The First Committee concludes its work for 2024

As another First Committee session draws to a close, it’s challenging to feel positive about the current direction of travel. While longstanding disputes between heavily militarised countries continued to undermine a sense of collective commitment to disarmament, the modest progress made this year was hard won. The UN study on the effects of nuclear war (L.39) can build renewed public understanding of the risks and dangers of nuclear weapons, which in turn can help bolster momentum for their elimination. The international meeting on nuclear justice (L.74) can likewise help draw attention to the very real harms caused by nuclear weapons and help support the work underway for victim assistance and environmental remediation. The consultations on autonomous weapons (L.77) can help elevate the issue among more delegations, ensure a more comprehensive assessment of the risks and challenges posed by such weapons, and build momentum for their prohibition.

None of this work will be easy. It will be undertaken in an increasing volatile and violent world. The re-election of a fascist game show host to the presidency of the most heavily militarised state in the world does not bode well for the pursuit of peace and disarmament. Continued material support for genocide by several Western countries, civil wars and human rights abuses motivated by the pursuit of power in many countries, the modernisation of nuclear weapons, the rampant circulation of small arms and ammunition, the use of chemical weapons, landmines, and cluster munitions, and the relentless development of new ways to kill through technology, kind of takes the wind out of the 77 resolutions agreed over the last week.

More than anything, after five weeks of words, we need to see some action to back it all up. As the Chair of the First Committee, Ambassador Maritza Chan of Costa Rica, said in her closing remarks on Friday:

As so many of you said during this session, weapons do not keep the world safe or deter war. We can only build true security by working together to address the root causes of violence. We must cooperate, not compete, with each other, in order to survive and thrive in our dynamic world. The changes and developments in our world are not out of hands. We are responsible for the decisions that can take us deeper into conflict and mistrust, or that can honour the dreams of those who created the UN Charter in the ashes of war, to save succeeding generations from that kind of horror.

Get the full scoop on what happened at this year's First Committee with our First Committee Monitor, which contains weekly editorials and reports on discussions on all topics of disarmament and international security. Throughout the Committee's work from 7 October to 8 November, we also published all available statements, resolutions, voting records, and explanations of vote on our website.