th Dubai International Academy Model United Nations 2018| 10 Annual Session
Forum: Nuclear Security Summit
Issue: Developing stringent laws of punishment towards nations and non-state actors that make use of unauthorized nuclear material.
Student Officer: Arun Pancholia
Position: Deputy President of the Nuclear Security Summit
Introduction
Over the past few decades, Nuclear material has been used on a large scale, providing energy to many homes and in some cases, to entire cities. However, nuclear material does have various negative impacts on the environment. If Nuclear material is somehow exposed to a natural environment, it can have devastating impacts on the wildlife and ecosystem in place. For example, the disaster that occurred
th in Chernobyl on the 26 of April, in 1986, where a nuclear reactor had malfunctioned, chemical explosions that occurred in the reactor were so powerful that it blew off the 1000-ton top off the reactor. Due to the poor structure of the power plant in Chernobyl, the radioactive material escaped from its containment and contaminated the area, and surrounding areas, leaving the city of Chernobyl empty, as it cannot be inhabited for 20000 years due to the nuclear damage. After this incident, many people have begun to fear nuclear material, and simultaneously, people have also understood the power it possesses and have implemented the use of nuclear energy in their own countries. Nevertheless, the incident that occurred in Chernobyl shows the dangers of Nuclear energy, and why nations and non-state actors should have very stringent laws on the use of unauthorised nuclear material.
After such accidents, people have begun to understand the seriousness of nuclear material. Additionally, many countries have established incredibly strict laws regarding the use of nuclear material, and have done their best to ensure that nuclear material isn’t wasted. However, many non-state actors utilise unauthorised nuclear material for various purposes, and with such dangerous power within the hands of people that aren’t under the law, it can cause extremely negative implications for the entire world. Therefore, the laws on the use of unauthorised nuclear material must be more stringent.
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th Dubai International Academy Model United Nations 2018| 10 Annual Session
Agreements have been placed by many countries such as the very popular deal between Iran and the United States of America, in which Iran has agreed to no longer produce weapons grade plutonium, which can be used in the production of atomic bombs. This will be done to ensure that no violent activity can occur between the two countries, and to ensure that Iran can no longer pose a threat to opposing countries with their extensive production of weapons grade plutonium.
Definition of Key Terms
Nuclear Material
Nuclear Material consists of the following metals: Uranium, plutonium and thorium, in any form.
Non-State Actor
An individual or organisation that has significant political influence but is not allied to any country or state
Stringent
Strict, precise or exacting.
Key Issues
Legal Issues Surrounding the Use of Unauthorised Nuclear Material
The unauthorised use of nuclear weapons and nuclear objects is “A Legal Gap” worldwide. This statement is rather debateable, due to the fact that when a nuclear attack occurs, aid is given to those effected by the attack primarily, and less attention is given to those that commit the nuclear attack. This leads people to believe that the laws placed around the unauthorised use of nuclear materials aren’t stringent enough.
Simultaneously parties such as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have delivered many threats to some of the p5 nations, such as the United States of America, threatening to attack them using advanced nuclear weaponry which will cause extreme damage to the geography and population of the country, making the entire city completely inhabitable.
Post effects of Nuclear Attacks
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th Dubai International Academy Model United Nations 2018| 10 Annual Session
Over the past few decades nuclear material has caused devastating events to unfold. From the large nuclear bomb that occurred in Nagasaki, to the recent leakages of nuclear waste. It has just gone to show how much the world needs to regulate the use of nuclear substances.
The recent disaster in Fukushima, Japan, is an example of what dangers can be done by nuclear leakages, such as the disfiguration of the wildlife near the location of the disaster. Furthermore, larger scale disasters such as that in Ukraine have gone to show that nuclear energy is far stronger than any form of energy we have today, as it can leave places, such as Chernobyl inhabitable and cause severe impact to the environment and locality of the region, and result in the loss of life on a grand scale. In fact, when the power plant failed, 56 people died instantly, 9 of which were children. Additionally, there were 4000 people who acquired diseases such as cancer, and then there were 600,000 people who were exposed to high levels of radiation. This shows the extent to which nuclear material can cause extreme damage to human environments and human lives. Additionally, Nuclear material can leave places deserted, and unfit to host any life at all, as nuclear radiation’s effects are devastating and the nuclear material cannot be removed from areas for many millennia. An example of a place that can no longer host any form of life without having adverse side effects on any living organisms is Chernobyl, as after the drastic nuclear failure, the
Major Parties Involved and Their Views
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
The Democratic people’s republic of Korea has been developing nuclear tools for many years now, and they have been doing so with the sole intention of attacking the United States of America and igniting a nuclear war, which could potentially disrupt the global ecosystems and result in the possible extinction of many species. The country has been testing nuclear material quite a lot as well, however, they haven’t faced any consequences for their extensive use of such weaponry, which can have severe impacts in the future if the people are effected by the nuclear material. Additionally, they have planned to ignite a nuclear war, which could end the human population, and it could simultaneously have drastic effects for the Earth’s environment.
United Sates of America
The united states of America are also a large developer in Nuclear weaponry, and have been doing its best to protect it from any harm that can be caused by nuclear material. An example of their
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th Dubai International Academy Model United Nations 2018| 10 Annual Session extensive care for their own safety is the deal with Iran. One of their rival countries, whereby they have signed a deal prohibiting Iran from producing Nuclear Material that can be weaponised.
Simultaneously the USA have shut down parts of Iranian nuclear plants to prevent any weaponised nuclear material from being produced. The United States of America has also been a major user of nuclear weaponry in the past for example, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, using Nuclear bombs that contained uranium bullets. The United States of America also holds the largest number of nuclear power plants in the world (100 power plants), and this could result in large scale destruction if any disasters were to occur to any of the nuclear power plants.
The United States of America also dropped the first ever Nuclear Bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leaving the cities destroyed and killing many innocent men, women and children. Nevertheless, nuclear weaponry has not been used
Iran
Iran is also a large producer of nuclear material, and whilst it may only have 1 nuclear power plant, it can produce large-quantities of weaponised nuclear material, which is why it had signed the deal with the united states.
The United Nations
The United Nations has had various attempts at regulating nuclear activity. For instance, they have been able to identify the extremity of danger that nuclear weapons possess and have sought to eliminate such weapons since 1946, but still haven’t been able to do so. Due to this, many countries such as the US, India and Iran have used nuclear power to produce electricity and energy for the population of their countries, and in doing so, have prevented the elimination of nuclear weaponry and resources. They had also signed a treaty in 1996 preventing the use of nuclear tests in outer space, water and in the atmosphere, however after over 2 decades, it has still not been put to place, because countries such as the Democratic People’s republic of Korea are still testing nuclear weaponry on a daily basis, and are refusing to collaborate with the UN to abolish the use of such dangerous weapons.
The Clamshell Alliance
The clamshell is an anti-nuclear organisation which was founded in 1976. They conducted non-violent demonstrations throughout the 80’s and 90’s. The group grew larger, and thousands of people had joined it over time. Today, they work hard to stop nuclear reactors from being built, and they try their best to ensure that those that exist today aren’t causing any harm to the environment. As a
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th Dubai International Academy Model United Nations 2018| 10 Annual Session
matter of fact, the clamshell alliance attempted to stop the delivery of the first nuclear reactor in New England, however they were kept off the streets by the police. Regardless, they continued to protest, and over the decades, the organisation has grown, and many members have been arrested for disobeying police officers and constantly protesting regarding the use of nuclear material in the United Kingdom
Development of Issue/Timeline
There have been many major acts that have been conducted in order to stop the use of nuclear weaponry and nuclear material in general, however, whilst all of them may not have been successful, they have all made some kind of impact in raising awareness or preventing the widespread use of nuclear weaponry. The timeline below depicts the major actions that were taken in order to stop illegal use of nuclear energy by nations and non-state actors. Additionally this timeline depicts acts directed to
Date Event Outcome
August 1942 Manhattan project established in The first nuclear weapon was the United States of America developed in the US. It employed 130,000 people and cost 2 billion dollars
th 16 July 1945 The first ever nuclear test was This event marked the beginning conducted in the United States of of the nuclear age, as it was the America first nuclear testing and it was equivalent of 20,000 tonnes of TNT (in terms of extremity) and the test occurred in New Mexico
th 6 August 1945 United States drops the first The first atomic bomb is used in atomic bomb on Hiroshima an act of war, when the United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, which ended up killing 140,000 people, and many people died afterwards due to illnesses caused by radiation.
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th Dubai International Academy Model United Nations 2018| 10 Annual Session
th 24 January 1946 The United Nations calls for a b To deal with the issue of atomic ban on nuclear weaponry discovery, the UN, in its first resolution, called for the complete ban on nuclear weapons and they set up a commission to deal with the problem of the atomic discovery
th 29 August 1949 Soviet Union tests its first The Soviet Union explodes a nuclear bomb bomb called “First Lightning” in Kazakhstan. It becomes the second nation to successfully build a nuclear weapon.
th 9 July 1955 Ruessell- Einstein Manifesto Leading scientists issued a issued warning about the dangers of nuclear weaponry, in order to decrease the use of nuclear weaponry for any purpose
th 17 February 1958 UK disarmament campaign The campaign for nuclear formed disarmament begins in the UK
st 1 December 1959 Nuclear tests banned in The Antarctic treaty bans nuclear Antarctica tests within its region. Any radioactive activity is prohibited after this date.
14 February 1967 Latin America goes “Nuke Free” A treaty is signed in New Mexico preventing the use of nuclear material within all Latin America
18 May 1974 India conducts first nuclear test The government held an underground nuclear test, falsely claiming it was peaceful
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th Dubai International Academy Model United Nations 2018| 10 Annual Session
22 September 1979 Nuclear Explosion in the Indian A nuclear test explosion occurs Ocean over the Indian Ocean, which was thought to be conducted by South Africa, with the Assistance of Israel.
6 August 1985 South-Pacific Becomes Nuclear The South Pacific Nuclear Free Free Zone treaty is signed in the Cook Islands. It prohibits any use of nuclear material in the area.
15 December 1995 Southeast Asia becomes nuclear The nations of Southeast Asia free create a nuclear free zone, prohibiting any use of nuclear material within the borders of the Southeast-Asian Countries (Laos, Vietnam, Burma, Philippines, Indonesia)
1 June 1996 Ukraine becomes nuclear free They transfer their final nuclear warhead from the soviet union to Russia, for destruction, and prohibit the use of any nuclear material within their borders.
May 1998 Indian and Pakistan conduct Indian conducts 3 nuclear tests nuclear tests within 24 months, and Pakistan responds by conducting 6 nuclear weapons tests in response to India
9 October 2006 North Korea successfully This makes it the world’s 8th conducts its first nuclear test. Nation to successfully conduct a nuclear test
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th Dubai International Academy Model United Nations 2018| 10 Annual Session
30 April 2007 ICAN is launched Internationally The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons is founded in Australia. It calls for the immediate start of negotiations to completely eradicate nuclear weaponry across the globe, in order to reduce any further issues or casualties due to nuclear material of any sort, such as those that occurred in Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Chernobyl and Fukushima.
th 14 February 2014 Mexico Calls Conference for Ban The chair of the second conference on the humanitarian impact of nuclear material called for a ban on nuclear material in Mexico
27 March 2017 Nuclear Ban treaty negotiations All the UN’s overwhelming begin powers begin planning a treaty to ban nuclear weaponry
th 7 July 2017 UN adopts nuclear weapon ban 2/3 of the world’s nations vote to treaty adopt a nuclear weapon ban
Previous Attempts to solve the Issue
There have actually been many attempts to solve the illegal and/or harmful use of nuclear material from as early as the 1950’s, after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings that were conducted by the United States of America. A few years after the bombings, various peace movements emerged in Japan, calling for a complete and total ban on Hydrogen and Atomic bombs. Additionally, in the United Kingdom, there was a large march known as the “Aldermaston March” which took place on Easter in the
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th Dubai International Academy Model United Nations 2018| 10 Annual Session year 1958. It was organised by Direct Action Committee and it was supported by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. The march was conducted various times until the 60’s, and it was done to demonstrate people’s opposition to nuclear material being used within the United Kingdom.
Soon after, in the same year (1958), Linus Pauling and his wife approached the United Nations and presented them with a petition that was signed by more than 11 thousand scientists and it called for the eradication of Nuclear-Weapon testing. This petition was taken into account in 1961, after Doctor Louise Reiss showed conclusively that above-ground nuclear testing could cause significant harm to all living organisms and all environments exposed to the nuclear material in the form of radioactivity. This was shown by the milk of cows who had consumed some grass that had been contaminated by nuclear material.
After this, in 1961, at the peak of the cold war, approximately 50,000 women held the “Women’s Strike for Peace” which was a march that that occurred throughout 60 cities in the United States of
th America, and it became the largest national Women’s protest of the 20 Century.
In 1981, there was an enormous move for nuclear disarmament again, due to the fact that the president of the United States of America, Ronald Reagan (at the time) had “A world free of nuclear weapons” as his personal mission. He further discussed this with the Soviet Union, however it didn’t amount to much at the time.
Additionally, there was a huge protest in New York City’s Central Park against nuclear weapons and against the arms race. It consisted of a whopping one million people and it was the largest anti-nuclear protest ever to occur worldwide.
Recently, there was also a large conference held by the United Nations, consisting of diplomats from over 65 countries who began discussing the irreversible reduction of Uranium and other radioactive materials in industries in order to reduce dependency on nuclear material, as well as reduce the ability of nations and non-state actors to use nuclear material illegally for wrongdoing purposes.
Signed Treaties
There have been various treaties produced by organisations such as the United Nations, and recently, in the year 2017, the UN has once again attempted to end nuclear weaponry once and for all, by collaborating with nations, and they have managed to convince majority of the world to adopt a nuclear weapon ban worldwide. The current banning of nuclear weaponry worldwide will take time, as there are vast quantities of nuclear weaponry in places such as the United States of America and the
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th Dubai International Academy Model United Nations 2018| 10 Annual Session
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. However, over time, nuclear weaponry has become more and more dangerous, and it has evolved far more than before. Due to this advance in nuclear weaponry, the United Nations has once again begun working towards banning nuclear weaponry, and this time, it has gained more supporters for the movement, which could eventually result in a complete ban on all nuclear material globally.
Possible Solutions
One solution would be to slowly urge countries such as the United Sates to stop using vast quantities of Nuclear Energy, and slowly convert to other forms of energy, such as solar energy, or hydroelectricity, and other less dangerous and less weaponizable forms of energy. This could result in lower rates of pollution, and decrease the overall carbon footprint of the country, making it far safer to live in, and far more efficient and safe. However, this could also cause less efficient energy production, as renewable energy depends strongly on the environment, which is quite an unpredictable factor. Additionally, it would cost quite a lot to build renewable energy generators across a whole country.
Additionally, countries such as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea could be reprimanded for their vast use of Nuclear Weaponry in order to prevent further deterioration to the environment, and in order to prevent the spread of nuclear warfare amongst the world, which could potentially destroy the human race.
Simultaneously, Nuclear Material could be destroyed in a safe manner, in order to eradicate the possibility of nuclear weapons development and eliminate the further production of such nuclear material.
In addition to this, another solution could be to slowly stop using nuclear power plants in countries such as the United States of America that rely on Nuclear Energy so heavily, in order to reduce the usage of nuclear material, and reduce access to nuclear material, making it difficult for States as well as non-state actors to acquire the nuclear material illegally and cause warfare.
Bibliography
Buckley, Chris, Russell Goldman, JANE PERLEZ and CHOE SANG-HUN, CHOE SANG-HUN, Thomas Erdbrink, Josie Moyer, Mark Landler, Steven Paulikas, The Editorial Board, WILLIAM J. BROAD and
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DAVID E. SANGER, Ross Douthat, Maureen Dowd, GLENN THRUSH and PETER BAKER, Richard Fausset, Timothy Egan, and Peter Baker. "Nuclear Weapons." The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 Aug. 2017. Web.
Harrell, Eben. "Nuclear Proliferation: The Crime with No Punishment?" Time. Time Inc., 16 Sept. 2011. Web. "Understanding Nuclear Weapon Risks: Non-State Actors and Nuclear Weapons." James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. N.p., 21 Apr. 2017. Web.
Appendix or Appendices
Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons; Sample, Ian. “Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons Approved at UN.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 7 July 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/07/treaty-banning-nuclear-weapons-approved-un
Nuclear Weapons Timeline; “Nuclear Weapons Timeline.” ICAN, ICan, http://www.icanw.org/the-facts/the-nuclear-age/
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