and
2001 the amount of money spent on military worldwide increased by 1.5 percent per year.
Between 2001 and 2009 there was a 5 percent increase per year, and as a consequence
military spending surpassed Cold War levels in 2005. However, by 2011, the rate of increase
of international military expenditure was recorded to be 0.3 percent per year, a marked
reduction in comparison to the earlier years of the 21st century. The following figures, taken
from SIPRI, represent recent military expenditure data.
In 2011 a total of $1,738 trillion was spent on military forces and in military conflicts. That
amounts to an average expenditure of $247 per person in the world solely on the military.
This is 13 times the amount that was spent on sending development aid to LEDCs in the
same year.
Two emerging aspects of military research some nations are investing heavily in are cyber
security and space defence. The growing threat of cyber crime on a local, national, but also
international scale motivates nations to investing research and funds into this subject. One
result of the growing need for cyber security is the annual International Conference on Cyber
Security, held in New York in the USA, and hosted by the Federal Bureau of Investigations
and Fordham University. The conference offers an opportunity for leaders in cyber threat
analysis to come together from all around the world. The goal of the conference is to
coordinate an international effort to create a more secure world. This does not, however,
mean cyber military technology is only a topic of discussion at conferences. On the contrary,
there have been covert and controversial uses of cyber weapons in the modern world, such
as for example on the part of the USA in Iran. The growing discourse about cyber weapons
and cyber security must be taken into account when looking at this topic, due to the costly
nature of the development of such technologies.
Another example of a similar factor driving up military expenses is the use and development
of military intelligence satellites. Space defence became important during the Cold War, and
its development is still being funded. Military intelligence satellites allow for the more
successful retrieval of intelligence information through the use of satellite cameras in space.
This being said, space defence has many other aspects as well, notably missile defence. This
defence against missiles is called (in the USA) the Ballistic Missile Defence System, and is
improving continuously. While this continuous improvement is in the name of security, it
remains expensive. The question delegates must ask themselves is where the line between
necessary security and unnecessary expenditure is drawn. Furthermore, the ultimate goal of
this Committee remains disarmament, and the reduction not only of military expenditure
more generally of the military on an international scale. Another element to be considered
with regard to this ultimate goal is national security and border protection.
A final perspective through which to approach the topic is the role of NGOs in promoting the
decrease of national military expenditures. Some such non-governmental organizations
include Amnesty International, Economists for Peace and Security (EPS), International Action
Network on Small Arms (IANSA), International Alert, and Saferworld.
For further reference please see:
On statistics and data:
 http://www.sipri.org
 http://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milex/recent-trends
 http://www.globalissues.org/article/75/world-military-spending
On cyber security and space defence:
 http://iccs.fordham.edu/
 http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/rielcano_eng/Content?WCM_GLOBA
L_CONTEXT=/elcano/elcano_in/zonas_in/ari26-2013-thiber-cibercelulasciberseguridad-ciberdefensa-nacionales
http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/index.html
 http://www.mda.mil/
 http://www.un.org/disarmament/convarms/Milex/
Further specific information:
 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/rankorder/2034rank.html
 http://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/transfers/publications/links/research_org
Articles related to the topic:
 http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/D8SkcXQ5MMsf2djmFPVZ3M/Declining-militaryexpenditures-and-rising-risks.html
 http://globenewswire.com/newsrelease/2013/10/31/585516/10055526/en/Forecast-International-Expects-DefenseSpending-to-Project-Upward-Across-Asia-Pacific-Region.html
 http://breakingdefense.com/2012/03/the-military-imbalance-how-the-u-soutspends-the-world/
 http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/border-patrol-dronesbeing-borrowed-by-other-agencies-more-often-than-previouslyknown/2014/01/14/5f987af0-7d49-11e3-9556-4a4bf7bcbd84_story.html
Topic 2: Prohibition of development of new types of weapons of mass destruction
Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) are here defined as chemical, biological, radiological,
nuclear, or explosive weapons with a large scale impact on people, property, and/or the
environment.
In 1968 the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, otherwise known as the
Non-Proliferation Treaty, was opened for signature. It was and remains to date a landmark
international treaty and a total of 190 parties have joined. It entered into force in 1970, and
was extended indefinitely in 1995. Its objectives are to prevent the spread of nuclear
weapons, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the
goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament. To further
the goal of non-proliferation, the Treaty establishes a safeguards system under the
responsibility of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The Treaty promotes
cooperation in the field of peaceful nuclear technology and equal access to this technology
for all States parties, while safeguards prevent the diversion of fissile material for weapons
use.
http://www.un.org/disarmament/WMD/Nuclear/NPT.shtml
In 1972 the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) was signed. It entered into force on the
26th of March 1975. The BWC was the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning the
development, production and stockpiling of an entire category of weapons of mass
destruction. In 1986 the Second Review Conference worked to prevent and reduce
ambiguities, doubts, and suspicions between States in order to improve international
cooperation with regard to the field of peaceful biological activities. States Parties provided
annual reports on specific activities related to the BWC including: data on research centres
and laboratories; information on vaccine production facilities; information on national
biological defence research and development programmes; declaration of past activities in
offensive and/or defensive biological research and development programmes; information
on outbreaks of infectious diseases and similar occurrences caused by toxins; publication of
results and promotion of use of knowledge and contacts; information on legislation,
regulations and other measures.
http://www.un.org/disarmament/WMD/Bio/
Another, more concrete, example of the reduction of weapons of mass destruction can be
seen in 1991 when the Security Council adopted the United Nations Security Council
Resolution 687, which set the terms with which Iraq had to comply after losing the Gulf War.
As a part of these terms, Iraq was obliged to destroy all chemical and biological weapons of
mass destruction, as well as ballistic missiles, with a range greater than 150 kilometres. Not
only did the resolution end the Gulf War, it also marked a step away from weapons of mass
destruction.
In 1992, after 12 years of negotiations the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) was
adopted by the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. The CWC entered into force on the
29th of April 1997. It is the first disarmament agreement negotiated within a multilateral
framework that provided for the elimination of an entire category of weapons of mass
destruction under universally applied international control. As a preparatory measure for the
CWC, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was established
with the responsibility to prepare detailed operation procedures and to put into place the
necessary infrastructure for the permanent implementing agency provided for in the
Convention.
http://www.un.org/disarmament/WMD/Chemical/
As technology improves and scientific research reaches new heights, the development of
new types of weapons of mass destruction is dangerous and is a development this
committee seeks to prohibit by debating and resolving possible solutions. One of the first
questions that must be addressed is where scientific research turns into weapon design, and
what exactly new weapons of mass destruction could be. A stress on compliance with nonproliferation, arms limitation and disarmament agreements and commitments is important,
as emphasized by the UN as well. Failure by States Parties to comply with agreements made
regarding disarmament to which they are parties, do not only adversely affect the security of
States Parties, but could also create security risks for other States. Therefore cooperation
amongst States and respect for agreements is key to ensure the prohibition of development
of new types of weapons of mass destruction is effective and feasible.
For further reference please see:
UN Action against weapons of mass destruction:
 http://www.un.org/disarmament/WMD/Bio/
 http://www.un.org/docs/scres/1991/scres91.htm (includes link to Security Council
Resolution 687)
 http://www.un.org/en/conf/npt/2005/npttreaty.html (Non-Proliferation Treaty)
 http://www.un.org/disarmament/WMD/Nuclear/NPT.shtml
 http://www.un.org/disarmament/WMD/Chemical/
 http://www.opcw.org/
Historical and further information:
 http://www.globalization101.org/weapons-of-mass-destruction/
 http://www.dtra.mil/Research.aspx
Articles related to the topic:
 http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/sep/18/inside-the-ring-syria-iraq-andweapons-of-mass-des/?page=all
 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/oct/07/usa.iraq1