Topic: 2026 – Verification of Disarmament
Country: Peru
Delegate Name: Chloe Chung
The United Nations verifies disarmament by confirming that a state is complying with disarmament agreements, reducing and eliminating their weapons supply instead of developing it. Verification of disarmament mainly affects national governments, but also the global population by improving overall stability and trust. This takes place universally with major centers located mainly in Europe. Geneva, Switzerland is home to the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) that serves as a hub for arms control and disarmament negotiations. Vienna, Austria is home to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that monitors international cooperation in arms reduction. Despite these programs in place, verification of disarmament proves a prominent challenge due to mistrust between nations. Many view inspections as intrusive, causing clashes with national sovereignty. Monitoring disarmament is very difficult technically and requires substantial funding and resources. Overall, this is a multifaceted issue with challenges that are logistical, political, and technical.
Globally, there have been steps taken to try and fix this problem such as through global treaties like the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). This builds off of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and utilizes the IAEA to verify the physical elimination of such weapons and their programs. The UN has also started programs such as the Vertical Research, Training and Information Center (VERTIC) that research and publish their findings on verification regimes worldwide. However, due to past instances of foul play and tampering, many countries have become hesitant to allow this, dismantling the entire verification process.
Peru maintains a strong stance in favor of global disarmament. Rather than just military, Peru focuses on the human impact of nuclear weapons, stating that they cause catastrophic impacts on citizens and should be prohibited completely. From this stance, treaties such as the TPNW were adopted for the reason of its commitment to international human rights, stating that it “is in line with Peru’s commitment to promoting international peace and security to facilitate the development and growth of our peoples”. (Press statement 2020). Being a member of the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean, (Tlaltelolco), Peru is a nuclear-weapon-free-zone. Peru supports international corporations such as the IAEA to monitor and confirm the destruction of military arsenals. Through collaboration with the Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) numerous programs have been started to help Peruvian armed forces in safely managing their weapons to protect citizens from harm.
The delegation of Peru fully believes that transparency is the key to verification of disarmament. Currently, difficulties in this subject are due to lack of trust, but by utilizing neutral programs, trust between countries can be built back up. This entails submitting reports determining the absence of military arsenal through the UN, further supporting IAEA Additional Protocol. Peru also suggests that International Monitoring Systems (IMS) be implemented around the world to further hold countries accountable to dispose of their chemical and biological weapons. In summary, Peru requests for the support of UN-backed initiatives for worldwide disarmament.
Sources Used:
https://www.vertic.org/
https://www.icanw.org/how_is_the_ban_treaty_verifiable
https://unidir.org/focus-area/disarmament-fora/
https://www.icanw.org/peru#:~:text=Photo:%20ICAN-,National%20position,to%20the%20TPNW%20in%202022.
https://www.iaea.org/bulletin/the-npt-and-iaea-safeguards
https://www.npaid.org/mine-action-and-disarmament/where-we-work/peru#:~:text=This%20project%20aims%20to%20strengthen,in%20the%20Peruvian%20Armed%20Forces.
https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2017-05/features/addressing-verification-nuclear-ban-treaty#:~:text=The%20International%20Atomic%20Energy%20Agency,into%20pursuant%20to%20such%20policies.%22
