The SSP Diaries | The next global pandemic

We have not yet seen the last of the COVID-19 pandemic and the next one is already upon us. In 2013, the UN Security Council of the General Assembly, comprising some 193 member states, adopted Resolution 2117 which focused on the illicit transfer, destabilising accumulation, and misuse of small arms and light weapons (SALW) (UN Office of Disarmament Affairs). In the context of the global body’s efforts on this issue, it is important that we look at what is happening, despite such agreements and mechanisms being in place.

In a world of perpetual conflict and the fact that SALW products are not yet biodegradable, I am trying to bring to light the gravity of the situation in the making. Modern- day conflicts are synonymous with economic productions; the longer a conflict lasts, the more money is made by some countries. The Vietnam War and the war on terrorism in Afghanistan, for example, saw massive amounts of weaponry left in theatres of operation by the self-proclaimed victors. Such items have been the haunt of the world for many decades, as they provide a reservoir for supply chains involved in illicit activities. The war between Russia and the Ukraine is no different. As I have pointed out before, little or no accountability is possible in an ongoing conflict, and these conditions are often exploited by the greedy and dishonest. They come in all sizes and shapes. These are beneficiaries of the products of a conflict. Remember, once these products are ‘dispatched’, they are replaced, so the cycle continues.

In further developing the picture, the spread of terrorism in Africa, the constant challenges with crime in underdeveloped and developed nations globally, such as those in the Middle East, Africa, India, South and Central America, and the Caribbean, continue to grow daily. In the Caribbean, Haiti, Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, and the Turks and Caicos are all under severe pressure from crime. None of these countries have reported, over the last decade or more, any appreciable reduction in serious and major crimes. These countries have not been spared the rapid spread of this disease. Random, senseless shootings in public spaces in the USA have changed the perception of the ‘land of opportunity’ and the rise of white supremacists; and increasing political and racial intolerance have served to rock its foundation. This is spreading everywhere.

CONTAGIOUS

The use of arms, globally, as a means of resolving problems has become a sickening reality. It can be described as contagious, prolific, spreading rapidly, out of control, psychologically unbalancing and deadly. SALWs have become a symbol of power, a means of wealth building, or advancing ideologies, and the lack of lasting solutions, as in the case of the world’s COVID-19 experience, could soon cause political administrations to tumble.

If violence remains at the hub of all activities, its use as a means of resolving issues, legally and illegally, will continue to be a profitable matter. The USA, Russia, UK, Germany, China, Israel, Brazil, Australia, etc, all have arms industries competing for a piece of the market upon which violence thrives. It can be argued that such countries are the new violence producers. Violence associated with weapons is sweeping the global landscape. This is not limited to SALWs, but now includes weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), thriving on humanity’s evident failures.

This is the ‘ARMS virus’, distributed by licit and illicit actors. This is the next major global challenge, a worldwide pandemic in the making. Arguably, it has already impacted humanity far more than COVID-19 has and it possesses far more mutations. It will not respond to restrictions on movement, vaccinations, or be limited to work-from-home routines; it is both visible and invisible. Some agents are likely to be masked and others unmasked, the innocents will continue to suffer because of broken government and justice systems. And as history has shown, there will be a return to high levels of fear/stress, with vigilante justice and similar upheavals as immediate remedies for society’s survival. Our health services will not keep pace with this one. The developing and underdeveloped states can expect further adverse travel restrictions from the new violence producers as a means of deflecting the real problem.

The ARMS virus is a serious threat to humanity, with more devastating impacts upon the developing and underdeveloped worlds. As with the COVID-19 pandemic and today’s climate change realities, the developing and underdeveloped nations have done nothing to create the problems, but we will bear the brunt of their impact. It is threatening our survival. UN resolutions, international and national laws, have not had the desired effect, and are notoriously too slow in achieving anything. Responsible governance has given way to making money in industrial economies, and a fear of punishment where there is non-compliance in lesser economies. How much time we have left on Earth is dependent on how well we collectively address this rapidly mutating virus that now raises its head after many decades of unsuccessful treatment regimes.

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