By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent

United Nations -- The United States presented a draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council March 24 that attempts to fill a major gap in the current non-proliferation regimes by preventing chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons from falling into the hands of non-state actors, especially terrorist groups.

After presenting the draft resolution during a private Security Council meeting, U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said that "the fundamental purpose of this draft resolution is to deal with a very important gap that exists in international law today: that is the question of dealing with the possibility of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and materials that could be used to make them falling into the hands of non-state actors."

"It's a very important problem; it's a serious gap in the international regime and its one that needs to be dealt with on an urgent basis," he said.

"There are lots of disarmament and non-proliferation agreements that bind states to certain standards of behavior. This is the issue of preventing these weapons and materials from getting into the hands of non-state actors who, of course, are not parties to such treaties. It's an important draft resolution and an important step that we can take together to confront a serious problem we will be facing for some time to come," he said.

The United States defines "non-state actors" for the purpose of the resolution as "individuals or entity, not acting under the lawful authority of any state in conducting activities."

The text has been negotiated and agreed upon by the five permanent members of the Security Council -- China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and the United States -- that have veto power. The text next will be discussed with the 10 non-permanent members of the council -- Algeria, Angola, Benin, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Pakistan, Philippines, Romania, and Spain -- before being put to a vote.

Negroponte said that the U.S. delegation hopes to move the draft forward "as expeditiously as possible," but gave no indication as to when a vote might be expected.

President Bush first mentioned the resolution in his speech at the opening of the General Assembly in September 2003. He called for the adoption of a new anti-proliferation resolution requiring nations to criminalize the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, enact strict export controls, and secure any and all sensitive materials within their own borders.

"The deadly combination of outlaw regimes, terror networks, and weapons of mass murder is a peril that cannot be ignored or wished away," the president said. "If such a danger is allowed to fully materialize, all works, all protests, will come to late. Nations of the world must have the wisdom and the will to stop grave threats before they arrive."

The United States, Bush said, "is determined to keep the world's most destructive weapons away from all our shores, and out of the hands of our common enemies."

The draft resolution calls on member states to criminalize the proliferation of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, and their means of delivery to non-state actors, Negroponte said. "We believe we must act now to set a higher standard to prevent these weapons, key elements used to create them, and designs used to make them from falling into the hands of non-state actors, including terrorists who would seek to do us harm."

"There is explicit language in the draft making clear that this resolution is not meant to supercede, undercut, or undermine existing disarmament and non-proliferation regimes," he said.

The draft resolution calls on member states to refrain from providing support to non-state actors attempting to manufacture, develop, acquire, possess, or use chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. It also calls on member states to adopt and enforce laws prohibiting non-state actors from pursuing these activities and to establish effective domestic controls over these weapons and key items used to create them.

The draft resolution would be adopted under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter, which makes it binding and mandatory for all U.N. member states.

"The most important obligation it asks member states of the United Nations to undertake is to criminalize the provision of such items and such materials through their own domestic legislation. That is the key part of the resolution," Negroponte said.

The draft resolution "calls upon all nations to review all current procedures, to improve them, and to cooperate to prevent these very dangerous weapons from spreading beyond our control," Negroponte said.

The draft also recognizes that some nations may need assistance in implementing the provisions of the resolution and strengthening controls. It asks nations with the appropriate expertise to provide assistance on legal and regulatory infrastructure, implementation and resources. The council also would appoint a committee to monitor the implementation of the resolution, which would require reports from each nation.

The United Kingdom announced that it will co-sponsor the resolution.

"What we have to do is stop the ultimate nightmare of bringing together weapons of mass destruction and the terrorists," British Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry said.