PM Hovland's Statement on Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Policies and Programs

Prime Minister Hovland's Statement on Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Policies and Programs. Dec 20, 2017

Soon after the last midterm elections I directed a comprehensive study of our defense policies and programs. There had been no such review since our independence. As a result, objectives and policies in this field were unclear and programs lacked unified definition and direction.

Under the auspices of Cabinet, a committee of the Departments of External Affairs, Defence & Security, and Science & Research, with input from our intelligence community, legal experts, and other agencies, has worked diligently on this study for over ten months. Our government's efforts were greatly aided by contributions from the scientific community.

This study has now been completed and its findings carefully considered by the Cabinet. Our generation faces a special responsibility, because the march of modern technology has made ever more deadly the weapons of war. I am now reporting the decisions taken on the basis of this review concerning the government's positions concerning weapons of mass destruction, namely nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

OPPOSITION TO NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Nuclear technology has harnessed the power of atoms. This awesome power can be harnessed for good and for evil purposes. It is the policy of my government that the Dominion:

- rejects and condemns any use of nuclear weapons of mass destruction and we reaffirm our status as a Nuclear Weapon Non-Proliferation State;
- reaffirm our commitment to include explicit non-proliferation clauses in our bilateral military and trade agreements;
- to support diplomatic efforts to advance test bans and restrictions with a goal of the total removal of nuclear weapons from the South Pacific;
- continue to support to the research, production and use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, specifically the Volaworand Defence Force Nuclear Power Program, the Volaworand Infrastructure Modernization Programme's construction of civilian nuclear reactors, and the Nuclear Medicine Research Programs of Volaworand Antarctic College;
- strictly regulate the potential mining of Uranium and related nuclear materials specifically concerning potential exports
- shall seek a positive affirmation from our Supreme Court under the Constitutional Questions Referral Act of my government's position that our domestic and international legal prohibitions apply to our space program.

CHEMICAL WARFARE UNDER REVIEW
Chemical weapons can cause untold and long lasting health and ecological harms. As to our chemical warfare program, the Dominion:

- Reaffirms our oft-repeated renunciation of the first use of lethal chemical weapons.
- Extends this renunciation to the first use of incapacitating chemicals.
- Consonant with these decisions, the government shall conduct a chemical weapons review, to study the various international agreements concerning chemical warfare and the impact of any potential ratification on our domestic defence initiatives. We take this exploratory step to reinforce our continuing advocacy of international constraints on the use of these weapons in warfare.

NEW BIOLOGICAL WARFARE BAN
Biological weapons have massive, unpredictable and potentially uncontrollable consequences. They may produce global epidemics and impair the health of future generations. We have therefore decided that:

- The Dominion shall renounce the use of lethal biological agents and weapons, and all other methods of biological warfare.
- The Dominion will confine its biological research to health and defensive measures such as immunization and safety measures.
- The Department of Defense has been asked to make recommendations as to the disposal of existing stocks of bacteriological weapons.
- In the spirit of these decisions, the Dominion associates itself and accedes to the 1972 Convention on Biological Weapons which bans the use of biological methods of warfare.

Neither our association with the Convention on Biological Weapons nor the limiting of programs to peaceful purposes will leave us vulnerable to surprise by an enemy who does not observe these rational restraints. Our defence remains strong and vigilant. Our monitoring, early warning and defence systems are maintained. Our intelligence community will continue to watch carefully the nature and extent of the weapons programs of others. These decisions provide a common, unified foundation for policy in all parts of government.

The Dominion of Volaworand always seeks the path of peace with freedom and justice. In our view, sustainable security can only be attained through cooperation and disarmament. The lack of cooperation and disarmament has led to a more unstable and insecure world. This development must be turned around, not only for ourselves but even more so for the sake of the younger generation. Humanity already carries in its own hands too many of the seeds of its own destruction. We call on all nations to commit to setting our world on a safer course. These important decisions, which I am pleased to announce today, are taken as an initiative toward peace. By the examples we set today, we hope to contribute to an atmosphere of peace and understanding between nations and all humanity.

Prime Minister Lina Hovland
Parliament House
Rothera, Volaworand