Nuclear Weapons Proliferation

[Arnor and Gondor-]

Hello everyone,

I am working on a draft resolution for the World Assembly called the Nuclear Weapons Limitation Treaty.

To explain my motives behind this, I have viewed the existing resolutions and have seen none concerning this topic.

What this draft will seek to do is not to ban nuclear weapons but to set a ceiling on the number a nation can possess. Ofcourse the obvious question is why set a ceiling? Nuclear weapons are not really meant to be used in war but rather to prevent war (Nuclear Deterrence) with the belief that any attack on a Nuclear Country will lead to nuclear retaliation.

The Nature of NS is such that all nations can claim to have them. However using them is another matter in itself. Any person with an interest in World Political Matters knows that countries with the nuclear deterrence keep at all time nuclear armed submarine on patrol to counter attack if they were to suffer a first strike. Any good RP-er in NS will probably do to the same. No sane person would start a nuclear war for this reason alone.

Thus I would like my draft resolution to attempt to set a number on the nuclear weapons a country can possess. A nuclear program cost billions to run and maintain and there is always a threat associated with them; including and not limited to robbery, sabotage, nuclear meltdown, etc...

My nation believes that the the World and other nations stands to benefit through this treaty as the lessen maintenance cost means more funds available for other programs such as welfare and a first step towards the a nuclear weapon free world (we can all dream can't we).

In short the main benefits could be broken down point wise

• Funds can be diverted to other Programs
  
• Limits future creation of Nuclear Waste
  
• Reduce Exposition of World Population to Nuclear Material/Elements
  

All feedback are welcome. This is still an idea and I would greatly appreciate any constructive posts telling why it will work/will not work and any other form of contribution.

[Calanria]

First off, I would suggest you join the WA before going any further; I'm pretty sure you have to be a WA member to propose resolutions unless you plan on having a WA member sponsor the resolution.

Second, keep in mind that you're diving into the realm of national sovereignty, and those sorts of resolutions always tend to turn south (one need only look at the "Banning Cannibalism" resolution that recently went up; despite cannibalism being disgusting by most standards, most nations would rather keep the freedom to themselves out of principle). I would suggest that you avoid talking up the benefits of financial redirection. Countries don't like being told how to spend their money or how not being able to spend their money on something will provide benefits in other areas. Focus on the safety issue.

Also, bear in mind that wandering into the realm of nuclear arms brings up the issue on whether nuclear power facilities will be allowed under the law. If nuclear arms is your main focus, make sure to drive the point home that you will not be touching nuclear power rights. That's another possible death trap for the bill.

[Arnor and Gondor-]

Thanks for the reply. I'm already a member of the WA. The bill itself deals exclusively with nuclear weaponry. The right of any nation to Civil nuclear programs will not be affected in anyway.

[Calanria]

Ah, I was just running off what it says under your name.

Alright. My suggestion would be just to make that obvious in the bill. Bills need to be really specific to get passed, from what I've seen, so the more specific you can be as to what will be implemented if your bill passes, the better. The idea of limitation may be appealing to some, but they will be hesitant to pass the bill if all it says is that something needs to be done about nuclear arms.

[Arnor and Gondor-]

I agree with you on that point. I am aiming to set specific ceiling on specific types of weapons. I have had a look over existing treaties made with reference to nuclear materials. I plan on being more specific that just saying limit nuclear weapons to x number.

Moreover, i think it would be better for such a measure to be phased in rather over a period of time.

[New Rogernomics]

I like the idea of this proposal, though its probably best to stay away from precise numbers, and just focus on safety (and perhaps reduction of military spending).

A few videos, from Kiwiland.

New Zealand PM David Lange Oxford Speech - Nuclear weapons are morally indefensible:


Full text of speech

Al Jazeera documentary (includes a bit about the nuclear free movement, and world court project, forgive the bad music over the story):

[Arnor and Gondor-]

Thank you for the Ideas! It is very much appreciated!

[Anime Daisuki]

You might want to double check to see if this is already passed by somebody. Look at the list of current resolutions and see if any topic is close to it, then look at text of those topics

forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=30

[Ananke II]

Looking through the list of WA resolutions the only ones we've got on the books currently, which deals with nuclear weapons is GA #10 Nuclear Arms Possession Act and GA #119 Nuclear Testing Safety, which makes it legal for WA states to possess these weapons and deals with testing. From what I remember nuclear weapons resolutions tend to make the NatSov people come out in force, which is something to keep in mind - you might consider having one or two of them look over the draft to see if what, if anything they'd object to, to either compromise or in order to know which arguments you'd come up against during the floor discussion.

GA #10: forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?p=322#p322
GA #119: forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?p=4026048#p4026048

There's also a couple of resolutions which deals with nuclear energy (GA #60 and GA #116)

Have you started on a draft yet?

[Arnor and Gondor-]

I did my homework, and had a look at all resolutions with the words "Nuclear" in it I have jotted down some ideas, but I'm mostly doing research to make sure I get things right. Oh and when I'm done with it, I will post it over here so we can all have a look at it.

[Arnor and Gondor-]

Update: I'm about 3/4 finished with a draft. Thanks everyone for your input and please don't hesitate to contact me if you have new ideas

[Arnor and Gondor-]

I have completed a first draft 10000islands.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=unboard&action=display&thread=23202

[Heraldic Alliance]

While the basic idea is great, I do not know how the people of the Heraldic Alliance could support your resolution without a specific and defined limit on the number of Nuclear warheads a nation could have at the ready. By using your proposed standards of a percentage of your military budget it allows anyone to bolster their nuclear weapon stockpile by adjusting their budget numbers.

[Daelaam]

I would suggest that instead of proposing a highly controversial resolution which would face considerable opposition, perhaps propose that an international committee would be set up, in which nations choosing to join and actively work with, puts limits (as you said it yourself) on the number of nuclear weapons operated by any member nation's arsenal.

This would essentially give a choice to all nations, and would most likely get passed. Then again, I've never personally made any proposals to the WA/SC (I'm still a newbie =P), so I don't know, I'm probably wrong here. I know I should check your draft (and I will tomorrow), but right now, it's 1.30 AM, and it's about time I get some sleep!

Either way, best of luck!