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United Nations
Non-Proliferation
Treaty
Senator
Patrik Vankrunkeslven (Belgian) who is also Mayor of
Laakdal, spoke at the PNND Forum
at the United Nations on Parliamentarians, Mayors
and Non-Proliferation during the 2004 NPT Meeting
United States
Congress
United Kingdom
Parliament
Pakistan and
India
Nuclear weapons
in Europe
Nuclear Proliferation
and the International Atomic Energy Agency
New Zealand
Australia
PNND Outreach
(Pakistan, Spain, Mexico)
PNND Events
We also take
this opportunity to remind you of our website at archive.pnnd.org,
and invite you to visit it to keep abreast of parliamentary
actions for nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament
and related information.
Yours truly,
Alyn Ware
PNND Global
Coordinator
On April 28,
2004, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution
1540 requiring all States to take measures to prevent
non-State actors from acquiring or developing nuclear,
chemical and biological weapons, and to prevent the
proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons
in general.
The resolution
notes that proliferation means 'proliferation in all
its aspects of all weapons of mass destruction,' and
action to prevent proliferation thus includes the implementation
of 'multi-lateral treaties whose aim is to eliminate
or prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical or
biological weapons,' and the need for 'all member States
to implement fully the disarmament treaties and agreements
to which they are party.' The resolution can thus be
read to refer to efforts to prevent both horizontal
proliferation (spread of weapons and related materials
to those who do not yet have them) and vertical proliferation
(continued possession, deployment and development of
weapons by those already in possession of them).
Under the
resolution, the Security Council established a Committee
of the Security Council, consisting of all members of
the Council, and called on all States to present a first
report to the Committee within six months (by October
28) on steps they have taken or intend to take to implement
the resolution.
The
International
Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms has
outlined a number of actions which parliaments and governments
could take in response to the disarmament and non-proliferation
obligations outlined in the resolution. These
include:
- Adoption of laws which prohibit
the manufacture, acquisition, possession, development,
transport, transfer or use of nuclear, chemical
or biological weapons and their means of delivery,
by non-State or State actors,
- Adoption of laws which prohibit
the transit of nuclear, chemical and biological
weapons, their delivery vehicles or related materials
through their territories including airspace and
territorial waters,
- Adoption of criminal penalties
for individuals violating such laws,
- Adopting programmes to educate
public and industry about disarmament and non-proliferation
obligations and activities,
- Supporting the resolution of
conflicts relating to nuclear, chemical and biological
weapons peacefully including through multilateral
mechanisms such as the United Nations and treaties.
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On 20 Nov
2003 Llew Smith MP, in the UK House of Commons, called
on the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
Affairs to assess the relevance to United Kingdom policies
on non-proliferation of the United
Nations study on disarmament and non-proliferation education.
The UN Study,
accepted unanimously by UN General Assembly Resolution
A/Res/57/60
, includes a number of recommendations for States
to implement, and a request for States to report on
progress in implementing the recommendations to the
United Nations Department of Disarmament Affairs (DDA).
In June 2004
the DDA circulated a letter to all UN Member States
reminding them of the recommendations included in the
UN Study, and a request to make reports in time for
the UN Secretary-General's report on this item to the
next UN General Assembly which opens in September.
Japan has
prepared a report on its efforts on disarmament education
and circulated this at the NPT Meeting in April (see
Japan on UN Study below).
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States
Parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty met
in New York from April 26-May 7 in order to discuss
recommendations for the 2005 review of the treaty. New
Zealand's Minister of Disarmament Marian Hobbs, speaking
on the opening day, noted the importance of the connection
between non-proliferation and disarmament by stating
that " Proliferation of nuclear
weapons will only cease when the weapons themselves
cease to exist." (See New
Zealand Minister Hobbs Calls for Global Nuclear Disarmament
)
However,
a widening divide between some of the Nuclear Weapon
States (primarily the US and UK) and some of the non-Nuclear
Weapon States meant that the meeting came to no agreement
on any recommendations for 2005. The NWS concentrated
their attention on fulfillment by the non-nuclear weapon
States of their obligations not to develop or acquire
nuclear weapons, while some non-aligned States focused
primarily on the failure of the nuclear weapon States
to implement their disarmament obligations.
Never-the-less,
a number of significant and promising initiatives were
made through working papers from:
(For
a more in depth analysis see Re-nuclearization
or Disarmament: A Fateful Choice for Humanity :
a political analysis of the Third Preparatory Committee
Meeting for the 2005 Review Conference of the NPT)
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U.S.
President's non-proliferation proposals
On
11 February 2004, US President Bush speaking at the
National Defense University in Washington, made a number
of proposals to deal with the proliferation of nuclear,
chemical and biological weapons, including:
-
Expanding
the Proliferation
Security Initiative;
-
Assisting
countries to criminalize proliferation and enact
strict export controls and secure sensitive materials
within their borders;
-
Expanding
multilateral controls and restrictions of nuclear
technology to countries which refuse to renounce
the enrichment or reprocessing of nuclear fuel into
weapons grade material (with the exception of those
countries that already have weapons grade material).
In
response to the President's non-proliferation proposals
announced in February, the House
Bipartisan Task Force on Non-Proliferation, in cooperation
with the Global Security Institute's Bipartisan
Security Group, hosted a high-level
panel discussion on Capitol Hill April 27, 2004
on the theme: "Seven Sound Strategies? The President's
Non-Proliferation Proposals." Following the panel, discussions
were held with Members of Congress.
A
key point made by members of the panel was that the
US President's proposals would likely be counter-productive
and lead to more countries acquiring or developing nuclear
weapons, not less. Members commented that the US would
be more effective if it led by example by ratifying
the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and diminishing the
role of nuclear weapons in its own strategy pursuant
to complete nuclear disarmament.
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US
Conducts Sub-Critical Nuclear Test
On 25 May
2004, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
conducted a sub-critical nuclear test, code named "Armando,"
at the Nevada Test Site. US officials claim that the
test was crucial to producing "essential scientific
data and technical information used to help maintain
the safety and reliability of the nuclear weapons stockpile."
According
to the US administration, the test did not violate the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) because it did
not result in a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction
that would lead to a full-scale nuclear explosion. Although
the US has observed a nuclear testing moratorium since
1992, the current administration has requested funds
to upgrade the Nevada Test Site and decrease the time
needed to prepare a full-scale nuclear test, generating
concerns that the resumption of nuclear testing is on
the horizon. The apparent move towards the resumption
of nuclear testing may be connected to the current research
on a new generation of nuclear weapons.
Representative
Matheson (Democratic-UT) has been attempting to amend
the Defense Authorization Act to require clear permission
from Congress before full-scale nuclear testing could
resume. In a briefing
for the House of Representatives on 19 May, Matheson
stated, "If this country is going to resume the testing
of nuclear weapons, the peoples' Representatives –
the US Congress – should be involved."
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Nuclear
budget debates
On
June 28, the U.S. Senate approved the Defense Authorization
Bill S.
2400 allocating $416 billion to the Pentagon. The
bill included funding for research into new tactical
nuclear weapons and "bunker buster" bombs
despite the rejection of this budget item in the U.S.
House of Representatives Defense Authorization Bill
H.R.
4200 (see Panel
says no to nuke research). Sen. Edward Kennedy (Democratic
– MA) tried unsuccessfully to strip this funding
from the Senate bill (see Senate
endorses funding for bunker-buster research).
Additional
funding for nuclear weapons is also included in the
Energy
and Water Appropriations Bill H.R.
4614, currently being considered by the US Congress.
This includes a 5.5% increase from last year's budget
in funding for nuclear weapons research and development,
and 9% reduction in funding for the Cooperative Threat
Reduction Program (see Non-proliferation
and the FY 2005 budget request).
Conference
approvals on the appropriations bills (i.e. agreement
between the House and Senate) are expected in July prior
to the summer recess. For further updates see
Friends'
Committee on National Legislation Nuclear Calendar.
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Space
weapons
According
to reports by the ABC News and Moscow Times, the U.S.
is launching the first space based weapon during the
northern hemisphere summer (July-August). Under the
" Near Field Infrared Experiment," a Minotaur missile
will launch a satellite which will not only track rockets
in space as part of the Ballistic Missile Defence programme,
but will also include a projectile-packed kill vehicle
capable of destroying satellites. The " Near Field Infrared
Experiment" is one of the Space
Weapon Related Programs in the FY 2005 Budget Request.
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In response
to parliamentary questions from Mike Gapes (MP,
Labour) on March 31 regarding the U.K. Trident nuclear
submarines and their replacement, Rt Hon Geoffrey Hoon
MP, Secretary of State for Defence affirmed that the
UK is not considering a nuclear sharing option with
other European countries, and that such an option would
be precluded by UK obligations under Article I of the
Non-Proliferation Treaty which prohibits the transfer
of nuclear weapons from one state to another. A white
paper published in December by the Ministry of Defence
(MoD) noted that a decision on replacement of Trident
will likely be required by the next parliament. MoD
officials are traditionally reluctant to discuss plans
for nuclear weapons. However, media speculation is growing
that the government is preparing to begin a new warhead
design program and is in talks with the United States
about cooperation.
Cmdr. Rod
Craig, maritime analyst at the International Institute
of Strategic Studies asks whether the country still
thinks it needs a nuclear deterrent. "It's a political
question, not a military one. A nuclear deterrent only
works if it deters - if for any reason it doesn't, what's
the point? The shadowy, non-state actors we are now
primarily up against make nuclear weapons much less
relevant than previously."
Following
a number of parliamentary requests from Alan Simpson
MP, Llew Smith MP and David Chaytor MP in 2003 and 2004,
Foreign Office Minister Dennis MacShane in June 2004
undertook to publish details about the Agreement
between the United Kingdom and the United States of
America for Cooperation on the Uses of Atomic Energy
for Mutual Defence Purposes, which is due for renewal
and which includes exchange of classified nuclear information,
advanced technology and a range of materials (including
plutonium, enriched and highly enriched uranium and
tritium) which support both countries nuclear weapon
programmes.
(See US-UK
nuclear weapons collaboration under the Mutual Defence
Agreement)
On
June 24, Llew Smith MP introduced an Early
Day Motion 1407, entitled US-UK
Mutual Defense Agreement renewal and the NPT, calling
for a parliamentary debate on the agreement and NPT obligations
prior to the agreement's renewal. A British American
Security Information Service report Time
to put Article I under the Spotlight, argues that
US/UK collaboration under the agreement could be in violation
of Article I of the NPT, which prohibits transfer
to any recipient whatsoever nuclear weapons or other nuclear
explosive devices or control over such weapons or explosive
devices directly, or indirectly. Miguel Marin-Bosch,
Mexico's former deputy foreign minister and the country's
ambassador to the 1995 NPT Conference, told New Scientist
that the he believes the agreement violates the NPT and
prior to its renewal its legality should be tested at
the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
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In January
2004, the Indian Prime Minister and Pakistan President
met each other during the South Asian Association for
Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit held at Islamabad.
The meeting helped pave the way for a process of normalization
of relations between the two countries. The joint
statement issued after the meeting addressed the
two issues that India and Pakistan consider significant:
Kashmir and cross border terrorism.
At
the Summit the leaders of Pakistan and India also agreed
to a series of bilateral talks to address security issues
including nuclear weapons policies and practices. The
first of these between the foreign secretaries in February,
led to an agreement to pursue confidence building measures
(CBMs). The second of these in June led to an agreement
to set up a hotline between the foreign secretaries
to prevent any misunderstanding on the launch of nuclear
weapons. The two countries also agreed that the existing
hotline between the director generals of military operations
(DGMOs) would be upgraded, dedicated and secured. At
both meetings, however, the governments re-affirmed
their commitment to nuclear weapons as contributing
to stability.
A range of
CBMs and other nuclear risk reduction proposals have
been made by Pakistan,
India
and the Movement
in India for Nuclear Disarmament. In December 2003,
PNND organized a parliamentary
roundtable in Delhi to brief parliamentarians on
these proposals, and encourage parliamentary engagement
to ensure that CBMs lead towards genuine nuclear disarmament
rather than reinforcing nuclear deterrence.
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Following
the passage of UN Security Council resolution 1540 on
nonproliferation in April 2004, Pakistan agreed to tighten
its rules on nuclear export controls. The recent approval
of a draft bill in the federal cabinet provides a maximum
jail term of 14 years and a top fine of $285,000 for
those caught attempting to export material, equipment
and technology related to nuclear, chemical and biological
weapons and their means of delivery. Once approved by
parliament, the bill will become law.
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Questions
in Dutch parliament
In response
to parliamentary questions from Harry van Bommel MP
(Socialist Party) about US nuclear weapons deployed
in Europe, Minister of Defence Kamp noted that the Netherlands
Ministries of Defence and of Foreign Affairs were aware
of the remarks made by NATO Supreme Commander General
Jones in the Belgian Senate on 9 March 2004, that the
number of American nuclear weapons in Europe will be
reduced. However, Minister Kamp would not confirm that
there were any such reduction plans nor give any information
on how they would be accomplished. He noted that:
"The
1999 NATO Strategic Concept states that NATO's nuclear
forces in Europe are an essential part of the political
and military ties between the European and American
allies. For this purpose the Alliance will maintain
sufficient nuclear forces in Europe, at a minimum level
necessary for the maintenance of peace and stability."
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Concern
about the nuclear activities of Iran led the International
Atomic Energy Agency to adopt a resolution
on 18 June 2004 calling on Iran to take additional measures
to assure the international community of the peaceful
intentions of Iran's nuclear energy program. The resolution
commended Iran for cooperation with IAEA inspectors,
but expressed concern about some activities including
the use of uranium centrifuges which could be used to
produce highly enriched (weapons grade) uranium. The
resolution also called on Iran to ratify additional
protocols to their IAEA safeguards agreement.
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Increasing
concern about the nuclear activities of Israel, the
only country in the Middle East to have neither joined
the Non-Proliferation Treaty nor signed nuclear safeguards
agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency,
has led to IAEA adopting a resolution
on nuclear safeguards in the Middle East in September
2003, and to IAEA Director-General ElBaradei announcing
an intention
to visit Israel sometime before September 2004.
Israeli MP
Issam Makhoul introduced a debate
in the Israeli Parliament in 2000 on the issue
of Israel's nuclear weapons policy and the imprisonment
of nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu, and has continued
to raise the issue in other forums.
Vanunu
was released from prison on April 22, but continues
to be restricted from traveling outside Israel, talking
to reporters or talking to foreign officials.
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In April 2004
Brazil's government confirmed press reports that it
barred International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors
from seeing parts of a uranium enrichment plant in Resende
near Rio de Janeiro. But Brazil rejected American insinuations
that the plant might be used to make the ingredients
for bombs, arguing that the uranium enrichment is for
their nuclear energy program. On April 6, Brazilian
Foreign Minister Celso Amorin briefed the Brazilian
Senate on the situation. While Brazil has not yet ratified
the additional
protocols to their IAEA safeguards agreement, they
continue to be subject to IAEA safeguards as well as
mutual verification of nuclear facilities with Argentina
by the Argentine-Brazilian Accounting and Control Commission
(ABACC) which was established by the 1991 Agreement
Between the Republic of Argentina and the Federative
Republic of Brazil for the Exclusively Peaceful Use
of Nuclear Energy.
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On 12 February
2004 International Atomic Energy Agency Director General
Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei announced
proposals to address the increasing risks of nuclear
proliferation. In an op-ed in the New York Times, ElBaradei
expressed concern that nuclear proliferation is on the
rise and that if urgent and comprehensive action is
not taken the world risks self-destruction.
He proposed:
- Tightening controls over the export of nuclear materials
- Criminalizing proliferation acts
- Giving the IAEA authority to inspect nuclear facilities
in all countries
- Concluding a fissile material cut-off treaty
- Placing sensitive parts of the nuclear fuel cycle
under international control
- Making further progress toward complete nuclear
disarmament
He noted in
particular that "We must
abandon the unworkable notion that it is morally reprehensible
for some countries to pursue weapons of mass destruction
yet morally acceptable for others to rely on them for
security - and indeed to continue to refine their capacities
and postulate plans for their use."
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'New
Zealand National Party leader Don Brash clarifying
comments made to the US about abandoning NZ's
ban on nuclear powered ships.'
Cartoon:
Tom Scott, Dominion Post June 24, 2004
On 16 June
2004, the New
Zealand Parliament debated the issue of port visits
by nuclear powered ships which are prohibited under
New Zealand's
Nuclear Free legislation. The United States effectively
dropped New Zealand from a tri-lateral security arrangement
(ANZUS) when the legislation was adopted in 1987, and
the US continues to see the anti-nuclear stance as a
thorn in its relationship with New Zealand. A task force
established by the opposition National Party suggested
that the legislation be amended to allow port visits
by nuclear powered ships in order to improve economic
and defence relationships with the United States and
Australia, and there were rumours that opposition leader
Don Brash had told U.S. high-level officials that if
National become the governing party the ban on nuclear-powered
ships 'would be gone by lunchtime.'
Prominent
in the parliamentary debate were reports, supplied by
the Disarmament
and Security Centre, about prohibitions on nuclear-powered
vessels into key US and UK ports on safety grounds,
the risks of terrorist attacks on nuclear-powered vessels
and precautionary measures implemented in the case of
accidents in UK ports where nuclear-powered vessels
visit including the distribution of iodine tablets to
schools and the general population.
Following
the debate National announced that they would not amend
the legislation unless supported by a majority of New
Zealanders through a referendum.
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Nuclear
Weapons Systems and Colonel Stanislav Petrov
On June 23,
the Australian Senate adopted Resolution
SJ No. 153 21 introduced by Senator Lyn Allison
urging the Government to give support to measures
aimed at lowering the readiness to launch nuclear weapon
systems, and to specifically support UN General Assembly
actions to this end. The resolution also recognized
Colonel Stanislav Petrov who was presented with the
World Citizen Award on Friday 21 May 2004 for his actions
during the Serpukhov-15 incident on 26 September 1983,
in which he is credited as preventing a nuclear exchange
between the USSR and the USA.
Ballistic
Missile Defense
The Australian
government announced in June that it was about to sign
a memorandum of understanding with the United States
regarding Australian participation in the U.S. missile
defence program. The move is facing the combined resistance
of the opposition parties with Labour sceptical of any
benefits and the minor Democrats arguing no agreement
should be signed ahead of the upcoming election in which
the government could lose office. Labour foreign affairs
spokesman Kevin Rudd said the opposition had profound
reservations about the program, fearing it might prompt
an arms race by countries such as China and India, and
called on the government to produce evidence of its
effectiveness. Australian Democrats leader Andrew Bartlett
said no agreement should be signed ahead of an election
the government says could be any time from August 7
to late November.
The Australian
Senate in 2001 adopted a non-binding resolution
calling on the government not to participate in ballistic
missile defence programmes, and instead to support
cooperative efforts to combat ballistic missile proliferation,
including strengthening the missile technology control
regime, pursuing a multilateral ballistic missile and
space vehicle launch notification regime, urging the
de-alerting of nuclear missile forces to reduce the
risk of an accidental or unauthorised nuclear weapons
launch and encouraging further negotiated deep cuts
in existing nuclear arsenals. Similar action is expected
from the current senate.
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PNND
Global Coordinator Alyn Ware made visits recently to
Pakistan, Spain and Mexico to meet with parliamentarians,
local disarmament organizations, and government officials
in order to plan PNND work in these countries. For further
information about PNND activities in these or any other
countries contact Alyn
Ware.
NPT
Roundtable, New York, 28 April 2004
PNND,
Parliamentarians
for Global Action and Mayors
for Peace organized a roundtable briefing and discussion
on Parliamentarians, Mayors and Nuclear Non-Proliferation
at the NPT Review Conference Preparatory Meeting in
New York, 28 April 2004. The discussion helped PNND
members and mayors from Mayors for Peace develop collaborative
strategies for nuclear disarmament.
NPT
and Nuclear Weapon Free Zones, Wellington, 8 December
2004
PNND,
Parliamentarians
for Global Action and the International
Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms are
planning a conference in Wellington, Aotearoa-New Zealand
on 8 December 2004 to consider parliamentary actions
to support the Non-Proliferation Treaty leading up to
the 2005 NPT Review, and also to support the Southern
Hemisphere and Adjacent Areas Nuclear Weapon Free Zone.
The Organisation
for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America
and the Caribbean plans to host a conference in
early 2005 of States members of the regional nuclear
weapon free zones, which would release a declaration
from all 106 States on non-proliferation and disarmament.
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PNND
Update 9