PEP SUPPORTS #INTRO2DISARMAMENT VIDEO SERIES

By Jason Sibert

Arms control and disarmament are two forms of security often overlooked by the political establishment, although not entirely.

President Joe Biden recently extended the New START Treaty with Russia, a positive development. After almost experiencing a nuclear war in the Cuban Missile Crises, the United States and Russia engaged in a series of arms control agreements to simmer Cold War tensions. Even before the Cold War, our country looked for ways to draw down the number of arms in the world. The Kellogg-Braid Pact, the 1929 pact that tried to outlaw war as a means of settling disputes, won Secretary of State Frank Kellogg the Nobel Peace Prize. The London Naval Treaty of 1930 sought to limit the number of surface war ships possessed by the U.S., Japan, France, and the United Kingdom. There are many other examples in American history.

Arms control and disarmament, although it has some proven success as well as some failures, has little appeal to the politicians and companies that rely on the military-industrial complex for jobs and contracts.  Despite this fact, some within the diplomatic community, peace activists, and some arms control oriented segments of the national security community believe in this form of security.

Political Affairs Officer for the Office for Disarmament Affairs of the United Nations Diane Barnes has released a series of videos on the importance of disarmament to security and peace. The #Intro2Disarmament series is designed to drive interest and build understanding of what disarmament is and how it works. The videos can be used to engage anyone with an interest in international peace and security. They are scheduled to be introduced on March 23.

This series of educational videos is available at: https://education.unoda.org/explainer.html.

Please share the social media toolkit within your community:  https://trello.com/b/UXkveW6D/intro2disarmament-campaign.