Arms: Nuclear and Conventional

Abstract

The paramount concern of the United Nations has always been the maintenance of peace which at the best of times is difficult; and a world awash with arms has made such a task infinitely harder. If the production and trade in arms can be drastically reduced so that potential and actual antagonists experience serious difficulty in obtaining arms this will make peacekeeping an easier proposition for the United Nations. During the 1990s, and despite attempted embargoes, few combatants ever experienced serious problems in obtaining the arms they required. The United Nations Charter is specific in the responsibilities it assigns to both the General Assembly and the Security Council in the matter of disarmament. The General Assembly has the duty to consider ‘principles governing disarmament and the regulation of armaments’ and can make recommendations to UN members or the Security Council. The Security Council is responsible for formulating ‘plans to be submitted to the members of the United Nations for the establishment of a system for the regulation of armaments’. Over the years of the Cold War, UN efforts to limit armaments or encourage disarmament were constantly thwarted by the massive scale of military preparedness that both sides in that confrontation saw fit to maintain. Even so, various steps were taken by the United Nations during its first 40 years, though these did not bring an end to the arms race.KeywordsSecurity CouncilNuclear WeaponMilitary ExpenditureHuman Development ReportMajor PowerThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.