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On 13 April 2005, the United Nations General Assembly adopted by consensus an international treaty against nuclear terrorism.1 Thus the Nuclear Terrorism Convention (NTC) will open for signature on 14 September 2005 and enter into force after twenty-two states ratify it. This step coming after seven years of negotiations and less than a month after the report of the Secretary General, In Larger Freedom: Towards Development , Security and Human Rights for All, issued on 21 March, is a happy augury for more decisive action by the UN to ensure that nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, i.e., weapons of mass destruction (WMD), do not fall into the hands of terrorists. The Secretary General’s report contains a warning of the dangers of “catastrophic terrorism.” This warning has been repeated with increasing levels of urgency in the policy making community especially after the events of 11 September 2001, since it is well known that groups such as Al Qaeda have had plans to acquire WMD. The report recommends measures to be adopted by member states, such as the recommendation that negotiations for an international convention for the suppression of nuclear terrorism be completed. However no other specific tasks or reforms of the United Nations (UN) have been recommended to ensure that the UN is able to play a significant and effective role in the prevention of WMD terrorism. The High-level Panel, appointed by the UN Secretary General to assess current threats to international peace and security, came out with a report that has addressed the issues of WMD and terrorism separately .2 While warning about WMD proliferation, making a specific identification of the threat of WMD terrorism, and recommending that the UN and specialized agencies take preventive action, the link jayantha dhanapala 8 WMD AND TERRORISM can the un help to keep the genie in the bottle? 79 between WMD and terrorism has been clearly established. Paragraphs 135 to 138 make the link explicitly. Paragraph 135 proposes urgent “short-term action” to defend against the “possible terrorist use” of WMD through the consolidating, securing and, when possible, eliminating of hazardous materials and implementing effective export controls . The Global Threat Reduction Initiative is welcomed by the Panel but the timeline for its implementation is recommended for halving to five years. The Security Council, acting under resolution 1540, is urged to provide states with model legislation for action on WMD materials and the establishment of minimum standards by 2006 and a permanent liaison between the committee implementing Security Council resolution 1540 and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). In dealing with a definition of terrorism , the problem of WMD terrorism is clearly kept in mind. While all these are laudable recommendations they do not by themselves ensure that the UN will be at the centre of global efforts to counter the threat of WMD terrorism nor that it will be the most effective body in this task. More will have to be done to identify the actual threat and keep it under review and devise defences against these threats. To do that we must review what the UN has said and done in the past. Speaking at the UN General Assembly on 1 October 2001, Secretary General Kofi Annan said, “It is hard to imagine how the tragedy of 11 September could have been worse. Yet, the truth is that a single attack involving a nuclear or biological weapon could have killed millions . While the world was unable to prevent the 11 September attacks, there is much we can do to help prevent future terrorist acts carried out with weapons of mass destruction.” He went on to propose strengthening the global norms against the use or proliferation of WMD by redoubling efforts to ensure the universality, verification, and full implementation of key treaties relating to WMD; promoting cooperation among international organizations dealing with these weapons; tightening national legislation over exports of goods and technologies needed to manufacture WMD and their means of delivery; and developing new efforts to criminalize the acquisition or use of WMD by non-state groups. More recently, on 10 March 2005, Secretary General Annan in his “five Ds” speech in Madrid said, “Nuclear terrorism is still often treated as science fiction….That such an attack has not yet happened is not an excuse for complacency. Rather it gives us a last chance to take effec80 jayantha dhanapala [18.220.160.216] Project...

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