Topic: Countering the Threat Posed by Improvised Explosive Devices
Country: Turkey
Delegate Name: Mr. Nadir Hamid
School: Forest Hills Eastern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Turkey position papers GLIMUN 2017 committees
Improvised Explosive Devices otherwise known as IEDs are commonly used to threaten countries in the 21st Century. In this century, “The Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) said on Wednesday that 13,340 civilians were killed and injured by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in 2011, compared to 22,735 last year”.These pieces of destructive technology have harmed many innocent civilians. These IEDs are small enough to be concealed, therefore making them deadlier than ever. Although commonly used in the mid-1900s these destructive weapons are making a comeback and are deadlier than ever before. It is essential that the Disarmament and International Security Committee addresses this issue immediately because as of 2017 many countries citizens such as Turkey, Israel, Afghanistan, India and many more are suffering and looking to the United Nations to fix this dismal issue. This committee needs to come up with new ways to combat these destructive devices, as chaos is spreading in Middle Eastern countries as well as others all across the globe. The current ban on these weapons is being rendered ineffective because in our current state there have been many current attacks on many countries including The Republic of Turkey. Just three years ago “Turkey was plunged into a spiral of violence that took a turn for the worse with each passing day. With two major incidents Sept. 6 and Sept. 8, Turkey was introduced to the destructive potential of roadside improvised explosive devices”. This displays that the ban on these destructive weapons needs to be reevaluated and revised by the UN.
The Republic of Turkey opposes the use of IEDs and want to address this issue as soon as possible as it affecting the lives of citizens in our country. Apart from the attacks that occurred in 2007 and 2015, there have been attacks as recent as 2016. According to Action on Armed Violence “Turkey has experienced several large-scale attacks from the PKK or Kurdistan Workers' Party and The Kurdistan Freedom Hawk otherwise known as the TAK, for example, the suicide car bombing in Ankara on March 13, 2016, which killed 37 civilians and injured 125.” This instance is a reason for the Republic of Turkey to address this issue with high priority. Turkey has taken some action against IEDs such as implementing technologies like counter-IEDs, which strengthen military vehicles and are highly resistant against attacks using these devices. In an effort in March of 2016, the Turkish government headed by the Defense Minister, İsmet Yılmaz, states that more than “222,000 landmines ‘IEDs’ will be cleared, and the country aims to conclude mine clearance operations all across Turkey by 2022”. On the topic of this issue, in 2004 Turkey signed the Ottawa Treaty, a worldwide treaty established on the clearance and banning of anti-personnel mines. Turkey wants to eradicate these weapons and is continuing to work with neighboring countries to limit them once and for all.
The Republic of Turkey wants to see this problem fixed by enforcing the ban set forth by the CCW (The Convention of Certain Conventional Weapons) to a further extent. One way that the problem of IEDs can be reinforced further is with “Amended Protocol – II of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, which serves as the appropriate framework for this issue, as it lays basic ground rules for the cleanup, legality, and disciplinary measures for IEDs.” Another way is to fix this problem is to expand the use the technologies such as counter-IEDs by equipping them on more military vehicles as well providing them to more government based agencies. The Republic of Turkey looks to the UN and other allies to combat the proliferation of improvised explosive devices in 2017 and further years to come.
