Submission to the UN Office of Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) in response to the UNODA Call for Papers on the impact of the global increase in military expenditure on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals
Submitted by: Aotearoa Lawyers for Peace, Basel Peace Office, Citizens for Global Solutions, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, Peace and Disarmament Collective Aotearoa, UNFOLD ZERO, World Federalist Movement-Institute for Global Policy, World Future Council and Youth Fusion
Summary
The increase in international tensions and armed conflicts has led to a corresponding increase in spending on conventional and nuclear weapons, with negative repercussions for most of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including diminished investment in the SDGs. In order to reverse the trend on conventional weapons spending, greater emphasis will be needed on conflict resolution, common security and the rule of law. Spending on nuclear weapons, however, could be cut by significant amounts regardless of current international tensions. Indeed, in Action 25 of the Pact for the Future adopted in September last year, UN Member States re-affirmed their commitment to achieve the global elimination of nuclear weapons. Nuclear armed and allied states should end spending on new nuclear weapons and adopt a time-bound goal to achieve nuclear abolition by the end of the next SDG cycle (2045). This would help reduce global tensions, build common security and free up further resources for the SDGs. Additional recommendations to help implement this are proposed in this submission.
Submission
The past few years have witnessed an increase in the number, intensity and impact of conflicts between and within States, including full scale invasions by Russia against Ukraine and by Israel against Gaza. This has led to an increase in spending on both conventional and nuclear weapons, as well as increased threats of nuclear war. Such spending decreases the resources available for investing in the Sustainable Development Goals. The Institute of Economics and Peace has estimated that the economic impact of violence has risen to US$19.1 trillion annually, which is 13.5% of the world’s Gross Domestic Product or the equivalent of US$2,380 per person. This is more than four times the amount required to meet the UN estimated funding gap for SDG implementation of US$4.3 trillion.