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India accuses Security Council of overstepping its authority

Hoping to curb the nuclear arms race in South Asia, the Security Council considered a Japanese resolution urging India and Pakistan to halt their nuclear weapons programme and denying nuclear status to the two rivals.

India accused the Council of overstepping its authority and questioned why the members were tolerating "the continued retention of nuclear weapons by the nuclear weapons states,'' who are all permanent members of the Council.

In a letter to Council President Antonio Monteiro, India's UN Ambassador, Kamalesh Sharma, said the resolution involved "sovereign decisions taken by member states, not matters in which the Council has any role.''

Sharma asked whether the Security Council can "continue to ignore the overwhelming demand'' of the rest of the world "for elimination of nuclear weapons'' when the most important Council members refuse to dismantle their own arsenals.

The draft resolution urges both countries to halt the development of missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads and calls on them to sign nuclear arms control treaties.

It also asks India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and find "mutually acceptable solutions'' to the "root causes of those tensions, including Kashmir.''

Japan pushed for quick Council action on the resolution as a followup to Thursday's meeting in Geneva of foreign ministers of the five long-time nuclear states -- the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China.

Following the Geneva meeting, the five -- also permanent members of the Council -- condemned Indian and Pakistani tests and pledged to cooperate closely "to prevent a nuclear and missile arms race in the subcontinent.''

Council diplomats continued closed-door consultations late yesterday trying to work out language acceptable to all 15 members, especially the 10 non-permanent members who were not represented at the Geneva meeting.

It was unclear whether the resolution, co-sponsored by Sweden and Costa Rica, would be put to vote today.

The draft resolution repeated the position of the five that although India and Pakistan have exploded nuclear devices, they would not be accorded status as nuclear states.

Under the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the five countries were the only ones allowed to maintain nuclear arsenals. India and Pakistan have refused to sign the treaty, pointing to that exemption as unfair.

The Japanese resolution also welcomed an offer by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to encourage India and Pakistan to resume a high-level dialogue which broke down last year because of differences over Kashmir.

The resolution also "encourages'' member states to prevent the export of materials, equipment and technology "that could in any way assist programmes in India or Pakistan for nuclear weapons.''

UNI

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