Topic:
Country: Italy
Delegate Name: Elexis Soukal
Following World War One military budgets began to increase drastically worldwide, and since then many countries have been gradually increasing their budget. Many developed countries spend upwards of 40 billion dollars on their yearly budget. Political variables are indicators of whether the political circumstances or the political ideology of the leadership will influence military spending. Geographical variables also reflect the cost of defending a country, as a larger territory will require a larger budget. With the increasing budget, funds are being taken from other government programs, leaving countries with higher socioeconomic problems in disarray. However, governments feel the need to spend more when they see what their adversaries are spending. When one country starts stocking up on war supplies, missiles, and nukes others feel they need to do the same to defend themselves. Governments have long pursued ways to reach a global agreement on reductions in military expenses. Proposals in the United Nations (UN) focused on countries with large militaries to reduce costs to free up funds for development aid. Proposals for cutting military spending did not occur due to disagreements between countries. The proposals led to the development of the UN Standardized Instrument for Reporting Military Expenditures in 1981, later renamed the United Nations Report on Military Expenditures (MilEx), It promotes the reporting of military expenditures by countries, fostering transparency and trust between nations. MilEx also will offer valuable insights into military spending trends, playing a role in enhancing global trust and security.
Italy recognizes the importance of setting firmer standards for military budgeting and will work towards the limitation of military budgets and the allocation of those funds into public spending. As of 2021, Italy has a military budget of 32 billion dollars, with 20 billion going into defense alone. Italy ranks in the top 15 countries in military spending. Due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Italy has increased its budget for securing protection from Germany or other neighboring countries. Italy actively participates in crucial military-related treaties, emphasizing its commitment to global security and disarmament. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) reflects Italy’s dedication to curbing the spread of nuclear weapons, with a commitment to promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy while preventing the development and dissemination of nuclear weapons. Additionally, Italy is a party to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), signaling its commitment to eliminating the threat posed by chemical weapons by prohibiting their development, production, acquisition, and use. The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) is another significant treaty to which Italy is a signatory, pledging to prevent the development and use of biological weapons. Italy’s participation in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE Treaty) underscores its dedication to transparency and stability in conventional arms, originally focusing on Europe and later evolving to address contemporary security challenges. Furthermore, Italy has signed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), contributing to global efforts to halt nuclear testing and advancing nuclear disarmament. In summary, Italy’s involvement in these treaties demonstrates its proactive stance in addressing specific weapons categories, fostering international cooperation, and contributing to broader efforts for global security and peace.
The Republic of Italy urges the United Nations to take a more specific approach to tackling the limitations of military budgeting to reduce the outbreak of war and to increase the standards of living for many countries. Italy recommends creating a sub-committee of the Disarmament and International Security Committee that will focus solely on the construction and maintenance of proper military budgets. This will ensure that countries are fully transparent about their military spending and prevent countries from stockpiling war supplies. As budgets are not one size fits all this committee will also be determining the budget sizes for different countries, depending on the size of the country and the size of the population. Countries that are willing to set firmer military budgeting strategies should help to convince others to agree. It is prominent that actions to limit military budgets are set in place now to ensure that it does not become a larger issue. Italy is willing to help budget the creation of the sub-committee and limit its own military budget.
