It is not a novel notion that disarmament and armaments control promote sustainable development. When it calls for the maintenance of international peace and security with the least amount of the world’s economic and human resources being diverted for weaponry, Article 26 of the United Nations Charter recognizes disarmament as a prerequisite for lasting peace, security, and development. This nexus was acknowledged by the Secretary-General in his Agenda for Disarmament in 2018, which showed the connection between weapons control and the Sustainable Development Goals and disarmament (SDGs). The SDGs will be advanced and sustainable peace and security will be attained as a result of educating and empowering the next generation of young women and men with an integrated awareness of these relationships.

Disarmament has, however, largely fallen off the development agenda for a very long time. Despite reams of evidence to the contrary, this causes avoidable misery and death, social inequity, and environmental damage by diverting resources from development and fostering armed conflict. Therefore, the harm done to socioeconomic development, international peace and security, and human welfare by the absence of efficient disarmament and arms control mechanisms is immense.

This was acknowledged by the Secretary-General in his new Disarmament Agenda, when he spoke of “a huge potential” for disarmament initiatives to assist our pursuit of development goals. The Agenda, which was unveiled on May 24, 2018, expands on our propensity to view this urgent issue through a constrained, isolated security lens by providing fresh perspectives on how to better integrate disarmament and arms control into our work on other important international priorities. Instead, it motivates us to integrate disarmament and arms control into our efforts to promote sustainable development, avoid conflicts, and foster peace.