Weapons of Mass Destruction (Amendment) Bill, 2022: The Lok Sabha recently passed yet another bill that prohibits the funding of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).
This Bill was introduced by External Affairs Minister Dr S.Jaishankar.
Key Details:
- The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill 2022 was passed unanimously in the lower house (Lok Sabha) of the Parliament to amend the Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Act, 2005.
- The amendment law was passed in accordance with India's international commitments to prevent the financing of the spread of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems.
- The 2005 Act only banned the manufacturing, transport, and transfer of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems.
- The passage of the legislation will strengthen national security and enhance India's reputation globally.
The need for amending the act:
- The current Weapons of Mass Destruction Act does not address the financial aspects of such delivery systems, so additional measures are required to meet international obligations.
- The need to amend the Act arose because recently, regulations relating to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems by international organisations have expanded.
- The United Nations Security Council's targeted financial sanctions and the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force have mandated against financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems."
Objectives of the Bill:
The Bill aims to achieve three objectives:
1)Prohibit financing of any activities linked to weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
2)Empower the Centre to freeze, seize or attach funds, financial assets or economic resources for preventing such financing.
3)Prohibit making funds, financial assets or economic resources available for any prohibited activity in relation to weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems.
India’s 2005 WMD Act:
- India’s 2005 WMD Act defines biological weapons as weapons that are specially designed to use various toxins or agents for hostile purposes or during armed conflict.
- The act defines chemical weapons as weapons that are used to cause death and destruction using toxic chemicals.
What are Weapons of Mass Destruction?
- Weapons of mass destruction (WWD) are those weapons that can inflict mass casualties, destroy nations and also cause great damage to the biosphere, or the natural structures.
- The WMDs can be used in four ways to cause devastation:
1)Chemically,
2)Biologically,
3)Nuclear, and
4)Radiologically.
- These weapons are frequently referred to collectively as NBC (nuclear, biological, and chemical) weapons.
- The term weapons of mass destruction have been since at least 1937, when it was first used to describe massed formations of bomber aircraft.
- For instance, nuclear bombs used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki attack in Japan.
When were WMDs used?
- The first wide-scale use of chemical weapons began during World War I.
- The Germans used mustard gases at the village of Langemarck in 1915.
- They were also used extensively by the British and the French.
- In World War II, the Japanese made use of biological weapons on China.
- The United States used nuclear weapons when it detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.
- Chemical weapons were used extensively by Iraq against Iran in the war of the 1980s.
Which countries have WMDs?
Nine countries possess nuclear weapons:
1.The US
2.Russia
3.France
4.The UK
5.China
6.India
7.Pakistan
8.North Korea
9.Israel
A vast majority of nukes are held by the US and Russia.
Efforts to control the spread of WMD:
The use of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons is regulated through the use of various international treaties.
Some of the treaties are -
- The Geneva Protocol, 1925, which banned the use of biological and chemical weapons.
- The Chemical Weapons Convention, 1992, and the Biological Weapons Convention, 1972, which bans chemical and biological weapons.
Note: These two treaties have been signed and ratified by India.
- The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1968 and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) regulates nuclear weapons proliferation.
- Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993
Note: India has not signed the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, but is signatory to both Biological Weapons Convention and Chemical Weapons Convention.
