Topic:
Country: Tunisia
Delegate Name: Pranav Mudhas
With many advancements in the world of technology, weapons have been enhanced, making them more unstable and dangerous than ever before. Within that category, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) have taken a new perspective. An IED is a “homemade bomb” that is created to destroy, incapacitate, harass or distract. Because they are improvised, IEDs can come in many forms, ranging from a small pipe bomb to a sophisticated device capable of causing massive damage and loss of life. IEDs can be carried or delivered in a vehicle; carried, placed, or thrown by a person; delivered in a package, or concealed on the roadside; this makes all IEDs incredibly dangerous. The United Nations must create a statement of how to effectively prevent the use of IEDs, identify and apprehend the perpetrators of IED attacks and mitigate the damage caused by them.
As a country that suffers from IED attacks, Tunisia recognizes the need for immediate action to counter the use of IEDs. Recently, an improvised explosive device cost the life of four Tunisian soldiers patrolling in the mountain region near the Algerian border. This IED was placed by an Islamist militant group, that has made a base in the mountainous Moghila area, near the impoverished city of Kasserine. The Tunisian army has been fighting this small but persistent militant threat for years. This is one example of a militant group using IEDs as an act of terror.
Tunisia welcomes the efforts of those working to remove land mines, despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Continued humanitarian action is necessary to save civilian lives and clear thousands of acres of land from danger. Organizational and regional efforts in this area, have had marginal progress with this and all the achievements so far have been outpaced by continuing challenges, and lives remain endangered around the globe. Further, the spread of terrorism limits the efficacy of these efforts, prevents the achievement of peace and stability, impedes the international community’s ability to offer humanitarian relief and aid and prevents the return of internally displaced persons to their homes. Tunisia calls on all Member States to abide by human rights and international humanitarian law, to refrain from using explosive devices, and to provide any maps detailing the location of such devices to facilitate their removal and urges The Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC) to create a way that IEDS can be effectively prevented, perpetrators can be properly identified and apprehended and the damage from IEDs can be mitigated.
