Disarmament Week 2023
We currently live in a world where countries are being torn apart by armed conflict. Last week, the Secretary-General of the United Nations traveled to Cairo and called for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. This weekend, it was determined that the blast that killed anywhere between 100 and 300 people (The Guardian, 2023) at Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza on October 17th was likely caused by one of a series of rockets launched from Gaza itself (Biesecker, 2023). As nations go to war, we fear for the lives of our loved ones. We pray for peaceful resolution through negotiations and discussions. It is only through dialogue that we can ensure security and protect people from harm. Women and girls are impacted by armed conflict in unique ways, with gender-based violence as a key issue, but are underrepresented in disarmament discussions and agreements.
October 24th to 30th is Disarmament Week, the purpose of which is to raise awareness on a global scale of the issues of disarmament, as well as safety for all nations and individuals. The devastation caused by both intended and unintended consequences of armed conflict is catastrophic and blame only leads to further destruction. Threats are not posed solely by nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, but also by advancements in weapon technology. Biological and chemical weapons are also frightening in the level of mass destruction they can wreak.
Canada is one of over 180 countries that has ratified the Biological and Toxins Weapons Convention and has also been a part of the Chemical Weapons Convention since 1997. Our commitments include helping other nations develop and implement controls for exporting, and encouraging the peaceful use of biological materials, as well as strengthening response mechanisms to and mitigating biological threats. Canada is also one of the largest contributors to global efforts to end the use of chemical weapons.
In a post-COVID era, threats of a deliberate biological event have become a reality. We have been witness to what a pandemic can do on a global scale and we have seen how it can completely incapacitate an entire planet. Millions of lives were lost, people were reduced to poverty and the world was brought to a standstill. The gap between the wealthy and the financially disadvantaged widened and, years later, the effects continue to be felt. Biological and chemical warfare have much greater impacts than the events themselves; the mental, emotional, and economic fallouts could be calamitous.
G100 seeks to promote the voice of women and marginalized genders in areas of peace and security, which includes talks on the subject of disarmament. The role of women in the military and care sectors cannot be denied, yet women are frequently forgotten during discussions on arms control and non-proliferation, making up approximately only one-third of participants in multi-lateral disarmament meetings (UNODA, nd). More than 264 million women live in fragile and conflict-affected countries (UNIDIR, nd), but the link between militarism and gender-based violence is often ignored. The high financial cost of war and conflict also impacts women and marginalized genders disproportionately, diverting from investments into social services and creating an obstacle to economic empowerment. Until peace and disarmament is viewed through a gender lens, the Sustainable Development Goal of Gender Equality cannot be achieved. It is with this in mind that the work of the Security & Defence Wing of G100 continues.
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Biesecker, M. (2023, October 21). AP visual analysis: Rocket from Gaza appeared to go astray, likely caused deadly hospital explosion. AP News. Retrieved October 22, 2023, from https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-hospital-rocket-gaza-e0fa550faa4678f024797b72132452e3
The Guardian. (2023, October 20). Al-Ahli Arab hospital blast: US intelligence report estimates death toll to be 100 to 300. The Guardian. Retrieved October 22, 2023, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/20/al-ahli-arab-hospital-gaza-blast-explosion-us-intelligence-report-death-toll-estimate
UNIDIR. (n.d.). Gender and Disarmament → UNIDIR. UNIDIR. Retrieved October 22, 2023, from https://unidir.org/programme/gender-and-disarmament/
UNODA. (n.d.). Disarmament and gender – UNODA. UNODA. Retrieved October 22, 2023, from https://disarmament.unoda.org/topics/gender/
WILPF. (2023, May 24). 5 Reasons Why Feminists Should Care About Disarmament. WILPF. Retrieved October 22, 2023, from https://www.wilpf.org/5-reasons-why-feminists-should-care-about-disarmament/
