Non-Proliferation: Weapons of Mass Destruction
Expected Council Action
The 1540 Committee on weapons of mass destruction is reviewing a 71-page draft report that was due on 27 April. During the May briefing by the chairs of the three counter-terrorism committees, the 1540 Committee Chairman, Ambassador Jorge Urbina of Costa Rica, said the report would be ready “as soon as possible” or by 31 July at the latest. The Council may issue a statement urging states’ compliance with the resolution, having extended the Committee’s mandate for three years on 25 April.
Recent Developments
The Council adopted resolution 1540 in April 2004 because terrorists and other non-state actors are not covered under the treaties against biological weapons, chemical weapons and the proliferation of nuclear arms. The resolution asks all countries to establish export controls and enact legislation to protect sensitive materials that can be used to develop, manufacture, acquire, transport or traffic in such weapons and their delivery systems. (The measure was partly a reaction to disclosures of an illegal nuclear technology network headed by Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan.)
Four years on, the Committee has run into “reporting fatigue” from member states. At 1 May, 153 nations had submitted reports, and 100 had updated information. In an effort to assist governments, the Committee produced a matrix using information culled from government websites and international organisations where a report was lacking. It is also compiling a database on anti-proliferation legislation, drawing up an analysis of best practices and coordinating requests for assistance with offers of help by asking donors for a point of contact. The Committee has a panel of eight experts and receives advice from the Office of Disarmament Affairs.
It seems that the draft report will illustrate the difficulty in creating a new system that fulfils the resolution’s requirements. For example, among the 153 countries that have submitted reports, 73 have legislation in place against means of delivery of biological weapons, 45 for chemical weapons and 30 for nuclear arms. The draft calls for “more intensive action” by the Council and says “member states need to do far more than they have already done.”
Council Dynamics
All Council members believe that the international community has to show determination to prevent non-state actors from obtaining such weapons. Some have argued that the best way to stop proliferation was not to have weapons of mass destruction in the first place.
Resolution 1540 may assume additional significance following reports that at least forty nations had approached the International Atomic Energy Agency in the last 18 months to inquire about nuclear power reactors, a trend that could substantially increase the risk of technology transfers to non-state actors.
UN Documents
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Security Council Resolutions |
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Selected Presidential Statements |
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Selected Security Council Debate Records |
Useful Additional Source
- http://www.un.org/sc/1540 is the website of the 1540 Committee
