The Disarmament Acts and Efforts by the Worldwide Organizations

When the nuclear age emerged, worries of resource depletion towards mass-destruction weaponry were apparent. In 1945, Hiroshima and Nagasaki affirmed those concerns, making it clear that multilateral treaties will be needed to achieve peace. Initial attempts at allowing all States to have nuclear weapons within reasonable safeguards failed, and, by 1949, the former Soviet Union and the USA had already built considerable stockpiles. The mere existence of nuclear weapons poses a threat to the global community; one can kill millions, demolish an entire city, and plague future generations. Scientists agree that nuclear weaponry poses a legitimate existential threat, and with some countries refusing to join non-proliferation treaties (namely Israel, Pakistan, India, and, most recently, North Korea), this threat is becoming more prevalent. In addition, as nuclear weapons are both a product and cause of ever-increasing Cold War-esque tensions between nuclear-armed States, a problematic cycle emerges, one that the UN has yet to find a way to resolve. This poses a challenge to NATO, as NATO nations have been compelled, by matters of security, to take part in nuclear-sharing operations and active armament of non-nuclear member states, as well as test runs for nuclear attacks aimed at the Russian Federation.

The UN, a peace organization, strives to abolish foreswear and development of nuclear weapons and their terrorism threats. Its Disarmament Commission’s agenda is clear: non-proliferation of all States and the prevention of another Cold War. NATO, however, is a military alliance. It operates according to outside nuclear threats; on low nuclear alert, discharge of nuclear weapons is unauthorized. Nevertheless, military leadership of NATO countries must be strengthened to prevent operations that would lead to nuclear war. Many measures have been taken to resolve the issue nuclear non-proliferation: the UN has passed numerous treaties, such as the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which have reasonably prevented nuclear testing and proliferation, but have yet to achieve disarmament of all nations. South Africa renounced its nuclear weapons in 1989, taking the first such step towards nuclear disarmament. France, whose long-term objective is total disarmament, dismantled its fissile material production and test sites, halving its stockpiles. Many more advances are required to achieve total nuclear deactivation. However, there are concerns of security threats if nuclear deactivation projects commence. One such concern is the threat of nuclear warfare against States who would no longer have atomic weapons, considering the presence of nations who have not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. So, the issue of unilateral action arises: multilateral agreements are critical for actual change.