Topic: 2025 – No First Use Policies and Nuclear Disarmament
Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Delegate Name: Anish Kulkarni
Committee: Disarmament & International Security Committee
Topic: No First Use Policies and Nuclear Disarmament
Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
Delegate: Anish Kulkarni, City High Middle School
The global security environment continues to be shaped by the existence of nearly 12,000 nuclear weapons and rising geopolitical tensions. While reductions have occurred since the Cold War, the erosion of arms-control agreements and persistent alert postures heighten the risk of nuclear escalation. In this context, No First Use (NFU) policies have been debated as potential tools to reduce miscalculation, though only China and India currently maintain declared NFU policies.This lack of consensus limits the ability of NFU policies to function as a universal standard.
For the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a country emerging from decades of conflict embedded within the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone, the NFU debate is not abstract. Nuclear fallout, economic destabilization, and humanitarian harms would all carry severe consequences for our nation. Thus,the DRC views discussions around NFU as connected to broader disarmament and risk-reduction efforts, even though its core priority remains the complete elimination of nuclear weapons.
The DRC remains resolute to global and regional non-proliferation frameworks, viewing adherence to said frameworks as an essential instrument to facilitate international peace and domestic stability. As a Non-Nuclear-Weapon State under the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a State Party to the Pelindaba Treaty, and a signatory to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), the DRC rejects any ambitions towards nuclear armament. Further, the DRC accepts comprehensive safeguards administered by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and commitment towards the African Commission on Nuclear Energy (AFCONE), which legally prohibits the development, acquisition, or hosting of nuclear weapons on the continent of Africa. These commitments underscore the DRC’s emphasis on ensuring that all nuclear activities remain strictly peaceful.
The DRC’s engagement within the United Nations in promoting nuclear risk reduction, multilateral disarmament, and negative security assurances reflects its belief in cooperative approaches to nuclear governance. Given the regional security challenges at this time, the DRC strongly emphasizes strong safeguards, transparency and international assistance to prevent nuclear instability from exacerbating vulnerabilities, thereby protecting both regional and its own national security.
The DRC articulates its NFU and disarmament stance through four core principles. Firstly, the DRC views No First Use discussions as relevant to global nuclear-risk reduction. While NFU could, in theory, reduce first-strike incentives, the DRC stresses that such measures must be paired with verification, transparency, and reductions in alert levels to have meaningful impact. Second, the DRC would like to affirm that nuclear weapons have no place in Africa. Strengthening the Pelindaba Treaty and ensuring that Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) ratify to Pelindaba’s Protocols I and II is essential to provide a legally binding security assurance to the DRC and other African non-nuclear-weapon states (NNWS). Thirdly, the DRC insists that NWS satisfy NPT Article VI obligations. The DRC strongly believes that disarmament progress cannot occur if NNWS shoulders the burden of compliance while NWS expands on nuclear modernization programs. Furthermore, equitable access to peaceful nuclear technologies (especially for agriculture and energy) is a core principle of the DRC’s foreign policy. Finally, the DRC emphasizes the importance of strengthening verification, transparency, and material governance. Recognizing regional vulnerabilities, the DRC prioritizes IAEA safeguards, AFCONE capacity-building, and international cooperation to prevent the illicit trafficking of radioactive materials.
In this committee, the DRC urges the strengthening of AFCONE-IAEA cooperation on safeguards training, nuclear forensics, and border security. The DRC also calls on Nuclear-Weapon States to meet their Article VI obligations to the NPT by accelerating disarmament, increasing transparency on nuclear doctrines, and halting destabilizing modernization programs. Further, the DRC continues to encourage states to adhere to the TPNW. The DRC remains committed to working collaboratively with fellow delegations to promote effective nuclear governance and contribute to lasting international peace and security.
Bibliography:
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Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor. “Democratic Republic of the Congo.” Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor, https://banmonitor.org/profiles/democratic-republic-of-the-congo. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025
United Nations General Assembly. Official Records – General Assembly First Committee, A/C.1/78/PV.13 (Statements, 16 Oct. 2023). UN Digital Library, https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/4067963/files/A_C.1_78_PV.13-EN.pdf. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025
International Atomic Energy Agency. African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (Pelindaba Treaty). IAEA, https://www.iaea.org/publications/documents/treaties/african-nuclear-weapon-free-zone-treaty-pelindaba-treaty. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025
United Nations. “Statement Attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on the Conclusion of the Second Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.” UN Secretary-General, 1 Dec. 2023. https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2023-12-01/statement-attributable-the-spokesperson-for-the-secretary-general-the-conclusion-of-the-second-meeting-of-states-parties-the-treaty-the-prohibition-of-nuclear-weapons. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization. “Democratic Republic of Congo becomes the latest Annex 2 State to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear‑Test‑Ban Treaty.” CTBTO, https://www.ctbto.org/resources/for-the-media/press-releases/democratic-republic-congo-becomes-latest-annex-2-state. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025
