Discourse on Nuclear Weapons Eclipsed in First Committee as Focus Shifts to ‘Pervasive and Long-lasting’ Effects of Conventional Arms

Transferred and traded around the globe, “excessive accumulation and unregulated proliferation” of illicit small arms and light weapons led to devastating consequences, say speakers in the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) as thematic debate on conventional weapons continued. While the world was focused primarily on weapons of mass destruction, the effect of conventional weapons was more insidious, causing more mass casualties and untold suffering around the world, said the representative of Kenya. Armed violence, he added, was a major impediment to surmounting the challenges of building a peaceful society capable of meeting development goals.