Topic: 2025 – No First Use Policies and Nuclear Disarmament
Country: India
Delegate Name: Rayyan Abu Azine
In August of 1945, the first and only time a new technological weapon was used with such a great level of destruction. It brought an end to the war and also erased the lives of over 200,000 people and affected even more people from nuclear fallout and radiation. Nuclear weapons spare no lives and are indiscriminate when it comes to destruction and devastation. Since then, nuclear warfare has never been more dangerous than right now and poses a great threat to humanity, and will cost millions of innocent lives. This has caused many to use the No First Use policy, which is an agreement and pledge that a nation will not be the first to use nuclear weapons in any conflict and consider retaliation if attacked by nuclear weapons first. No First Use has been made by nations that possess nuclear weapons. NFU policies have offered an idea of peace through minimizing ambiguity on how other nations intend to use their nuclear weapons and international transparency. It promotes global stability by giving no incentive to nations to start a nuclear war.
Many have argued that adversaries can not be seen as credible, and there is no guarantee that foreign adversaries will follow through, and there is no true way of verifying these claims. Even though NFUs advocate for limiting the use of nuclear weapons, it doesn’t actually reduce the number of warheads every country has, meaning that even when not in use, nuclear weapons still pose a great threat. The NFU pledge was first publicly stated by China in 1964 and has been the strongest advocate since, alongside the Republic of India. Countries without the NFU pledge include many G-7 including France, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Russia, and many more.
The Republic of India has approximately 180 warheads among its capabilities to be airborne via French-manufactured Mirage 2000H fighter jets and Land/Sea-based Ballistic Missiles. The Republic of India classifies nuclear weapons as instruments for national/collective security. This has been legitimized through the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1995. The Republic of India strongly believes in the strategic interests to require effective and credible nuclear deterrence and the capability to retaliate need be the right to self-defense and national sovereignty. The Republic of India has been a big advocate of the NFU pledge since the 90s and further solidified in the early 2000s. The Republic of India will invoke measures to counter if posed a threat. India will not be the first to initiate nuclear but will respond with equal or of greater response if prior countermeasures are to fail.
The Republic of India looks forward to working with this committee to prioritize global stability/agreement, transparency with nuclear intention, and alternative solutions prior to nuclear use, while not infringing on nations’ sovereignty and right to self-defense.
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