Warring over disarmament in the UN: 

Warring over disarmament in the UN: 

Context:

The United Nations diplomats from all member-states gather to deliberate on disarmament and international security, promote national interest.

Introduction:

• The deliberations of the First Committee have sought to bridge difference and seek common ground.
• These events include tensions over North Korea between the US and China, differences over the Iran nuclear deal, and the Russian veto in the UN Security Council blocking the extension of the Joint Investigative Mechanism mandated to probe alleged chemical weapons use in Syria.
• The biggest factor behind this year’s undiplomatic dust-up is the recently concluded Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW):

• The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, or the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty, is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons.
• For those nations that are party to it, the treaty prohibits the development, testing, production, stockpiling, stationing, transfer, use and threat of use of nuclear weapons, as well as assistance and encouragement to the prohibited activities.
• It was signed and approved by 122 of the 123 participant nations, representing two-thirds of the nations in the UN.
• The NWPT is the most significant multilateral development on nuclear arms control since the adoption of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1968. It has to be ratified by 50 countries to come into force.
• The treaty has exacerbated rifts not only between the nuclear-armed states and the non-nuclear armed states but also members of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), and in some cases, between nuclear-armed states and their allies, which are protected by these weapons.
• The NWPT is the most significant multilateral development on nuclear arms control since the adoption of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1968. It has to be ratified by 50 countries to come into force.

What’s missing in the treaty?

• It does not offer a practical approach on how to prod nuclear weapons states to join it.
• It contains no mechanism to verify the reduction and abolition of nuclear weapons.
• It also does not provide a solution to the risk of nuclear weapons being used by accident or miscalculation, or by terrorists.

What can be the harmful threat of Nuclear Weapons?

On Environment:

• Nuclear weapons are fundamentally different from conventional weapons because of the vast amounts of explosive energy they can release and the kinds of effects they produce, such as high temperatures and radiation.
• The prompt effects of a nuclear explosion and fallout are well known through data gathered from the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• A special feature of a nuclear explosion is the emission of nuclear radiation, which may be separated into initial radiation and residual radiation. Initial radiation, also known as prompt radiation, consists of gamma rays and neutrons and  produced within a minute of the detonation
• Gamma rays and neutrons can produce harmful effects in living organisms, a hazard that persists over considerable distances because of their ability to penetrate most structures.

Health effects of nuclear weapons:

• The health effects of nuclear explosions are due primarily to air blast, thermal radiation, initial nuclear radiation, and residual nuclear radiation or fallout.
• Nuclear explosions produce air-blast effects similar to those produced by conventional explosives. The shock wave can directly injure humans by rupturing eardrums or lungs or by hurling people at high speed, but most casualties occur because of collapsing structures and flying debri.
• Thermal radiation. Unlike conventional explosions, a single nuclear explosion can generate an intense pulse of thermal radiation that can start fires and burn skin over large areas. In some cases, the fires ignited by the explosion can coalesce into a firestorm, preventing the escape of survivors. Though difficult to predict accurately, it is expected that thermal effects from a nuclear explosion would be the cause of significant casualties
• Initial radiation. Nuclear detonations release large amounts of neutron and gamma radiation. Relative to other effects, initial radiation is an important cause of casualties only for low-yield explosions (less than 10 kilotons).
• When a nuclear detonation occurs close to the ground surface, soil mixes with the highly radioactive fission products from the weapon. The debris is carried by the wind and falls back to Earth over a period of minutes to hours.
• Cyber warfare emerged as a more potent tool as nations can be destroyed without killing a single human being.
• Security concern: Nuclear weapons pose a direct threat to people everywhere. They breed fear and mistrust among nations.
• Another long-term health effect is the induction of eye cataracts. This effect has been noted in the Japanese studies and also in a study of the Chernobyl cleanup workers.

The immediate effects of radiation include the following:

• Central nervous system dysfunction (at very high doses);
• Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea from damage to the gastrointestinal tract, leading to potentially fatal dehydration and nutrition problems; and
• Destruction of the body’s capacity to produce new blood cells, resulting in uncontrolled bleeding (because of the absence or severe reduction of platelets) and life-threatening infections (because of the absence or reduction of white blood cells

Global steps to ban nuclear weapons:

• Recently, the United Nation signed pact to ban nuclear weapons.
• 122 nations of the world came together to accept legal ban over nuclear weapons of mass destruction.
• Failure of NPT, CTBT (1996) on the name of maintaining deterrence against opponent (MAD-Mutually agreed deterrence principle) cannot get more support from numerous countries.
• It is clear that these weapons of mass destruction reach are not confined to a geographical boundary or country itself.
• The approval ban over use of nuclear weapon is a landmark or paradigm shift in the direction of disarmament.
• it prohibits or ban in totality production, stockpiling and use of nuclear weapons even underground explosions in all circumstances
• It also ensures strong provisions to protect victims of extreme radiation and contamination of environment
• It complements international ban on all categories of weapons of mass destruction following the prohibition of biological and chemical arms.

What is Nuclear Prohibition Treaty?

• It creates a legal basis for proscribing nuclear weapons among adhering states.
• The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons prohibits States Parties from developing, testing, producing, manufacturing, acquiring, possessing, or stockpiling nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.
• Signatories are barred from transferring or receiving nuclear weapons and other nuclear explosive devices control over such weapons, or any assistance with activities prohibited under the Treaty.
• States are also prohibited from using or threatening to use nuclear weapons and other nuclear explosive devices.
• States Parties cannot allow the stationing, installation, or deployment of nuclear weapons and other nuclear explosive devices in their territory.
• In addition to the Treaty’s prohibitions, States Parties are obligated to provide victim assistance and help with environmental remediation efforts.

Conclusion:

India’s resolution on the role of science and technology in the context of international security and disarmament, which was adopted by consensus not only highlights India’s rule-shaping efforts but might also contribute to building a much-needed bonhomie among the disarmament community. This is a critical step to curb the war over disarmament.