This year’s model UN event, in partnership with Geneva International Model United Nations (GIMUN), focuses on the topic of preventing non-state armed groups from acquiring weapons.
The illicit proliferation and misuse of conventional arms and ammunition, including small arms and light light weapons, play a critical role in prolonging conflict and contributing to insecurity. This is particularly true in regions affected by climate change, inter-communal violence, migration, poverty, exclusion and transnational organized crime. Both understanding supply- and demand-side dynamics and also identifying effective measures to tackle these threats will be key to the success of international security and development agendas.
The diversion of conventional arms and ammunition from the legal to the illegal sphere contributes to strengthening armed actors, including non-state armed groups. Conventional arms and ammunition, when acquired or produced illegally and misused, serve as multipliers for armed violence, including gender-based violence, the displacement of people, and serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Preventing non-state armed groups from acquiring conventional weapons is key to mitigating harm, violence within communities, and violations of human rights.
This year’s event follows on from highly successful collaborations between UNIDIR and GIMUN for the 2023 edition on lethal autonomous weapons and the 2022 event on space security.
When and Where
Thursday 2 May 2024 | 9:30 – 17:00 CEST | Geneva, Switzerland (Palais des Nations)