Haider Rizvi

The US is pressing the UN Security Council to endorse a draft resolution that would allow the use of force against “entities and individuals” suspected of trying to develop, possess or transfer weapons of mass destruction (WMD), diplomats and observers here say. Though they say they are equally concerned about proliferation of the weapons, many Security Council members fear the resolution would give Washington a free hand to unilaterally deal with the as yet undefined “entities and individuals”.

The draft resolution states that some countries “may require assistance within their territories, and invite states in a position to” prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, rockets and vehicles capable of delivering such weapons, a phrase that makes many suspicious of US intentions.

The US resolution stems from the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), a plan announced by President Bush in May last year as a step towards creating new legal agreements authorising the search of planes and ships carrying suspect cargo.

The PSI has been endorsed by nine European nations, including Britain, Germany and France, as well as Australia. Washington and its allies claim the proposal is legal under the UN Charter and the Security Council Presidential Statement of 1992.

But legal experts say neither of those regulations gives nations the authority to interdict shipments on the high seas. Diplomats say negotiations have stalled on the question of the definition of “interdiction” because two of five permanent Council members, China and Russia, have refused to go along with the current draft resolution.

Recent IAEA investigations into Iran’s nuclear programme led to the arrest of Pakistani nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, who publicly confessed his involvement in transferring his country’s nuclear technology to other nations.

Diplomats say so far that case is the only example that could be used to define the “entities and individuals” in the draft US resolution. But Pakistan, a non-permanent Security Council member, sees the case in a different light.

Negotiations on the resolution have so far been confined to the five permanent members of the Security Council, which frustrates some non-permanent but elected members. All permanent members — the US, Russia, Britain, France and China — continue to posses thousands of nuclear weapons in their arsenals. Washington is no longer making it a secret that it is producing a new generation of those weapons.

Experts on international law say they share the concerns of the elected members of the Security Council — that Washington might use force against some nations under the pretext of implementing a UN Security Council resolution. Washington is seeking Security Council approval under chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which binds states to implement Council decisions.

Diplomats say non-permanent Security Council members want to address the issue of proliferation by enhancing the agenda on disarmament. But Washington and other permanent members prefer to deal with it separately, they add. — IPS