US Proposed UNSC resolution on non-proliferation

The most succinct explanation of the problem comes from Alyn Ware, Global Coordinator of the Parliamentarians Network for Nuclear Disarmament. An excerpt from his letter follows. Should you wish to speak out to the Government of Canada, kindly email our Permanent Representative to the UN., Ambassador Alan Rock, at: and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Bill Graham, Graham.B@parl.gc.ca

Addresses for emails to the Security Council can be found at:
http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/resources/govcontacts/SCcontact.html

Your efforts to respond to this proposal would be appreciated!
Bev Delong
President, Lawyers for Social
Responsibility

USA Presents Draft Resolution to United Nations Security Council on Non-Proliferation

March 27, 2004

On March 24, the United States presented a draft resolution on non-proliferation to the United Nations Security Council. The U.S. seeks to have it adopted by the end of March. The draft requires all states to enact criminal and other laws and measures to prevent terrorists and other non-state actors from trafficking in and acquiring nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) weapons, related materials, and missiles and other unmanned systems of delivery.

In a statement to the Security Council, U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said that"the fundamental purpose of this draft resolution is to deal with a very important gap that exists in international law today: that is the question of dealing with the possibility of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and materials that could be used to make them falling into the hands of non-state actors."

Some States and NGOs have expressed concerns that the approaches proposed in the draft resolution are discriminatory and inflammatory, and will exacerbate the proliferation and security situation rather than alleviate it. Abolition 2000, a global network of over 2000 NGOs working for nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, sent a letter to all U.N. members expressing concerns that

the draft resolutionrefers only to prevention of proliferation, and is silent, rhetorically or substantively, on ending deployment of existing weapons and on the obligations for disarmament

requires all States to adopt national implementation measures, thus assuming a role for the Security Council of a global legislative body, something normally done through treaty negotiations requiring consensus by States

is being presented as a UN Charter Chapter VII resolution, which could open the door for the unilateral use of force by certain States to enforce the resolution in specific situations without having to return to the Security Council for any additional authorization.

Draft UN Security Council Resolution
U.S. Statement to the Security Council
A2000 Letter to Security Council Members SecurityCouncil Members and contact information

Note: Graham.B@parl.gc.ca http://www.reachingcrit... draft resolution on non... statement to the Securi... a letter to all U.N. Draft UN Security Counc... U.S. Statement to the S... A2000 Letter to Securit... SecurityCouncil Members...