UNITED NATIONS, Oct 20 (APP): Pakistan Wednesday voiced concern about the possibility of the acquisition, production and abuse of chemical and biological materials as well as technology by non-State actors and, in some cases, by States as well, and called for their adequate regulation to avert any use that conflicts with international conventions.
“We agree that sensitive technologies and materials should be adequately regulated to guard against their uses incompatible with the purposes of the BW (Biological Weapons) or CW (Chemical Weapons) Conventions,” Ambassador Khalil Hashmi told the UN General Assembly’s First Committee, which deals with disarmament and international security matters.
However, Ambassador Hashmi, who is Pakistan’s permanent representative to UN offices in Geneva said, that objective should not justify impediments to the legitimate use of biological or chemical sciences, equipment and technology among States parties for peaceful purposes. “It is vital to restore balance and even-handedness in the implementation of the export control regimes,” the Pakistani envoy said in New York.
Non-discriminatory implementation of the Conventions, national physical protection and international assistance and cooperation were key tools to prevent non-State actors’ acquisition production, or use of those weapons, he said in a thematic debate on ‘Other Weapons of Mass Destruction.’
In this regard, Ambassador Hashmi said that Pakistan supports a proposal for negotiating an international convention to combat acts of chemical and biological terrorism in the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament (CD).
On other matters, the Pakistani envoy said that the COVID-19 pandemic had laid bare the fragilities of the global public health architecture, including the intersecting issues of life sciences, viruses, and infectious diseases. There were important lessons for the Biological Weapons Convention regime from the pandemic, such as the mutually reinforcing nature of its prevention and protection aspects, as well as the urgency of amplifying international assistance and cooperation in the field of life sciences.
Pakistan, he said, remained committed to the full, effective and balanced implementation of that Convention. Neither the UN Secretary-General’s mechanism, nor voluntary confidence-building measures could substitute for the widely supported proposal to conclude a legally binding verification protocol.
On its part, he said, Pakistan condemns the use of chemical weapons by anyone, anywhere, under any circumstances, and those responsible for such acts be held accountable.
He added the importance of avoiding distortions in the mandate of the Hague-base Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) that might render it susceptible to political manoeuvring.
“Access to and the use of biology and chemistry remains critical to the economies and societies of developing countries,” Ambassador Hashmi said, adding, “The potential dual nature of the emerging technologies in these areas should not be used as a pretext for proscribing or restricting their availability to developing countries.
“Striking a balance between addressing new risks and keeping avenues of assistance and cooperation open is essential.”