International Organisations Lecture 9 - UN Security Related Organizations - UPSC Exam

UN Disarmament Commission

In 1952, the UNGA by its resolution 502 created the United Nations Disarmament Commission (UNDC) under the Security Council with a mandate to prepare proposals for a treaty for the regulation, limitation and balanced reduction of all armed forces and all armaments, including the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction.
However, it met only occasionally after 1959.

UN Disarmament Commission

In 1978, the first special session of the UNGA devoted to disarmament established a successor Disarmament Commission as a subsidiary organ of the Assembly, composed of all Member States of the United Nations.
It was created as a deliberative body, with the function of considering and making recommendations on various issues in the field of disarmament and of following up on the relevant decisions and recommendations of the special session.
UNDC is a subsidiary organ of UNGA since 1978. It reports annually to the General Assembly.
UNDC’s mandate is prepare proposals for a treaty for the regulation, limitation and balanced reduction of all armed forces and all armaments, including the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction.
UN Disarmament Commission – 2022 Session was held in April.

Conference on Disarmament

Conference on Disarmament (CD), was recognized by the Tenth Special Session on Disarmament of UNGA in 1978 as a single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of the international community.
Conference on disarmament (Earlier Committee on disarmament till 1984) is comprised of 65 member States, including the five NPT nuclear-weapon States and 60 other States of key military significance. In addition, every year, non-member States participate, upon their request, in the CD’s work.
The CD meets in an annual session, which is divided into three parts of 10, 7, and 7 weeks, respectively. It adopts its own Rules of Procedure and its own agenda towards disarmament.
India recognizes CD as the single multilateral disarmament negotiation forum and discards any other forums.

Conference on Disarmament

CD primarily focuses on
1. Cessation of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament
2. Prevention of nuclear war
3. Prevention of an arms race in outer space
4. Effective international arrangements to assure non-nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons
5. New types of weapons of mass destruction and new systems of such weapons; radiological weapons
6. Comprehensive programme of disarmament
7. Transparency in armaments
Note: Conference is formally independent from the United Nations. It reports to UNGA & uses UN secretariat.

UNODA

UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) is an Office of the UN Secretariat.
UNODA was established in 1998 as part of the then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s plan to reform the UN.
Its goal is to promote nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation and the strengthening of the disarmament regimes.
It not just works for ending nuclear weapons but also other weapons of mass destruction including conventional, chemical and biological weapons.

UNODA

IAEA

International atomic energy agency was created in 1957 in response to the deep fears and expectations generated by the discoveries and diverse uses of nuclear technology.
The Agency’s genesis was U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” address to the General Assembly of the United Nations on 8 December 1953.
The Statute of the IAEA was approved in 1956 by UN. It came into force on 29 July 1957.

IAEA

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an autonomous international organization (working closely with UN) that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons.
The IAEA serves as an intergovernmental forum of 175 members for scientific and technical co-operation on the peaceful use of nuclear technology and nuclear power worldwide.
Headquarters: Vienna, Austria
India is a member of IAEA since its inception.

IAEA

Role of IAEA
1. Promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy by its member states
2. Implementing safeguards to verify that nuclear energy is not used for military purposes
3. Promoting high standards for nuclear safety

IAEA

The IAEA as an autonomous organization is not under the direct control of the UN, but the IAEA does report to both the UN General Assembly and Security Council.
The IAEA has three main bodies
- General Conference
  - The General Conference is made up of all 175 member states. It meets once a year, typically in September, to approve the actions and budgets.
- Board of Governors
  - Board of Governors is one of two policy-making bodies of the IAEA along with General conference. The Board consists of 35 member states elected by the General Conference. The Board generally meets five times a year.
- Secretariat
  - The Secretariat is the professional and general service staff of the IAEA located at Vienna. The Secretariat is headed by the Director General.

IAEA & India

OPCW

Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is an intergovernmental organisation and the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
The convention entered into force on 29 April 1997.
The OPCW has 193 member states. It oversees the global endeavour for the permanent and verifiable elimination of chemical weapons.
Headquarters: Hague, Netherlands

OPCW

Role of OPCW:
1. To implement the Chemical weapons convention
2. OPCW is authorized to perform inspections to verify that signatory states are complying with the convention.
3. OPCW has the power to send inspectors to any signatory country to search for evidence of production of banned chemicals.
4. OPCW has the power to report on whether chemical weapons were used in an attack it has investigated.
Note: The organisation was awarded the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize “for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons”. OPCW is not a specialised agency of the United Nations but works closely with UNSC.

OPCW

Organizational structure of OPCW

1. Conference of the States Parties (CSP)
2. Executive council
3. Secretariat

Executive Council
- Executive council is the governing body of the OPCW. The Council consists of 41 OPCW Member States that are elected by the Conference of the States Parties and rotate every two years.
- The council is responsible for promoting the effective implementation of and compliance with the Convention.
- Each Member State has the right, on a rotating basis, to serve on the Executive Council.

CWC

Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) officially called the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, is an arms control treaty administered by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
The convention entered into force on 29 April 1997, and prohibits the large-scale use, development, production, stockpiling and transfer of chemical weapons and their precursors, except for very limited purposes (research, medical, pharmaceutical or protective).

Export Control Regimes

A multilateral export control regime is an informal group of like-minded supplier countries that seek to contribute to the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, delivery systems, and advanced conventional weapons.
The regimes try to control proliferation through national implementation of guidelines and control lists for exports.
There are currently four such regimes under MECR
1. The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)
2. Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)
3. Wassenaar Arrangement
4. Australia Group (AG)

Export Control Regimes

Export control regime Facts:
1. MECRs are independent of the United Nations.
2. MECRs rules & regulations apply only to members of the control refime.
3. India is member of Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) , Wassenaar Arrangement & Australia Group (AG).
4. India is not a member of Nuclear supplier Group.
5. China is a member of the NSG & Australia group but not of the Wassenaar Arrangement & MTCR.

NSG

Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a multilateral export control regime and a group of nuclear supplier countries that seek to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment and technology that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons.
Why did NSG start?
1. The NSG came into being as a response to the 1974 nuclear tests by India.
NSG currently has 48 members.

NSG

Role of NSG
1. NSG maintains a Trigger List. It has list of items that are forbidden to be exported to Non-NPT member countries.
2. NSG also maintains a dual use list.
3. NSG works closely with IAEA for ensuring peaceful use of nuclear technology.

NSG

Why India is not a member?
1. India is not a member of the NSG because all its efforts have been consistently blocked by China.
2. India’s bid for membership is being blocked on the ground of India being a non-signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
Note: Apart from India, Pakistan & Namibia have also sought membership of NSG. All three have applied for NSG membership in 2016.

MTCR

Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) is an informal political understanding among 35 member states that seek to limit the proliferation of missiles and missile technology.
MTCR was formed in 1987 by the G-7 industrialized countries.
MTCR aims to prevent the proliferation of missile and unmanned aerial vehicle technology capable of carrying greater than 500 kg payload for more than 300 km. It also aims to prohibit all WMDs.

MTCR

The MTCR is not a treaty and does not impose any legally binding obligations on Partners.
The members urged to prohibit supplying missiles and UAV systems that are controlled by the MTCR to non-members. The MTCR has no regime-wide compliance or verification provisions. When questions arise, Partners consult bilaterally to promote a common understanding of the issue.
All decisions of MTCR are taken by consensus. MTCR issues certain guidelines about the information sharing, national control laws and export policies for missile systems.
MTCR Guidelines include annexes for
1. Equipment
2. Software
3. Technology

MTCR

International Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation, also known as the Hague Code of Conduct (HCOC), was established on 25 November 2002 as an arrangement to prevent the proliferation of ballistic missiles.
The HCOC is the result of international efforts to regulate access to ballistic missiles which can potentially deliver weapons of mass destruction.
The HCOC does not ban ballistic missiles, but it does call for restraint in their production, testing, and export.
Since the HCOC came into force in 2002, the number of signatories has increased to 138. India joined HCOC on 1 June 2016. HCOC strengthens the MTCR.

India & MTCR

India was inducted into the Missile Technology Control Regime in 2016 as the 35th member.
India has joined MTCR as a full member and also agreed to join the Hague Code of conduct which bolstered its position as a responsible nuclear state and strengthen its case for the membership of Nuclear Suppliers Group.
India can procure high-end missile technology and run joint programmes for development of unmanned aerial vehicles with other countries of MTCR.

WA

Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies is a multilateral export control regime (MECR) with 42 participating states.
The Wassenaar Arrangement is a voluntary export control regime. The Arrangement, formally established in July 1996.
The Wassenaar Arrangement has been established in order to contribute to regional and international security and stability, by promoting transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies.
Wassenaar Arrangement’s Secretariat is in Vienna, Austria.

WA

The Wassenaar Arrangement Plenary is the decision-making body of the Arrangement. It is composed of representatives of all Participating States and normally meets once a year, usually in December. All Plenary decisions are taken by consensus.
India was inducted to the Wassenaar Arrangement in 2017 as the 42nd member.

WA

To promote transparency, Wassenaar calls on states to make a series of voluntary information exchanges and notifications on their export activities.
1. Every 180 days, members exchange information on deliveries of conventional arms to non-Wassenaar members that fall under eight broad weapon categories: battle tanks, armored combat vehicles (ACVs), large-caliber artillery, military aircraft/unmanned aerial vehicles, military and attack helicopters, warships, missiles or missile systems, and small arms and light weapons.
2. WA maintains list of sensitive items (Control List) and very high sensitive items. Every 60 days, members are requested to notify the Wassenaar Secretariat of export licenses for such items.

AG

Australia Group is an informal group of countries established in 1985 after the use of chemical weapons by Iraq in 1984 to help member countries to identify those exports which need to be controlled so as not to contribute to the spread of chemical and biological weapons.
AG has 43 members (including the European union). The members work on a consensus basis.
Why Australia Group?
1. It was Australia’s initiative to create this group. Australia also manages the secretariat.

AG

The Australia Group has a list of 54 compounds that are identified to be regulated in global trade. AG brings guidelines, national export control legislation and sanctions for violations.
India joined the Australia Group (AG) in 2018.

AG

Australia Group works closely with CWC & BWC.
All of the participants in the Australia Group are States Parties to CWC & Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC).
Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC) has been in force since 1975. 184 states have become party to the treaty.
BWC have been active in efforts for Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction.