Topic: 2024-Indiscriminate Weapons
Country: Viet Nam
Delegate Name: Devansh Agrawal
Indiscriminate Weapons are deadly means of destruction that cannot differentiate between civilian and military targets, killing regardless of position, age, and innocence. These include weapons like landmines, biological agents, and nuclear weapons. Nuclear Weapons, in particular, raised huge concerns regarding the death of an estimated 200,000 civilians. Chemical Weapons like mustard gas and chlorine gas brutally killed soldiers in World War 1 along with landmines in no-manlands. Indiscriminate weapons were banned according to the Geneva Convention. Landmines, however, were still regularly used during the many facets of the Cold War. Countries affected are Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine, Ethiopia, etc. In 1997, the Ottawa Treaty was written which banned all use of landmines. 133 countries signed it but major countries like the US, India, and Russia didn’t sign the treaty, meaning they still hold the right to use them in the event of war.
Vietnam has suffered greatly due to Indiscriminate Weapons like landmines during the Vietnam War. During the war, both the US and Vietnam deployed millions of mines with varying purposes including area denial, an anti-tank weapon, and a trap during guerilla-style warfare. Nearly 1/3 of US military deaths were caused by these mines. There have been an estimated 35 million landmines and 300,000 tons of unexploded ordinance. Over 40,000 people have died from these weapons after the war ended in 1975. The US has provided funding to help remove some unexploded bombs and programs like CWD and UNMAS have helped slowly chip away at the amount of landmines. Other organizations that are helping include PeaceTrees Vietnam, which is trying to solve the aftermath of the Vietnam War. However, there are still over 10 million unremoved landmines in the countryside which pose a huge threat to the people of Vietnam.
The Socialist Republic of VietNam urges the community to take greater care in removing existing landmines in affected areas to reduce further humanitarian suffrage. Vietnam recommends programs to effectively identify and remove any dangerous ordinances. Locals should be educated to inform them of the potential dangers, which can also help avoid further deaths. Furthermore, all indiscriminate weapons must be banned, as stated in the Ottawa Treaty.
