NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@...)



141 states support second uranium weapons resolution in UN General Assembly vote
The United Nations General Assembly has passed, by a huge majority, a resolution
requesting its agencies to update their positions on the health and
environmental effects of uranium weapons.
2 December 2008 - ICBUW


The voting explained:
> Overwhelming majority of states support action on uranium weapons
> EU and NATO members split on the issue
> US, UK, Israel and France isolated
> UN Agencies forced to update their positions on uranium weapons by 2010
> 141 vote in favour, 34 abstain, four vote against.




The resolution, which had passed the First Committee stage on October 31st by
127 states to four, calls on three UN agencies - the World Health Organisation
(WHO), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) to update their positions on uranium weapons. The
overwhelming support for the text reflects increasing international concern over
the long-term impact of uranium contamination in post-conflict environments and
military ranges.
In the 17 years since uranium weapons were first used on a large scale in the
1991 Gulf War, a huge volume of peer-reviewed research has highlighted
previously unknown pathways through which exposure to uranium's heavy metal
toxicity and radioactivity may damage human health.
Throughout the world, parliamentarians have responded by supporting calls for a
moratorium and ban, urging governments and the military to take a precautionary
approach. However the WHO and IAEA have been slow to react to this wealth of new
evidence and it is hoped that this resolution will go some way to resolving this
situation.
In a welcome move, the text requests that all three agencies work closely with
countries affected by the use of uranium weapons in compiling their research.
Until now, most research by UN member states has focused on exposure in veterans
and not on the civilian populations living in contaminated areas. Furthermore,
recent investigations into US veteran studies have found them to be wholly
incapable of producing useful data.
The text also repeats the request for states to submit reports and opinions on
uranium weapons to the UN Secretary General in the process that was started by
last year's resolution. Thus far, 19 states have submitted reports to the
Secretary General; many of them call for action on uranium weapons and back a
precautionary approach. It also places the issue on the agenda of the General
Assembly's 65th Session; this will begin in September 2010.
The First Committee vote saw significant voting changes in comparison to the
previous year's resolution, with key EU and NATO members such as the
Netherlands, Finland, Norway and Iceland changing position to support calls for
further action on the issue. These changes were echoed at the General Assembly
vote. Once again Japan, which has been under considerable pressure from
campaigners, supported the resolution.
Of the permanent five Security Council members, the US, UK and France voted
against. They were joined by Israel. Russia abstained and China refused to vote.
The list of states abstaining from the vote, while shorter than in 2007, still
contains Belgium, the only state to have implemented a domestic ban on uranium
weapons, a fact that continues to anger Belgian campaigners. It is suspected
that the Belgian government is wary of becoming isolated on the issue
internationally. Two Nordic states, Denmark and Sweden continue to blow cold,
elsewhere in Europe Poland, the Czech Republic, Portugal and Spain are also
dragging their feet, in spite of a call for a moratorium and ban by 94% of MEPs
earlier this year. Many of the abstainers are recent EU/NATO accession states or
ex-Soviet republics such as Kazakhstan.
Australia and Canada, both of whom have extensive uranium mining interests and
close ties to US foreign policy also abstained.
The resolution was submitted by Cuba and Indonesia on behalf of the League of
Non-Aligned States.


Voting results in full
In favour: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina,
Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus,
Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina
Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Congo,
Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic People's Republic of Korea,
Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial
Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea,
Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq,
Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic
Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Madagascar, Malawi,
Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius,
Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru,
Nepal, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New
Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent
and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia,
Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan,
Suriname, Swaziland, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste,
Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, United
Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu,
Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Against: France, Israel, United Kingdom, United States.
Abstain: Albania, Andorra, Australia, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria,
Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Micronesia (Federated
States of), Palau, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova,
Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, The former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Ukraine.
Absent: Central African Republic, Chad, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Kiribati, Monaco, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Seychelles, Sierra
Leone, Somalia.





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]