Topic: 2024-Indiscriminate Weapons
Country: Sweden
Delegate Name: Luke Roberts
By definition, indiscriminate weapons are weapons that cannot be directed at a certain military target. Any person, soldier or civilian, can suffer from the effects of these weapons. The vast use of these indiscriminate weapons paired with the increase in weapon potency leads to a deadly combination. Large indiscriminate weapons have caused considerable casualties against unintended targets, which are civilians. There were an estimated 5500 mine casualties in 2023, a great number of these being civilians. Certain types of indiscriminate weapons (biological and chemical weapons) have been banned as of 1989, however many remain in the field. Later, in 1997, the Ottawa treaty banned the use of mines. While the banning of these deadly weapons is a step in the right direction, countless numbers of indiscriminate weapons are still in the field. The removal of these weapons is key to limiting civilian casualties as the vast majority of casualties are administered by these weapons, oftentimes decades later. The main issue with these weapons is their continued effectiveness long after the conflict they were deployed for has subsided. For example, mines deployed in WW2 are still being deactivated in the French countryside to this day.
Throughout the past century, Sweden has been quite vocal on this issue, and has stated in the past that the destruction of indiscriminate weapons must be observed to ensure that it is done. Sweden stands by this notion and further states that inspections of the destruction of indiscriminate weapons must be present to verify that this has taken place, regardless of country or international status. To go along with this, sharing information globally on these weapons could be beneficial to the international quest to remove these deadly weapons from civilian areas. If improved methods of removal are developed, they must be spread globally to address the international concern for civilian deaths from indiscriminate weapons. Sweden proposes the creation of an international committee to tackle this issue of destruction and removal of these weapons. There are many innocent victims and these people are unfortunately often the victims of the conflicts of their grandparents.
As stated previously, the key to dealing with indiscriminate weapons is limiting their use and impact on civilian lives. The UN needs to strengthen international laws and regulations regarding the use of these weapons. Sweden believes that updated international laws regarding these indiscriminate weapons should be put in place, and measures should be developed to provide international verification that these procedures are followed.
