Nuclear disarmament must go hand in hand with the halt of the illicit arms trade as well as the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East, the New York-based United Nations Disarmament Commission (UNDC) has said.
At a recent forum, UNDC’s representatives from Africa said small arms and light weapons ‑‑ the equivalent of “weapons of mass destruction” in Africa-- are the cause of conflicts in the region.
Although African countries have strengthened border controls to limit the gun smuggling, states where those arms are manufactured also bear a responsibility to prevent sales to non-State actors, they said, adding that local groups often use such weapons when competing for resources, such as water and grazing lands.
According to speakers from developing countries, weapons disarmament and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) should not prevent the rights of all countries to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes while representatives of the Middle East stressed Arab support for the NPT and called on the global community to help turn the region into a nuclear-weapon-free area./.
At a recent forum, UNDC’s representatives from Africa said small arms and light weapons ‑‑ the equivalent of “weapons of mass destruction” in Africa-- are the cause of conflicts in the region.
Although African countries have strengthened border controls to limit the gun smuggling, states where those arms are manufactured also bear a responsibility to prevent sales to non-State actors, they said, adding that local groups often use such weapons when competing for resources, such as water and grazing lands.
According to speakers from developing countries, weapons disarmament and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) should not prevent the rights of all countries to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes while representatives of the Middle East stressed Arab support for the NPT and called on the global community to help turn the region into a nuclear-weapon-free area./.
