by Michel Chossudovsky
November 27, 2005
from
GlobalResearch Website
"Weather-modification offers the war
fighter a wide-range of possible options to defeat or coerce an
adversary... In the United States, weather-modification will likely
become a part of national security policy with both domestic and
international applications. Our government will pursue such a
policy, depending on its interests, at various levels."
(US Air Force. Air University
of the US Air Force,
AF 2025 Final Report)
Guided by the interest of consolidating
peace... and of saving mankind from the danger of using new means of
warfare, (...)Recognizing that military... use of such
[environmental modification techniques] could have effects extremely
harmful to human welfare, desiring to prohibit effectively
military... use of environmental modification techniques in order to
eliminate the dangers to mankind... and affirming their willingness
to work towards the achievement of this objective, (...)
Each State Party to this Convention
undertakes not to engage in military... use of environmental
modification techniques having widespread, long-lasting or severe
effects as the means of destruction, damage or injury to any other
State Party.
(Convention
on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of
Environmental Modification Techniques, Geneva: 18 May
1977, Entered into force: 5 October 1978, see full text of
Convention in Annex)
The November 2005 Montreal Conference on
Climate Change will focus exclusively on global warming. The debate on
climate change will center on formal measures to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.
The underlying consensus is that greenhouse gas emissions constitute the
sole cause of climate instability.
Neither the government delegations nor the environmental action groups
participating in the November 2005 Montreal venue, have raised the issue of
"weather warfare" or "environmental modification techniques (ENMOD)"
for military use.
Despite a vast body of scientific knowledge, the issue of deliberate
climatic manipulations for military use is no longer part of the UN agenda
on climate change.
In 1977, an international Convention was ratified by
the
United Nations General Assembly which banned,
"military or other hostile use of
environmental modification techniques having widespread, long-lasting or
severe effects."
(AP, 18 May 1977).
Both the US and the Soviet Union were
signatories to the Convention.
The Convention defined,
"'environmental modification techniques' as
referring to any technique for changing--through the deliberate
manipulation of natural processes--the dynamics, composition or
structure of the earth, including its biota, lithosphere, hydrosphere
and atmosphere or of outer space."
(Environmental Modification Ban
Faithfully Observed, States Parties Declare, UN Chronicle, July, 1984,
Vol. 21, p. 27)
The substance of the 1977 Convention was
reasserted in the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
signed at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro:
"States have... in accordance with the
Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law,
the (...) responsibility to ensure that activities within their
jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other
States or of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction."
(UN
Framework Convention on Climate Change, New York, 1992).
In February 1998, the European Parliament's
Committee on Foreign Affairs, Security and Defense Policy held public
hearings in Brussels on the U.S. based weather warfare facility developed
under the
HAARP program.
The Committee's "Motion for Resolution"
submitted to the European Parliament:
"Considers HAARP... by virtue of its
far-reaching impact on the environment to be a global concern and calls
for its legal, ecological and ethical implications to be examined by an
international independent body...; [the Committee] regrets the repeated
refusal of the United States Administration... to give evidence to the
public hearing ...into the environmental and public risks [of] the HAARP
program."
(European Parliament, Committee on
Foreign Affairs, Security and Defense Policy, Brussels, doc. no.
A4-0005/99, 14 January 1999).
The Committee's request to draw up a "Green
Paper" on "the environmental impacts of military activities", however, was
casually dismissed on the grounds that the European Commission lacked the
required jurisdiction to delve into "the links between environment and
defense".
Brussels was anxious to avoid a showdown with
Washington. (see European Report, 3 February 1999).
The possibility of climatic or environmental manipulations as part of a
military and intelligence agenda, while tacitly acknowledged, has never
considered relevant. Military analysts are mute on the subject.
Meteorologists are not investigating the matter, and environmentalists are
strung on global warming and the Kyoto protocol.
Ironically, the Pentagon, while recognizing its ability to modify the
World's climate for military use, has joined the global warming consensus.
In a major study, the Pentagon has analyzed
in detail the implications of various global warming scenarios.
In the light of the November 2005 Montreal Conference and with a view
to broadening the debate, Global Research has compiled a number of important
articles and documents on the issue of "weather warfare". Included in annex
is the text of the 1977 ENMOD Convention.
It should be emphasized that the 1977 ENMOD Convention is still in effect
and that signatories States have committed themselves to abiding by the
clauses of the Convention.
Selected Articles
TEXT OF THE 1977 ENMOD
CONVENTION
Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any
Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques
Opened for signature at Geneva: 18 May 1977
Entered into force: 5 October 1978
Depositary: Secretary-General of the United Nations
The States Parties to this Convention,
Guided by the interest of consolidating peace, and wishing to contribute
to the cause of halting the arms race, and of bringing about general and
complete disarmament under strict and effective international control,
and of saving mankind from the danger of using new means of warfare,
Determined to continue negotiations with a view to achieving effective
progress towards further measures in the field of disarmament,
Recognizing that scientific and technical advances may open new
possibilities with respect to modification of the environment,
Recalling the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human
Environment adopted at Stockholm on 16 June 1972,
Realizing that the use of environmental modification techniques for
peaceful purposes could improve the interrelationship of man and nature
and contribute to the preservation and improvement of the environment
for the benefit of present and future generations,
Recognizing, however, that military or any other hostile use of such
techniques could have effects extremely harmful to human welfare,
Desiring to prohibit effectively military or any other hostile use of
environmental modification techniques in order to eliminate the dangers
to mankind from such use, and affirming their willingness to work
towards the achievement of this objective,
Desiring also to contribute to the strengthening of trust among nations
and to the further improvement of the international situation in
accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United
Nations,
Have agreed as follows:
Article I
1. Each State Party to this
Convention undertakes not to engage in military or any other hostile
use of environmental modification techniques having widespread,
long-lasting or severe effects as the means of destruction, damage
or injury to any other State Party.
2. Each State Party to this Convention undertakes not to assist,
encourage or induce any State, group of States or international
organization to engage in activities contrary to the provisions of
paragraph 1 of this article.
Article II
As used in Article I, the
term "environmental modification techniques" refers to any technique
for changing -- through the deliberate manipulation of natural
processes -- the dynamics, composition or structure of the Earth,
including its biota, lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere, or of
outer space.
Article III
1. The provisions of this
Convention shall not hinder the use of environmental modification
techniques for peaceful purposes and shall be without prejudice to
the generally recognized principles and applicable rules of
international law concerning such use.
2. The States Parties to this Convention undertake to facilitate,
and have the right to participate in, the fullest possible exchange
of scientific and technological information on the use of
environmental modification techniques for peaceful purposes. States
Parties in a position to do so shall contribute, alone or together
with other States or international organizations, to international
economic and scientific co-operation in the preservation,
improvement, and peaceful utilization of the environment, with due
consideration for the needs of the developing areas of the world.
Article IV
Each State Party to this
Convention undertakes to take any measures it considers necessary in
accordance with its constitutional processes to prohibit and prevent
any activity in violation of the provisions of the Convention
anywhere under its jurisdiction or control.
Article V
1. The States Parties to this
Convention undertake to consult one another and to cooperate in
solving any problems which may arise in relation to the objectives
of, or in the application of the provisions of, the Convention.
Consultation and cooperation pursuant to this article may also be
undertaken through appropriate international procedures within the
framework of the United Nations and in accordance with its Charter.
These international procedures may include the services of
appropriate international organizations, as well as of a
Consultative Committee of Experts as provided for in paragraph 2 of
this article.
2. For the purposes set forth in paragraph 1 of this article, the
Depositary shall, within one month of the receipt of a request from
any State Party to this Convention, convene a Consultative Committee
of Experts. Any State Party may appoint an expert to the Committee
whose functions and rules of procedure are set out in the annex,
which constitutes an integral part of this Convention. The Committee
shall transmit to the Depositary a summary of its findings of fact,
incorporating all views and information presented to the Committee
during its proceedings. The Depositary shall distribute the summary
to all States Parties.
3. Any State Party to this Convention which has reason to believe
that any other State Party is acting in breach of obligations
deriving from the provisions of the Convention may lodge a complaint
with the Security Council of the United Nations. Such a complaint
should include all relevant information as well as all possible
evidence supporting its validity.
4. Each State Party to this Convention undertakes to cooperate in
carrying out any investigation which the Security Council may
initiate, in accordance with the provisions of the Charter of the
United Nations, on the basis of the complaint received by the
Council. The Security Council shall inform the States Parties of the
results of the investigation.
5. Each State Party to this Convention undertakes to provide or
support assistance, in accordance with the provisions of the Charter
of the United Nations, to any State Party which so requests, if the
Security Council decides that such Party has been harmed or is
likely to be harmed as a result of violation of the Convention.
Article VI
1. Any State Party to this
Convention may propose amendments to the Convention. The text of any
proposed amendment shall be submitted to the Depositary who shall
promptly circulate it to all States Parties.
2. An amendment shall enter into force for all States Parties to
this Convention which have accepted it, upon the deposit with the
Depositary of instruments of acceptance by a majority of States
Parties. Thereafter it shall enter into force for any remaining
State Party on the date of deposit of its instrument of acceptance.
Article VII
This Convention shall be of
unlimited duration.
Article VIII
1. Five years after the entry
into force of this Convention, a conference of the States Parties to
the Convention shall be convened by the Depositary at Geneva,
Switzerland. The conference shall review the operation of the
Convention with a view to ensuring that its purposes and provisions
are being realized, and shall in particular examine the
effectiveness of the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article I in
eliminating the dangers of military or any other hostile use of
environmental modification techniques.
2. At intervals of not less than five years thereafter, a majority
of the States Parties to the Convention may obtain, by submitting a
proposal to this effect to the Depositary, the convening of a
conference with the same objectives.
3. If no conference has been convened pursuant to paragraph 2 of
this article within ten years following the conclusion of a previous
conference, the Depositary shall solicit the views of all States
Parties to the Convention, concerning the convening of such a
conference. If one third or ten of the States Parties, whichever
number is less, respond affirmatively, the Depositary shall take
immediate steps to convene the conference.
Article IX
1. This Convention shall be
open to all States for signature. Any State which does not sign the
Convention before its entry into force in accordance with paragraph
3 of this article may accede to it at any time.
2. This Convention shall be subject to ratification by signatory
States. Instruments of ratification or accession shall be deposited
with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
3. This Convention shall enter into force upon the deposit of
instruments of ratification by twenty Governments in accordance with
paragraph 2 of this article.
4. For those States whose instruments of ratification or accession
are deposited after the entry into force of this Convention, it
shall enter into force on the date of the deposit of their
instruments of ratification or accession.
5. The Depositary shall promptly inform all signatory and acceding
States of the date of each signature, the date of deposit of each
instrument of ratification or accession and the date of the entry
into force of this Convention and of any amendments thereto, as well
as of the receipt of other notices.
6. This Convention shall be registered by the Depositary in
accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.
Article X
This Convention, of which the
English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish texts are
equally authentic, shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of
the United Nations, who shall send certified copies thereof to the
Governments of the signatory and acceding States.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, being
duly authorized thereto by their respective governments, have signed
this Convention, opened for signature at Geneva on the eighteenth day of
May, one thousand nine hundred and seventy-seven.
ANNEX TO THE
CONVENTION
Consultative Committee of Experts
1. The Consultative Committee of Experts shall undertake to make
appropriate findings of fact and provide expert views relevant to any
problem raised pursuant to paragraph 1 of Article V of this Convention
by the State Party requesting the convening of the Committee.
2. The work of the Consultative Committee of Experts shall be organized
in such a way as to permit it to perform the functions set forth in
paragraph 1 of this annex. The Committee shall decide procedural
questions relative to the organization of its work, where possible by
consensus, but otherwise by a majority of those present and voting.
There shall be no voting on matters of substance.
3. The Depositary or his representative shall serve as the Chairman of
the Committee.
4. Each expert may be assisted at meetings by one or more advisers.
5. Each expert shall have the right, through the Chairman, to request
from States, and from international organizations, such information and
assistance as the expert considers desirable for the accomplishment of
the Committees work.
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