REPUBLIC OF TURKEY PAPER POSITION

DISEC COMITEE

REPUBLIC OF TÜRKIYE

JAIME MORENO PALOMERO

ABOUT THE COUNTRY

Turkey, a country of Islamic tradition and culture, is a secular Republic. It is a
member of NATO, the Council of Europe and a candidate for the European Union since
2005.
The Turkish Armed Forces are, in number of troops, the second largest in the
Atlantic Alliance with more than one million soldiers [350,000 total of the Army, Navy
and Air Force; 378,000 reservists; 205,000 paramilitaries (Gendarmerie and National
Guard)]. It is estimated that defence spending actually absorbs around 4% of GDP.
Since the founding of the Republic, the Armed Forces have been given the role
of guarantor of republican principles against possible internal enemies and that of
ensuring the security of a country with a strategic geographical location.
Its policy is based on the need to maintain proper external balances, together
with our main commitment to Turkish foreign policy, accession to the European Union.
Turkey makes the most of its role, as a hinge country or bridge between civilizations.

TOPIC A: NON-STATE ACTORS PURSUIT OF CBRN WEAPONS

Turkey is an emerging regional power that under the helm of President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan is determined to play a relevant role in the international sphere of the
present and also of the future. One of Ankara's chess pieces on the geostrategic
chessboard is that it has a huge domestic military industrial sector that feeds and keeps
its powerful land, naval, air and security forces operational.
Non-state actors, in the Middle East, are terrorist groups or militias that
threatened regional stability, operating according to the interests of different employers
in their confrontations through interposed agents. Today, we are faced with a much
more complex phenomenon. When analyzing long-term trends, it is necessary to fit the
different dynamics operating at the international level and at the regional level, since
they do not always go in unison. Participation in international arms control,
disarmament and non-proliferation efforts, adherence to relevant international
instruments and their full implementation are important elements of Türkiye's national
policy in these areas. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to ensure coordination
among relevant national institutions.
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Turkey has signed several treaties on CBRN weapons. First, the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, followed by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty,
which aims to prevent the modernization of existing nuclear weapons and the
production of new ones. It also participates in the Chemical Weapons Convention
(CWC): the production and use of chemical weapons are prohibited.
For Turkey it is necessary to raise awareness at the international level, of the use
of CBRN weapons and be able to participate in current conventions, creating dialogue
between countries, all with the aim of analyzing the non-state actors mentioned, and
reducing the use of weapons that endanger the peace of all. Turkey promotes the use
of weapons at the national level. Minimize the arms trade and acquisition within the
country itself, by actors that do not belong to the State, responding to its own
manufacture, and with responsible use. Being one of the countries that exports the most
weapons.

TOPIC B: BORDER SECURITY AND ARMS TRAFFICKING

The United Nations Global Strategy is undoubtedly to improve border and customs
controls to prevent and detect illicit trafficking in chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear
weapons and materials.
Turkey, which guarantees the security of its borders and the stability of its neighbors,
does not want the territory of another country. Erdogan said Turkey's new counter-
terrorism and cross-border operation in northern Iraq, Operation Claw-Lock, aims to
"clear Iraqi lands of terrorists and ensure the security of our borders." Turkey promotes
active aid between countries in the most vulnerable areas.
Prevention and response mechanisms should be put in place jointly coordinated
by the agencies involved, including the police, customs and border control services,
public health professionals, the military, intelligence services and those responsible for
environmental management.
This work is essential to combat the proliferation of weapons and their misuse.
The origin is given by some criminal arms groups that emerged in the
southeastern part of Turkey. Turkey has demonstrated its ability to set standards and
participate in conventions regulating arms trafficking. However, it is important for
Turkey to sell arms always in exchange for some benefit of public interest. Despite some
not-so-good efforts by the Turkish government, Turkey passed a law that facilitates the
intervention of associations and NGOs.

The recommendations would be:

• Promote transparency of major conventional weapons systems.

• Identification of arms trafficking links.
• Establish, where they do not exist, laws, regulations and administrative
procedures for effective control of arms production.
• Control of diversion of weapons to unauthorized recipients.
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• Proposals and activities of common approaches to address them.

• Combating the smuggling of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear
materials
• Ensure that advances in biotechnology are not used for terrorist purposes
• Improve coordination among countries when planning a response to terrorist
attacks committed with chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons or
materials.

We must be prepared and act with greater awareness, knowledge and understanding of
threats and risks.