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Monsoon Session Update: Parliament Passes Bill To Ban Funding Of Weapons Of Mass Destruction
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India, 2 Aug 2022 9:26 AM GMT
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A post-graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication with relevant skills, specialising in content editing & writing. I believe in the precise dissemination of information based on facts to the public.
The amendment bill seeks to ban the funding of WMD and also empowers the central government to seize, freeze or attach economic resources and financial assets of people engaged in similar activities.
The Rajya Sabha on Monday (August 1) passed a bill which seeks to ban the funding of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and also empowers the central government to seize, freeze, or attach economic resources and financial assets of people engaged in similar activities.
The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, 2022, was piloted by S Jaishankar, the Minister for External Affairs and was passed by the upper House with a voice note amid continued disruption by opposition parties over various issues including the arrest of Shiv Sena's Member of Parliament (MP) Sanjay Raut in a money laundering case.
The Lok Sabha had already approved the bill in April this year, reported The Hindu.
What Did The Minister Say?
While responding to a debate on the bill, the minister said that all House members who contributed to the proposed legislation recognised that terrorism is a severe threat, and so is WMD.
He said that the existing law only covers trading and not the financing of weapons of mass destruction.
Jaishankar said, "This gap needs to be filled because recommendation...of the Financial Action Task Force requires all countries, including us, to ensure that assets financing for WMD-related activities is prohibited," quoted NDTV.
He added that keeping these lacunae of the current law in mind, the government has proposed this amendment which is good for the security and reputation of the country.
What Is The Existing Law?
The existing law of the Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Act, passed in 2005, only banned manufacturing weapons of mass destruction.
But now, the amendment bill seeks to add a new Section 12A in the current law which mentions, "no person shall finance any activity which is prohibited under this Act, or under the United Nations (Security Council) Act, 1947 or any other relevant Act for the time being in force, or by an order issued under any such Act, in relation to weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems."
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