Change, Imminent?

Sreeram Yashasvi, reporting from the Disarmament and International Security Council (DISEC), tries to discern the pulse of the committee as the debate unfolds.

The Delegate of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia started off the debate by pointing out that there still hadn’t been a proper definition of what a biological weapon meant. He added that unless a proper definition of a biological weapon was agreed upon, loopholes and fallacies in policies could not be properly dealt with. The Delegate also spoke about the misuse of Veto power in the Security Council that blocked many investigations of the P5 countries or their allies. The other Third World countries also agreed with this stance.

The Delegate of the Russian Federation acknowledged that the P5 was a group of countries which had their share of differences but said Russia was hopeful of better co-operation from the West. The Delegate of the Russian Federation also claimed that the Biological Weapon Program had ended when the Soviet Union was dissolved and whatever biological materials it possessed were being used only for scientific purposes.

United States of America (USA) spoke at length about the ambiguous clauses in the Convention and claimed it was "costly and useless". The Delegate asserted that the USA would not hesitate to pull out of BWC if the necessary changes were not made. The Delegate specifically targeted the Sixth clause in the Convention which he claimed was a serious infringement of the American constitution and the right to privacy of his countrymen.

It was duly noted by the Delegate of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea that the modern technology has enabled even rogue youth to synthesize bio-weapons in their own garages or school labs. The Delegate stressed the importance of preventing unanticipated situations like the one aforementioned.

The Delegate of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela quoted his own country as an example to highlight the fact that countries with weaker economies tend to face difficulty in monitoring their citizens effectively. This he claimed that it made it harder for the government to contain biological weapon production which were prevalent on small scales.

Though the issues raised by the delegates were commendable, there seemed to be tough road of negotiations ahead.