Disarmament and International Security Committee

The Disarmament and International Security (DISEC) Committee is a General Assembly committee within the United Nations. DISEC aims to deal with threats to international peace and security, security issues on the international scale, and disarmament. Maintaining global security is DISEC’s primary goal, and as such, the promotion of nuclear, biological, and chemical disarmament, the limitation and regulation of conventional weapons, and the elimination of illicit arms trades are pillars of DISEC’s approach to global security. As DISEC is a General Assembly Committee, its resolutions are not legally binding, though the committee may make recommendations to member states or call upon the UN Security Council to take further action where appropriate. 

Militarization refers to the act of equipping a region or group with weaponry in preparation for conflict; the building of weaponry, stationing of troops, and scouting of land are prime methods of militarization. 

The Arctic is the newest frontier for advancement; as global warming speeds up the glacial ice melt, many surrounding countries within the Arctic circle are gearing up to position themselves in strategic ways. Mainly, the ice melt provides new maritime routes, such as the Northern Sea Route (NSR), giving reason to Russia's increased Arctic military presence, to China's increased ambiguous economic investments, and to the United States’ repositioning of troops around the Arctic. Additionally, the Arctic at present boasts 13% of the world's untapped oil reserves, and 30% undiscovered natural gas reserves. This positions the region as an economic gold mine, its natural resources surpassing that of Saudi Arabia. 

The opening of the NSR has tipped the scales within Russia's arctic strategy, with Moscow now prioritizing the extraction of resources and the establishment of the Northern Sea Route as a prime shipping route, where they hope to generate revenue via transit fees. Following the invasion into Ukraine in 2022, Russia has reopened soviet era military bases, expanded their fleet of nuclear powered ice breakers, and deployed advanced radar systems into the Arctic circle. 

Moscow's reformed Arctic policy has prompted a change within the NATO alliance's posture regarding the Arctic, with Finland, Norway and Sweden pledging increasing GDP percentages to safeguarding territorial integrity, and to strengthening military presence in the Arctic. 

Governments hang in a precarious balance, where many make moves that are offensive by assuming the defensive. Reflecting NATO’s Secretary General’s words, “We are not at war, but not at peace either”, nations are bracing for an impact that may be catalyzed by the onset of climate change. 

1. What could be the inadvertent impacts on civilians of Arctic regions

2. What other side effects of global warming can be militarized?

3. To what extent is trade linked to militarization? 

   a. Can the two be separated on the global scale? 

4. Is there a consequent ecological impact with further militarization of this region? 

Militarization of the Nordic Arctic: Demographic, Economic and Environmental Implications | The Arctic Institute – Center for Circumpolar Security Studies

Arctic security | NATO Topic

What are the military assets in the Arctic? | Reuters 

The Militarization of the Arctic: A New Theatre for War?

Russia’s changing Arctic policy: from economic ambitions to military dominance

Mass surveillance, the act of companies and governments having access to the private data of citizens is a newly emerging avenue of warfare. The main actors within this issue lie in the governments and subsequently sanctioned private companies to act on their behalf. A prime example of this is the US Government's dealings with OpenAI, their military agreements focus on autonomous weapons, alongside data collection. 

In the changing technological landscape, autonomous weaponry is made more precise through the use of detailed datasets, algorithms and simulations. The data the weapons are trained on being data provided by citizens around the world through their usage of social media, the internet and other online applications. 

Another notable facet of this issue is the intertwining of western private corporations selling their services to governments in the global south to instigate political unrest. Narus, a Boeing subsidiary was implicated in a deal with Egypt, having sold them equipment used to survey their citizens and prisoners. Cisco Systems is facing a lawsuit over their supposed sales in China, where their services were being used to facilitate the arrests of human rights’ activists. 

This issue features a complicated cocktail of conflicts, with citizens being used for surveillance, their data is then used to train weapons of warfare overseas. The undercurrent of private involvement at the crux of this issue. 

1. What are the safeguarding measures citizens can take in the face of Data Surveillance, and the subsequent use of their data within warfare?

2. What constitutes mass surveillance? 

   a) If citizens willingly provide their information, can it be touted as a “breach”?

3. What role do private companies play in this issue? 

4. How can governments safeguard citizens from increasing technological advancement in warfare?

   a) Should there be a push to innovate counter-surveillance technology to safeguard citizens? 

The Battle Over AI Warfare and Surveillance - CEPA

Data as a Weapon: Refined Cyber Capabilities Under Weapon Reviews and International Human Rights Law

Surveillance Technologies - Electronic Frontier Foundation