Future Course of Diasarmament with Special Emphasis on Nuclear Warfare

(Simulation Country: Argentina)

By:

CARMELO JOHN E. VIDAL, Ph.D.

For several decades, Argentina or officially Argentine Republic, the second

largest country in South America and the eighth-largest country in the world, was
viewed by international community as a potential proliferator and a security risk not
only to its neighboring countries but the world. The truth of the matter is, while the
Republic demonstrates mastery of nuclear technology as it pursues for more than half a
century now peaceful program, which had its eareliest beginnings in 1950 with the
organization of the National Commission for Atomic Energy (CNEA). The program
purported to achieving mastery of the complete nuclear fuel cycle, so as to make the
country independent of foreign suppliers and influence. However, Argentina’s nuclear
program has since eschewed nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons while retaining
an ambitious nuclear energy program. It dismantled its ballistic missile program in the
early 1990s. In fact, the country is now a member of all relevant nonproliferation treaties
and organizations.

More recently, the Argentina reaffirmed its commitment to nuclear disarmament

having joined 25 other nations the initiative “International Partnership for Nuclear
Disarmament Verification” (IPNDV) in 2015 towards a complete nuclear disarmament
in a verifiable, transparent and irreversible way.

Argentina has traditionally taken a broad approach to the development of

actions and initiatives in the field of disarmament, non-proliferation, and arms
regulation, areas in which the country has actively participated both at regional and
global level, defending the role of multilateralism and of the United Nations. Argentina
has a long tradition in facing the challenges raised by the many aspects of disarmament
and non-proliferation.

In Argentina's view, weapons of mass destruction constitute one of the main

sources of threats to global stability; this is the context in which Argentina has become a
party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which is
considered the cornerstone of the non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament regime.
 Indeed, disarmament, as pointed out in the Parliamentary handbook on
implementation of Securing our Common Future, the UN Secretary-General’s
disarmament agenda released in 2018, is a tool to help prevent armed conflict and to
mitigate its impacts when it occurs. Measures for disarmament are pursued for many
reasons, including to maintain international peace and security, uphold the principles of
humanity, protect civilians, promote sustainable development, and prevent and end
armed conflict. Just as the notion of security has evolved to place humans at the centre,
the objectives and language of disarmament need to evolve in order to contribute to
human, national and collective security in the 21st Century.

Further, it was highlighted that Securing our Common Future is divided into
four key strands: Disarmament to save humanity; Disarmament that saves lives;
Disarmament for future generations; and Strengthening partnerships for disarmament.
Hence, disarmament contributes to security and sustainable development.

In keeping with these aims, Argentina has been pursuing peaceful nuclear
activities for more than 60 years now, in accordance with the highest safety standards
and for exclusively peaceful purposes. Therefore, the country prioritizes and promotes
negotiation processes´ within existing fora, in order to prevent a potential disruption of
the balance and integrity of the current system in the long term concomitant to
complete nuclear disarmament.

For the Argentine Republic, guided by the three pillars of the Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT) firmly believes that progress in the field of disarmament will lead to
improvement on the international situation as regards non-proliferation and place
nuclear development for peaceful purposeswithin an adequate framework of reliability
and transparency. In that context, Argentina reiterates its support for any measure that
promotes the complete elimination of nuclear weapons under the principles of
transparency, irreversibility and verification of nuclear disarmament measures for its
people, the humanity, and the world.