MD is a diplomat with 12 years of experience, currently working in nuclear and disarmament affairs.
“Since wars begin in the minds of men and women, it is in the minds of men and women that the defences of peace must be constructed”
UNESCO Constitution
Disarmament as a vision
We live in a world where spiritual vision and aspirations are still behind reality, and disarmament is part of that dynamics.
The UN Charter holds the vision on this:
“Article 1
The Purposes of the United Nations are:
1. To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace;
2. To develop friendly relations among nations […]
3. To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems […]
4. To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.
More specifically, one of the most relevant documents of the disarmament world is the final document of the (first) Special Session on Disarmament or SSOD-1 (1978). Despite the Cold War, countries agreed on specific disarmament goals that years later led to several treaties, such as those on chemical weapons, biological weapons, arms trade, nuclear non proliferation or tests, etc. There are new challenges today (i.e., firearms violence, artificial intelligence or a nuclear disarmament treaty), but much of what can be negotiated has already being identified and discussed years ago. The UN Secretary General’s Agenda for Disarmament is a more contemporary example of what can be done.
The current crisis
However, as it is well known, the UN system is facing a power crisis, as humanity is experiencing a crisis, and this conditions effective results on disarmament. With diplomacy still organized around nations, almost all diplomats attend the meetings with instructions from their capital, instructions which are part of a broader national strategy that does not change much along time. There is a lot of space for the mind and pre-structured statements, and little space for the heart. National interests come before a more global approach. Nations still consider they are in charge and problems must be solved at their dimension.
The result is what we see today: there are at least 101 armed conflicts being waged in the world1, practically one out of every two countries. Global military expenditure is on the rise, with a record of $2.13 trillion in 20212, mostly concentrated by a handful of countries whose weapons are enough to blow up the planet several times. The Conference on Disarmament has not been able to reach consensus on negotiations since 1997, and the war in Ukraine has expanded political differences and stagnation to almost all disarmament forums. Most recently, even human survivability has been put at stake, with the idea of a nuclear war being mentioned by government officials from nuclear weapons states.
The motivations behind this reality can be understood: we are dealing with the survival fear of nations and the “defense” built to face it. At the root lies the illusion of separation, where mistrust gives space to a feeling of threat to which more military power looks like the most “reasonable” answer.
On the contrary, dialogue in bilateral meetings (both technical and political), regional or multilateral forums, high-level visits, confidence-building measures and disarmament negotiations seem to loose ground. The solutions are still there, but the energy to catalyze change is not. All this accounts for a crisis with no traditional solution within reach, something that disturbs all sensitive human hearts.
Towards Peace?
A spiritual perspective tells us that, in order to move out from this stagnation, we need to unveil a deeper perspective, with Love and Peace at the core of a radical impulse towards change and Peace.
Arguably, no disarmament negotiation alone can solve this. We are in need of an integral plan that deals with disarmament, justice, environment, global debt, hunger and others, topics that can be summed up in the Sustainable Development Goals. A plan that maybe could be agreed on is a UN Global Conference, of which the Paris Peace Forum is an interesting example at the national level3.
In any case, in order to reach that “energetic allowance”, inner contact must kindle human hearts and spark goodwill. At the diplomatic level, we need to look for and support spaces of dialogue, where people can meet and changes happen.
If direct meetings cannot take place, we need to be open for third countries, organizations or mediators to facilitate confidence-building measures and transparency that can gradually dispel negativity and manifest the light of the soul.
The mental complexities and diplomatic stagnation around disarmament must not disappoint us. Possible solutions are there and those involved know them. For those interested, inner support to such events is an important service. For those serving in the diplomatic field, intuition and love are as important as instructions and forms, and every event is an opportunity for energies to come in and dynamize the whole field, triggering unseen commitments and progress.
In the end, humanity is One, and longs for Peace. Let us just allow for that to happen. §
1. The Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, Today’s Armed Conflicts
2. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, World military expenditure passes $2 trillion for first time
3. Paris Peace Forum
