Disarmament and International Security Committee 

Neil Singh 

MinuteMUN XIX March 13 - 15, 2020 

 

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 UMass Amherst International Relations Club & Model United Nations Team 

University of Massachusetts Amherst   

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Introduction 

Dear Delegates, 

 

Welcome to the Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC) 

at MinuteMUN XIX! Here as important representatives of important nation states 

from across the globe, you will be discussing major and sensitive international 

issues regarding global security. Being members of DISEC will put its 

responsibilities of handling “disarmament, global challenges and threats to peace 

that affect the international community and seeks out solutions to the challenges 

in the international security regime” on your collective shoulders. 

My name is Neil Singh, and I will be your chair for the conference. I’m a 

sophomore studying political science and international relations here at the 

University of Massachusetts, Amherst. I have been participating in Model United 

Nations since my freshman year of High School, and it’s played a massive part in 

both the academic and social parts of my life. I was vice chair for SPECPOL at 

MinuteMUN last year, presiding over the topic of Antarctic resource protections, 

but this year will be my first acting as a chair for a committee, so hopefully it will 

be a learning experience for you as much as it will be for me. 

Already, 2020 has shaped up to be a volatile year, starting off with a high 

alert on the Korean peninsula of possible tests, and the escalation exchange 

between the United States and Iran in the first few days of the year. Within the 

chaos, the problem of insurgent groups and security threats worldwide acquiring 

more and more access to small arms has only grown. The proliferation of such 

weapons threatens the sanctity of the right to life and the right to live in freedom 

and dignity across every region in the world, whether it be in primarily developed 

areas or developing. 

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Whether it be the procurement of standard issue weapons in the Middle 

East through raids on exposed or abandoned weapons stockpiles, or false orders 

from supposedly legitimate customers to industrial complexes to acquire guns for 

narco-terrorist groups, it is the duty of the DISEC to combat such proliferation no 

matter where in the world. 

  

Regards, 

Neil Singh 

Problem 

Despite its extraordinary economic potential going into the future, Africa as 

a continent does not receive nearly as much attention as it should in arms control, 

which has allowed terrorist groups like Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab, or the Armed 

Islamic Group of Algeria to conduct much less restrained activities across their 

operational zones. Furthermore, the many civil conflicts that trouble several 

countries on the continent are fueled by a steady supply of Small Arms and Light 

Weapons (SALW), creating additional barriers in peace processes by virtue of 

arming more fighters. 

The violence conducted due to the supply of SALW into the continent is 

responsible for the loss of an estimated $300 billion USD between 1995 and 2005, 

which a figure that has likely only become larger as economies in the region have 

grown while conflict has surged again. Furthermore, the chaos of war prolonged 

by the continued flow of SALW into the hands of rogue state and non-state actors 

have devastated the lives of millions. Nigeria, for example, had 3.3 million 

refugees leave between the years of 2010 and 2014. 

Establishing further entrenchments for arms control to clamp down on the 

flood of weaponry into the hands of aggressive and terrorist actors will require 

delegates to consider out of the box approaches, and to act with care. Africa is the 

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continent with the worst history of colonialism, and thus statements made, or 

actions undertaken must be cooperative with states in the continent and bear in 

mind the immutable sovereignty of each nation. Pan African and regional 

organizations like the Economic Community of Western African States (ECOWAS) 

and the African Union. 

History 

In the aftermath of the Cold War, a renewed focus by the international 

community was placed on Africa, in order to bring development to the world’s 

poorest peoples and end the maelstroms of violence that formed due to the many 

ethnic tensions and the massive influx of armaments from the late USSR’s 

arsenal. The Second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005), the Algerian Civil War (1991 - 

2002), the Somali Civil War (1991 - current), the Burundi Civil War (1993 - 2005), 

and the Congo Wars (1996 - ongoing) are just a few examples of the many conflicts 

that exploded in the aftermath of the unipolar moment. Each was fought with 

weapons that were acquired from the flooded arms market in various legal, 

extralegal and illegal manners. Combating this required the world at large to 

attempt various interventions and joint programs, many of which continue till 

today and are joined by various programs hosted by developed nations, alliances 

like NATO, and the UN itself in the years since then, as conflict has not ceased in 

many parts of the continent. 

The United Nations passed a string of bills to assist regional and state level 

partners in the 1990s and the new millennium, shaped by the UN New Agenda for 

the Development of Africa which was passed in 1991. This took the shape of 

peacekeeping interventions in Burundi, Sierra Leone, the Congo, and many others 

over the decade, of programs established like the UNSCAR to mobilize resources to 

fight SALW proliferation. Slow at first, the depth of violence in the heart of Africa 

with the Rwandan genocide spurred activity in the latter half of the decade, with 

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varying successes leading into 2000. However, as the Global War on Terror began 

in 2001, much of this regulatory and military aid began to focus more on terrorist 

groups within the continent, like Al-Shabaab, Al-Qaeda in Egypt, Boko Haram, and 

others, a state of affairs that continued without much divestment in focus until 

2011. After the NATO removal of President Gaddafi from rule in Libya, and the start 

of the ensuing civil war, international efforts have pivoted to some extent to create 

stability in North Africa and prevent weapons of the Libyan military and other 

groups involved with the war from spilling into other parts of the continent. 

In 2014, the Arms Trade Treaty was negotiated and signed under the United 

Nations, aiming to regulate state sales of armaments. This was intended to further 

the protocols with which sales are made to reduce the possibilities of weapons 

sold by states and companies in signatories being used to start and accentuate 

regional conflicts. This has reflected a willingness on the part of the international 

community to acknowledge that the issue of SALW supply into malicious actors is 

not simply a matter of controlling arms depots and black markets, but also state 

actions and legal transactions. 

Key Questions 

Resolutions in this committee will need to be active in order to catch up to 

the loss of ground the United Nations has seen in its ability to handle arms trade 

and flow within the African continent. However, they will have to grapple with 

the fact that despite not being able to directly intervene against or with states, part 

of the issue is fueled by states by virtue of sales or inability to maintain control 

over weapons stockpiles. 

Furthermore, any resolution will have to navigate the complex relationship 

of African nations to the international community, reaching out to coordinate 

closely with states and organizations like ECOWAS and the African Union. 

 

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● How can the United Nations Disarmament and International Security 

Committee work to better crack down on the interstate black market within 

Africa? 

● What are the steps that can be taken to ensure militaries and paramilitary 

forces are made to behave more accountability with weapons storage? 

● Are there accords that can be reached in order to not only prevent arms 

from reaching insurgent and terrorist groups, but to actively disarm these 

groups? 

● How can the effects of the violence that these weapons have greased the 

wheels for be treated, when understanding that thousands die from 

accidental violent deaths to these weapons outside of conflicts? 

Key Players 

Though many state actors can be interpreted to want the creation of 

stability in Africa to be in their and everyone’s best interests, the intricacies of this 

desire splinters into many different approaches. Major positions include but are 

not limited to: 

1.  Opposition to state regulation: Countries with large arms manufacturing 

sectors often find it in their interest to minimize the amount of regulatory power 

committees and the international community attempts to utilize or coalesce. Such 

countries have and will subtly or overtly oppose the creation of treaties that could 

harm their economic growth from arms sales or flow. 

2.  Immediate arms control: Countries within Africa most affected by the 

violence that is enabled by the flow of SALW into the hands of malicious actors 

have time and again aimed to utilize the mechanisms of the world order to ensure 

that armaments do not continue to flow into their region and that disarmament 

can occur with international backing. 

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3.  Condemnation avoidance: Certain nations are responsible for the flow of 

weaponry into the hands of security threats which will resist the open 

confrontation and condemnation that may flow from the committee if affected 

parties decide to bring their grievances to the foreground of international 

discussion and policymaking. 

Citations 

“United Nations, Main Body, Main Organs, General Assembly.” United Nations,  

United Nations, https://www.un.org/en/ga/first/. 

Ayuba, Caleb, and Gerald Okafor. “The Role of Small Arms and Light Weapons  

Proliferation in African Conflicts.” SSRN Electronic Journal, 2014, 

doi:10.2139/ssrn.2484743. 

United States, Congress, Ayissi, Anatole N., and Ibrahima Sall. “Combating the  

Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons in West Africa: Handbook  

for the Training of Armed and Security Forces.” Combating the Proliferation 

of Small Arms and Light Weapons in West Africa: Handbook for the 

Training of Armed and Security Forces, United Nations, 2005. 

United States, Congress, “Small Arms and Light Weapons: Selected United Nations  

Documents.” Small Arms and Light Weapons: Selected United Nations 

Documents, United Nations, 2008. 

“Arms Control Today.” Small Arms, Large Problem: The International Threat of  

Small Arms Proliferation and Misuse | Arms Control Association,  

www.armscontrol.org/act/2006-06/features/small-arms-large-problem-inte

rnational-threat-small-arms-proliferation-misuse. 

“The UN Role and Efforts in Combating the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light  

Weapons.” United Nations, United Nations, 

www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/un-role-and-efforts-combating-proliferati

on-small-arms-and-light-weapons.