Frogs in a Well: Resolving the crisis of Small Arms Proliferation

In the United Nations, the main goal of the General Assembly and other collective bodies of nations is to pass resolutions that offer policy recommendations to state governments and the action-charged Security Council. While normally unable to directly cause actions to happen, these resolutions are the result of great negotiation between nations, and can inspire very specific change in the international community. Model United Nations attempts to model this collaboration and develop policy ideas by pitting student delegates (each representing a different country) against one another on the United Nations floor. Take a look at the below resolution, passed in the Disarmament and International Security at the 2014 UCLA MUN Summer Institute. The different nations' policies that went into the development of the resolution is a true widening of perspective, opening up the mouth of our "world view well."

 United Nations

General Assembly

Committee: Disarmament Commission

Topic: Regulating the Illicit Proliferation in Small Arms

Sponsors: Italy, Poland, Spain, Costa Rica, Japan

Signatories: Sweden, Mexico, South Korea, Belgium, Lithuania, Greece, United Kingdom, Brazil, Argentina, Australia

Keeping in mind the Arms Trade Treaty as originally signed, especially articles 7 & 8 in regards to the import and export of small arms,

Recognizing the individuality of countries and the need for a resolution that properly addresses the subtle variances in nations’ policies,

Recalling the Charter of the United Nations article 26, which established the need for an arms regulation system, and article 51, highlighting the inherent right of individual self-defense for international peace and security,

Affirming the sovereignty of individual states in the right to bear arms,

Considering the role of small arms export in arms-producing countries as a valuable industry

Highlighting the impact of the UN Firearms Protocol in declaring the illegal manufacture of small arms a criminal offense,

1. Urges the establishment of realistic goals in working toward small arms disarmament by:

1. reducing small arms production by 10% every 5 years for the next 25 years to work for gradual complete disarmament,
2. creating an international body tasked with overseeing stockpile reduction,
3. mandating that all member states of the international body report back to the committee annually on disarmament progress;

2. Recognizes the inability of countries to impose anti-proliferation measures and provides     financial support to countries that need it by:

a. Reasserting the points previously stated by the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT),

b. Further proposing the implementation of an international tracing system:

i. amends the jurisdiction of the UN International Tracing Instrument by increasing     the consequences to states for refusal to cooperate with the terms of the treaty,

ii. promotes transparency and communication between states to facilitate an international movement toward combating the illegal trade;

3. Implements the Arms Recycle Program:

a. In which individuals turn-in guns to their respective governments which then melts and recycles them into useful products:

i. fulfills the demand for jobs in the industry,

ii. increases economic development and independence as recycling plants will be constructed directly in the affected countries;

b. In which governments will incentivise individuals with monetary compensation,

i. requests funds from NATO, the European Union, and the United Nations General Assembly to implement this program,

c. In turn, the UN will build infrastructure to governments in exchange for reaching a target number of arms;

4. Proposes the development of a guns registration system in all arms-producing countries

a. Functioning at the site of arms producing factories in order to prevent the transfer of guns outside of the country before registration,

b. Designates a serial number for every small arm in production in order to track the distribution of individual small arms.

5. Recommends the implementation of legislation which would increase the punishment for owning or possessing any illegal small arm