Topic: 2024-Indiscriminate Weapons
Country: Iran
Delegate Name: Meira Gable
Modern technology has drastically changed the way warfare is done. In particular, indiscriminate weapons have the ability to breach the legal classifications of combatants and civilians leading to a disproportionate number of unnecessary civilian deaths in conflict zones. Indiscriminate weapons are defined under humanitarian law as “weapons that are by nature indiscriminate are those that cannot be directed at a military objective or whose effects cannot be limited as required by international humanitarian law.” (IHL Databases). In other words, the use of indiscriminate weapons in warfare is characterized by the inability to distinguish between civilians and enemy forces in their deployment.
As a nation in the Middle East, the Islamic Republic of Iran is no stranger to conflict. Because of this, Iran understands the necessity for sovereignty in states’ own actions in wartime. During the Iran-Iraq war, Iraq attacked Iran using chemical weapons. All efforts were made to avoid retaliation, but Iran had to use its own discretion to protect its citizens. With that being said, indiscriminate weapons do pose an unprecedented danger for civilians that must be addressed. Iran has joined numerous conventions to reduce the impact of indiscriminate weapons including the Organization on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) of which Iran is an Executive Council member. Iran has also been a member of the Conference on Disarmament (CD) since 1979.
While Iran acknowledges the dangers indiscriminate weapons present, the nation firmly believes that action within states should be left entirely up to individual nation’s governments. In particular internal policy decisions regarding indiscriminate weapons are no business of the international community. However, the UN does have a place in preventing indiscriminate weapons from exacerbating conflicts. First of all, a distinction must be made between conflict and non-conflict zones. The UN only has a place in regulating conflict between countries, internal affairs are the business of that state alone. Second of all, in instances of war, if one nation uses chemical warfare or other indiscriminate weapons against another, the international community cannot in good conscience prevent the nation from retaliating and protecting their own people from harm. With those limitations in consideration, the Islamic Republic of Iran is looking forward to working with the delegates of the Disarmament and International Security Committee to decrease the detrimental impacts of indiscriminate weapons on the global community.
