Disarmament Week
Disarmament Week 2022 / 24-30 October /
Article
Disarmament Week
Fr Dr M. D. Thomas
Director, Institute of
Harmony and Peace Studies, New Delhi
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‘Disarmament Week’ is being
celebrated at the level of the United Nations from the 24th to the
30th day of October. The week was declared on 24 October 1978,
during the week-long session on disarmament, on the occasion of the anniversary
of the founding of United Nations. In 1995, the UN General Assembly invited
governments and NGOs, to take an active part in the ‘disarmament week’.
Promoting awareness and better
understanding of disarmament issues and their cross-cutting importance was the
primary purpose of the week. Besides, disarmament helps maintain international
peace and security, uphold principles of humanity, protect civilians, promote
sustainable development, foster confidence and trust among States and prevent
and end armed conflict, wherever and whenever present.
Disarmament is the act of giving away or taking away of weapons. It means reducing, limiting or abolishing weapons. It involves elimination of weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear weapons. History has it that, by and large, countries have pursued disarmament, in view of avoiding conflict, tension and harm. The United Nations, ever since its inception, has played preventive and curative roles as regards disputes, wars and disagreements among nations, crucially so.
It stands to reason that individual nations try to protect their national interests, in line with their sovereign character and dignity. They require military weapons for safeguarding the nation, its people and property. So far, so good! But, disputes can never be solved by wars, but by peaceful means. Therefore, it is the responsibility of all nations to refrain from wars and appropriate dialogue, negotiation, compromise and settlement, which are sustainable, effective and lasting.
Non-use of nuclear weapons is of
utmost importance, considering their destructive capacity and the threat to
humanity involved. Excessive
accumulation of weapons endangers global security and peace, all the more. New
and emerging weapon technologies, such as autonomous weapons, imperil global
security highly and have received increased attention from the international
community in recent years.
Measures for disarmament are
pursued for many reasons, like maintaining international peace and security,
upholding the principles of humanity, protecting civilians, promoting
sustainable development, fostering confidence and trust among States and
preventing and ending armed conflict. Disarmament and arms control measures
help ensure international and human security in the 21st Century and therefore
must be an integral part of a collective, credible and effective security
system.
At Hague Peace Conferences, in 1899 and 1907,
government delegations debated about disarmament and the creation of an
international court with binding powers. It was outright granted that
nation-states cannot disarm into a vacuum. All the same, reducing armaments to
the lowest point, consistent with national safety and enforcement by common
action on international obligations, was made a precise goal in the covenant of
the newly formed League
of Nations, which the signatories
were committed to.
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, in Westminster,
United Kingdom, in 1958, attended by some 5000 people, was a mega event in this
area. On 12 June 1982, one million people demonstrated in New York City’s Central
Park against nuclear
weapons and for an end to
the cold war arms
race. It was the largest
anti-nuclear protest and the largest political demonstration in
American history.
US President John F. Kennedy, in 1961, in a speech
before the UN General Assembly announced the US “intention to challenge the
Soviet Union, not to an arms race, but to a peace race, to advance together,
step by step, stage by stage, until general and complete disarmament has been
achieved”. He went on to call for a general and complete disarmament on the
global level.
The Police disarmament calls for substituting brutal
policing with other amicable systems of public safety and control. There is an
increase of support for police reform, following the George Floyed Pretests, in
favour of reducing police brutality and corruption. Proponents defend the
police disarmament movement with peaceful forms of maintaining public safety.
Disarmament requires being taken to a cultural, social
and ethical realm. The clash of civilizations has to be avoided through
processes of dialogue and interaction. Good will in oneself and towards one
another has to be promoted. War-mongering has to end with immediate effect. Nations
and communities have to learn to live like good neighbours and friends. Let us
drive out the ‘devil of war’ in us and give the ‘God of peace’ a chance, for
good, in favour of good prospects!
On the occasion of ‘Disarmament Week 2022’, rulers and administrators of all nations, along with civilians of all communities, have to resolve to refrain from war-mongering of all sorts and awaken within a kind sentiment towards one another. ‘Disarmament Week’ is a golden occasion for making a ‘u-turn’ for the better, towards sustainable peace on earth, in all areas. Free of war and conflict, the human world will certainly become a more habitable place on earth.
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The author is Director, Institute of Harmony and Peace Studies, New Delhi, and has been committed to cross-cultural perspectives, cross-scriptural values, constitutional values, interfaith relations, communal harmony, national integration and social wellbeing, for the past over 40 years. He contributes to the above cause through lectures, articles, books, video messages, conferences, social interactions, views at TV channels, and the like.
He
could be viewed, listened to and
contacted at the following portals – websites ‘www.mdthomas.in’ (p), ‘https://mdthomas.academia.edu’ (p), ‘https://drmdthomas.blogspot.com’(p) and ‘www.ihpsindia.org’ (o); social media ‘https://www.youtube.com/InstituteofHarmonyandPeaceStudies’ (o),
‘https://twitter.com/mdthomas53’ (p), ‘https://www.facebook.com/mdthomas53’ (p);
email ‘mdthomas53@gmail.com’
(p) and telephone 9810535378 (p).
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