1999 E-mail Exchange with Sir Brian Urquhart: Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley

E-mail Exchange with Sir Brian Urquhart and students from Marin Academy High School, UC Berkeley's Model UN Program, and Boalt School of Law: March 1999 with Harry Kreisler

Arms Control

How do you view the changing role of the United Nations in the regulation of nuclear weapons and chemical warfare?

Ian M., Marin Academy High School

The United Nations' role concerning nuclear weapons and chemical warfare is limited to negotiating basic agreements such as the Chemical Warfare Treaty, the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty, the Convention Banning Nuclear Weapons from Outer Space, etc. The actual regulation or abolition of such weapons is still inevitably the responsibility of the governments concerned. However, the practical attempt by the United Nations' special commission to get rid of the weapons of mass destruction of one state, Iraq, is an important new experiment, which incidentally, demonstrates the enormous difficulties of getting rid of these weapons, even in one relatively small country.

In your opinion should land mines be used in the DMZ between North and South Korea? What sorts of benefits and drawbacks do you believe will come from a ban on land mines?

Model UN Program, Marin Academy High School

I am all for a ban on land mines. On the other hand, I can understand the difficulties of the military authorities in the countries, including the United States, which oppose the ban. Like all disarmament measures, such a ban depends in the long run on the assurance that everyone will respect it. Until we find means of giving such assurances the ban on land mines and indeed other essential measures of disarmament will be extremely difficult to achieve. The DMZ between North and South Korea is a very good case in point.