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Saturday 20 February 2010

DISEC - Saturday Afternoon


By Alex Webb

A draft resolution sponsored by six states including Russia, Israel, Yemen and the Cote d'Ivoire was discussed this afternoon. Earlier in the day, a resolution was voted down which, whilst calling for the establishment of working groups to encourage disarmament of small groups, rather hazily encouraged greater “transparency in [the] international trade of small arms”. Curiously, this failed resolution also recommended the providing of incentives for armed groups to “give away” their weapons voluntarily. Hopefully this was not intended to direct arms to less fortunate militant groups.

The draft resolution tabled later in the afternoon, which amongst its signatories also counted Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, Liberia and Lebanon (whose presence caused some merriment) as well as three others, sought to encourage member states to fight against terrorism, whilst recommending an increase in the remit of the Office of Disarmament (ODA). It suggested the fostering of financial aid for those in need of it in, and an augmentation of trade controls. The signatories and sponsors each expressed individually their support for the motion, with India, a signatory, commending the presence of both “a carrot and a stick”. New Zealand, a non-signatory, was also eager to point out the strength of the resolution.

Despite Kuwait's reservations about a failure to incorporate the terms of other treaties, there was otherwise a remarkable consensus across the Middle East in support of the draft resolution, with Israel aligning itself with other nations in the region. Other nations did express doubt about the motivations behind the resolution, with Indonesia in particular lambasting Russia for encouraging restrictions on small arms whilst benefiting economically from the trade in other defence munitions. Voting will conclude on the draft resolution tomorrow morning.

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