Topic: 2026 – Proliferation of Ballistic Missiles
Country: Sierra Leone
Delegate Name: Evan Rentsch
Committee: Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC)
Topic: Proliferation of Ballistic Missiles/Verification of Disarmament
Delegation: Sierra Leone
School: Midland High School
Proliferation of Ballistic Missiles
While Sierra Leone does not possess Ballistic Missiles, it has been known to work against other powers possessing them. In 2010, the Sierra Leone National Commission on Small Arms Act (SLeNCSA) was established to “regulate and supervise the manufacture, trade, and use of small arms and light weapons, their ammunition and other related materials,” (The Sierra Leone National Commission on Small Arms Act, 2010).
Sierra Leone believes that it is important to sustain the generational existence of the human race and to promote national and international goals. Sierra Leone aligns with the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) which aims to advance the interests of developing countries like Sierra Leone, including to recommend nuclear disarmament and non proliferation of nuclear weapons. Sierra Leone believes that living in a world without nuclear weapons would assure Africa, as well as every other non-nuclear nation, a more sustainable and bright economic and political future, as well as free from catastrophe.
The Sierra Leone Commission on Arms and Ammunitions Act (SLeCAA) was enacted to repeal the Sierra Leone National Commission on Small Arms Act in 2023. SLeCAA aimed to modernize and build on SLeNCSA by also regulating supervision of manufacture, trade, and use of arms, ammunition, and other related materials. This would enhance national security as well as reduce risks from having unregulated arms in circulation in Sierra Leone. This proves that Sierra Leone is all for the non-proliferation of ballistic missiles and is attempting to keep the world safe from the destruction of irreversible consequences that come with the firing of ballistic missiles.
Sierra Leone claims that nuclear states, as well as those who claim to be nuclear-free, should “review their nuclear status inventory accounts commitments, without prejudice, to honor the international monitoring benchmarks, and for clear international vision on the Nuclear Weapon capabilities,” (Permanent Mission of the Republic of Sierra Leone to the United States April 2024). This would make nuclear arms a more transparent matter and turn ballistic weapons into a safer topic.
One of Sierra Leone’s most significant contributions to the non-proliferation of ballistic missiles was the ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Sierra Leone in September of 2024. As one of 71 nations to ratify this treaty, Sierra Leone believes that this will lead to the end of the “long impasse in multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations,” (icanw.org). As discussed in the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Sierra Leone to the United Nations, the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is the “cornerstone of the global nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation architecture and a key instrument in the efforts to halt vertical and horizontal proliferation of nuclear weapons an essential foundation for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament.” Nuclear disarmament continues to be Sierra Leone’s highest priority and the total eradication of nuclear weapons is the only possible guarantee of eliminating use and risk of annihilation.
Verification of Disarmament
Sierra Leone, although never having access to ballistic missiles or any nuclear weapons, has done a significant amount of work to verify disarmament. A case study done by Christiana Solomon and Jeremy Ginifer titled Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration in Sierra Leone was very enlightening to the work done in Sierra Leone for disarmament. Effective disarmament demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) in conflict-afflicted states can significantly contribute to reducing chances of conflicts pertaining ballistic missiles and can also act as a “platform for economic, political and social development,” (Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration in Sierra Leone, 2008).
The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), established in 1999 and active for seven years, aimed to implement the Lomé Peace Agreement. This agreement ended the civil war in Sierra Leone by establishing a framework for peace, power-sharing, and the disarmament of combatants. Over the course of UNAMSIL’s active period, it disarmed more than 75,000 combatants, as well as collected over 42,000 weapons and 1.2 million rounds of ammunition. Sierra Leone has been dedicated to disarmament for many years and does not plan to stop.
The DDR process not only disarmed combatants, but also reintegrated ex-fighters back into civilian life. According to the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone, almost 55,000 ex-fighters received reintegration benefits, including skill training programmes, formal education, as well as agricultural, fishery, or entrepreneurial support. After UNAMSIL’s process of disarming and reintegrating a sum of more than 75,000 combatants, the DDR process was declared completed by Sierra Leone’s government in 2004.
