Britain calls for break with France, North Korea, Russia on UN nuclear war resolution | nuclear

Non-proliferation groups are urging the British government to back off late plans to vote with France, Russia and North Korea against a UN resolution to study the effects of nuclear war.

During Friday's debate, a U.N. General Assembly committee will discuss a resolution that would establish an international panel of scientific experts to examine the global implications of different nuclear conflict scenarios.

The resolution, drafted by Ireland and New Zealand, is expected to receive overwhelming approval in committee and later be approved by the full assembly. Diplomats involved in preparing for the vote said the United States and China were expected to abstain, but Britain, France, Russia and North Korea were likely to vote against.

London and Paris joining forces with Moscow and Pyongyang would not stop the resolution, but it could impact both countries' reputations on other proliferation issues.

The British and French missions to the United Nations did not respond to requests for comment, and diplomats in New York said a final decision could remain until the final hours before the vote.

Arms control advocates have expressed disappointment that Britain's new Labor government is showing no signs of changing course with just 24 hours left until Thursday's debate.

Patricia Lewis, director of the international security program at the Chatham House think tank, said she was naive in thinking that a Labor government would move Britain away from the strange line it had taken on this particular type of issue. . Perhaps this is Labor trying to be more Catholic than the Pope when it comes to nuclear weapons. But what about voting and abstaining with America?

The panel proposed in Friday's resolution would be the first UN-commissioned study since 1988, and experts say much has changed in science and the global nuclear threat since then. For example, Russia and North Korea, which have both posed aggressive nuclear threats, have deepened their partnership.

Lewis argued that Britain and France's refusal to vote would undermine trust in other UN members, especially as London and Paris seek to rally global support for their criticism of Moscow.

The UK is trying to get countries like South Africa and Brazil on board with the whole issue of Russian behavior. So this is an opportunity for the UK to say: Yes, we hear you, Lewis said.

Observers believe Britain's stance may be the result of an agreement with France aimed at preventing criticism of France's nuclear weapons.

Zia Mian, a physicist and co-director of the Science and Global Security Program at Princeton University, said he thinks this is about building bridges with France. The French do not want to be alone with Russians, North Koreans, etc. when they vote against.

Britain, France, Russia and North Korea have been on the same side in UN votes before. Last December, only four countries voted against a general assembly resolution to help nuclear test victims and restore conditions at the former test site.

Some arms control experts still hoped on Thursday that Britain's policy remained unchanged from the previous Tory government due to inertia and could still change if the issue was brought to the attention of the Labor leadership at the 11th hour.

People are working hard to make sure the political world knows this is what's happening in London. Because this is often done on autopilot, said Mian, who argued for the new scientific panel.

The UN panel will be comprised of 21 scientific experts and will examine the physical impacts and social consequences of nuclear war at local, regional and planetary scales.

Scientists say such work is essential because much has changed in the subject area since 1988, when the last study was completed. For example, it was previously thought that it would take a full-scale nuclear conflict between the superpowers to plunge the world into nuclear winter. It is now thought that even a limited nuclear exchange between local enemies could have devastating effects globally.

They never imagined the climate system would be so sensitive to these kinds of impacts, Mian said.

Last April, the Royal Society participated in a joint statement from the National Academies of Sciences of G7 member countries, saying: One of the roles of the scientific community is to continually develop and communicate the scientific evidence base that demonstrates catastrophe. The impact of nuclear war on humanity and other species that share the Earth.

Some governments and national scientific agencies have conducted their own research, but supporters of the resolution said the UN panel could emulate the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to establish global consensus and scientific standards and influence policy.

Andrei Baklitsky, a senior researcher at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Studies, said studying the consequences of nuclear war could crystallize how bad it is to have nuclear weapons and could put pressure on countries considering using them. Their leaders, their elites may study or read this book, or their populations, partners or allies may say we really don't want this to happen.

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