Background Guide: Disarmament and International Security Committee
Topic A: Preventing Acquisition of Weapons of Mass Destruction by Radical
Groups
Weapons of mass destruction are incredibly dangerous, even in the hands of the
most stable governments. If so much destructive capability were to fall into the hands of a
radical terrorist group, the threat to all nations would be immense and immediate. With
the prevalence of biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons increasing worldwide,
especially in regions where governments are less predictable and armed conflict is
common, steps must be taken to ensure that WMDs are kept safe from radicals.
A prime example of this concern are the many chemical weapons depots in Syria,
which in the midst of the civil war there are in danger of being stolen by non-state actors
and used without restraint on innocent people. Israel fears that al-Qaeda or other militant
groups could raid one of these depots and cause serious damage. Nations such as the
United States hesitate to call in air strikes on these storage facilities, as this could leave
them even more vulnerable to raids by terrorist groups (Lappin). This is not a new
problem. Following the collapse of the USSR in 1991, there was great concern over the
lax security surrounding much of the former Soviet Union’s nuclear material. Although it
is unlikely that any radical group would be able to steal and activate a full nuclear
missile, the fear is that any amount of stolen nuclear material could be incorporated with
more conventional explosives to make a “dirty bomb”, which lacks the immense power
of a proper nuclear device but can still result in radioactive fallout (O’Neil). Chemical
and biological weapons pose a unique problem, because the materials used in their
production are often used in commercial chemical and biotechnology industries.
Biological weapons especially require only small amounts of material to inflict serious
damage on a population, so the material to make a weapon could be acquired without
arousing much suspicion. For this reason, governments must be constantly vigilant in
guarding the weapons and materials that their countries possess.
Another concern is that WMDs may be passed to radicals willingly by states that
sponsor terrorist groups, such as Iran and Syria. Knowing that these nations have ties to
active terrorist organizations, the international community has taken steps to ensure that
they do not acquire weapons of mass destruction that could then be passed on to terrorist
groups. Their nuclear programs, especially, have been routinely sabotaged by Israel in
order to maintain the security of the region. Nations such as Pakistan and North Korea,
which maintain nuclear programs in relatively unstable environments, are also potential
threats. In an age where independent radical groups can cause just as much damage as
states, a strong international effort must be made to keep the most dangerous weapons out
of terrorist hands.
Topic B: Reduction of Small Arms Trafficking
Small arms are considered to be any weapons that can be carried by one or two
people, from pistols and submachine guns to mines, grenades, and even small missiles.
By their nature these weapons are easy to conceal and transport, which has allowed for a
black market of small arms to grow and thrive worldwide. Small arms are responsible for
over 50,000 deaths per year (UNODA), from armed rebels attacking civilians in Mali to
gang members shooting law enforcement officers in Chicago.
The majority of small arms is in private hands, and because of this it is impossible
to accurately estimate the number of small arms actually in circulation—although the
total is believed to be almost 900 million. Due to the lack of regulation surrounding the
small arms trade, less is know about these guns than about the global nuclear weapons
supply (Small Arms Survey). Small arms are rarely moved in large, observable
quantities. There are over one thousand weapons manufacturers in over one hundred
countries, any of which could be stolen from or involved in illicit gun trading on a small
scale. Small arms trickle into conflict zones slowly and under the radar, but large
amounts of weaponry can accumulate nonetheless and upset the balance of power in
fragile social and political environments. The problem should be approached at least in
part from the production side, as proper marking and tracing can help to identify trade
routes and finding the sources of leakage of arms into the black market (UNIDIR). Work
must also be done with governments to tighten regulations and security around the legal
arms trade, as many illegal small arms brokers are able to exploit legal loopholes and
falsify documentation to obtain weapons from legitimate suppliers.
The presence of large numbers of small arms can aggravate existing tensions and
turn what could have been peaceful political processes into armed uprisings and civil
wars. Although guns are not the direct cause of these conflicts, it is undeniable that the
casualties resulting from them are markedly higher owing to the prevalence of small
arms. Only be working closely with producers and traders and learning the nuances of the
illegal arms trade will DISEC be able to form plans of action to combat this worldwide
epidemic of violence.
Works Cited
Lappin, Yaakov, “Analysis: Israel on high alert over Syrian WMDs,” The Jerusalem
Post, January 28, 2013, http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Analysis-Israel-onhigh-alert-over-Syrian-WMDs.
O’Neil, Andrew. “Terrorist use of weapons of mass destruction: how serious is the
threat?” Australian Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 57, pp. 99-112. 2003.
Small Arms Survey, http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/.
UNIDIR, “The Scope and Implications of a Tracing Mechanism for Small Arms and
Light Weapons,” 2002.
UNODA, “Small Arms,” http://www.un.org/disarmament/convarms/SALW/.