India abstains in UNSC on Russian motion on Ukraine ‘bio weapons’

India abstains in UNSC on Russian motion on Ukraine ‘bio weapons’

Subject: International Relations

Context:

• India abstained on Russia-sponsored draft resolution at UNSC for probe on Ukraine’s alleged bio weapons.

What was the motion all about:

• The motion sponsored by Russia sought to establish a commission to investigate claims by Moscow that the US and Ukraine are carrying out military biological activities in laboratories in Ukraine in violation of the biological weapons convention.
• The resolution failed to get adopted as only two Council membersRussia and China voted in its favour, while the US, the UK and France voted against it and the other Council members including India abstained from voting.

What was India stand:

• The Counsellor Amarnath from India’s Permanent Mission to the UN said that India attaches high importance to the Biological Weapons Convention which is the first non-discriminatory disarmament treaty banning a complete category of weapons of mass destruction.
• India also reiterated the need to negotiate a comprehensive legally binding protocol providing for an effective, universal and non-discriminatory verification mechanism to strengthen the implementation of the Convention.

What is Biological Weapons Convention:

• It was the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning an entire category of weapons of mass destruction.
• The Convention came into force in 1975 and the Convention was negotiated by the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament in Geneva,
• The treaty prohibits the development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpiling and use of biological weapons.
• It has 183 signatories, including the United States, Russia, and Ukraine.
• Ten states have neither signed nor ratified the BWC i.e Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Israel, Kiribati, Micronesia, Namibia, South Sudan, and Tuvalu.

What are the Obligations of the treaty:

• The treaty prohibits the development, stockpile, production, or transfer of biological agents and toxins of types and quantities that have no justification for protective or peaceful use.
• Furthermore, the treaty bans the development of weapons, equipment or delivery systems to disseminate such agents or toxins.
• The convention stipulates that states shall cooperate bilaterally or multilaterally to solve compliance issues.