We developing countries cannot and should not have to wait for the large countries to begin the disarmament process -not only because our problems and our security requirements are qualitatively different but also because for those countries the arms build-up is not an alternative to development as it is for us. These are two totally different aspects of the problem. Our initiatives -whether out of ignorance or naivety -do not attempt to detract from the efforts the international community is making in the cause of nuclear disarmament. Our efforts are designed to bring about that process of disarmament -conventional disarmament -which is not only our immediate problem but also one that it is within our means to resolve. JVM/5 A/C.l/40/PV.ll 11 (Mr. Alzamra, Peru) Because while it is true that we continue, as in the past 40 years, to be exposed to the danger of a nuclear explosion, it is also true that we are increasingly closer to the danger of a catastrophic social, political and economic explosion if we follow the insane path of competing among ourselves with more and more costly weapons as a result of the tensions being fomented among peoples -who desire only peace and fraternity -~ the powerful international lobby of arms merchants. I should once again quote the words of the President of my country who, at this session of the Assembly, stated: •r am convinced that more human beings have died because the money channelled into weapons was not used to help them, than the sum of all the dead from all the wars that have occurred in our history• . (A/40/PV. 5,· p. 26) Faced with an increasingly mindless militarism and departing further and further from the possibilities and true interests of our peoples, it is not only 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the relationship between disarmament and development, highlighting the need for developing countries to take initiative in conventional disarmament to address their immediate security concerns and economic development. The speaker emphasizes the impact of arms build-up on the social, political, and economic stability of their countries, and the need to redirect resources from military spending to human development.

**Category**
Economic development, International trade