UN Report Urges Progress on WMD Controls

Peter Crail

A UN nonproliferation committee issued a progress report July 30 on states' efforts to implement a global instrument aimed at preventing terrorists and other nonstate actors from acquiring weapons of mass destruction. The report indicated that although many states have instituted a range of measures for this purpose, countries "need to do far more than they have already done" to fulfill their international obligations in this regard.

The UN Security Council established the committee, which is comprised of the same states serving on the council, to monitor the implementation of Resolution 1540, adopted in April 2004. (See ACT, May 2004. ) The resolution requires all states to implement and enforce a wide variety of "appropriate effective" national controls over nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons and related materials and the means to deliver them. Originally established for two years, the council extended the 1540 Committee's mandate for two years in 2006 and an additional three years in April 2008. (See ACT, June 2008. )

The council required states to submit a report on their efforts to carry out the national measures outlined in the resolution and have encouraged them to submit additional information as further steps are taken. The July 30 report's assessment is primarily based on the reports that states have submitted. As of July, 155 of 192 states have submitted an initial report. Of those, 102 shared additional information with the committee.

According to the report, the majority of states that have submitted reports have adopted very few of the 313 specific national measures identified by the committee as necessary for fulfilling the obligations under Resolution 1540. Moreover, no state has carried out all of the resolution's requirements.

The required measures include laws to criminalize the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction and to account for and secure materials that may be used to create them. In addition, the resolution necessitates that states institute export and border controls to prevent dangerous materials from illicitly entering or leaving that country's territory.

Recognizing the difficulties many states have in carrying out these obligations due to a lack of experience, a lack of resources, or other factors, the report concludes that the implementation of the resolution "is a long-term endeavor requiring ongoing outreach and assistance programs tailored to the needs of each state."

One of the key functions of the committee is to serve as a "clearing house" for requests and offers of assistance. In this regard, the report recommended that the committee engage in "actively matching offers and requests for assistance." A source close to the committee told Arms Control Today Aug. 20 that, during the initial years of the committee's operation, some members of the body were reluctant to suggest such an active role in matching assistance due to a preference to engage in such work bilaterally or in other ways outside the committee.

Several states, intergovernmental bodies, and nongovernmental organizations have carried out activities to assist countries in implementing measures related to Resolution 1540 since 2004.

In some areas, state participation in multilateral arms control agreements has helped them to fulfill specific national requirements under Resolution 1540. The report observes, for example, that the nuclear safeguards commitment contained in the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and the legal prohibitions against nonstate actors manufacturing chemical weapons as required under the Chemical Weapons Convention also satisfy respective obligations under the resolution.

The report notes, however, that "as these international instruments deal primarily with state-to-state obligations," states will need to implement "specific supplementary legislation" to address nonstate actors. It observes that "many states are not yet fully cognizant of the fact that" such requirements to address nonstate actors are not covered by legislation implementing these international agreements.

One fairly new nonproliferation effort contained in Resolution 1540 is the requirement to prevent proliferation financing. The United States in particular has paid increasing attention to the use of money laundering and other illicit financial practices to fund the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and related components and delivery systems. (See ACT, June 2005. )

According to the report, 64 states have adopted measures to prevent proliferation financing, representing a fourfold increase since 2006. To do so, most states have adapted their anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering legislation to apply also to proliferation.