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NPT confab calls for international conference for nuclear abolition in 2014

by Yumi Kanazaki, Staff Writer, dispatched from New York

The three Main Committees of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference compiled drafts of agreements and submitted them to Libran Cabactulan, the president of the conference, on May 14.

The draft presented by Main Committee 1, the body discussing nuclear disarmament, is comprised of a list of 26 actions for advancing the abolition of nuclear weapons and consists of 13 pages. Included are such steps as the nuclear weapon states commencing negotiations by 2011 with regard to furthering nuclear disarmament, reporting the results of those negotiations to the NPT member countries in 2012, and holding an international conference in 2014 to create a road map for nuclear abolition.

Main Committees 2 (nuclear non-proliferation) and 3 (the peaceful use of nuclear energy) also submitted drafts. The draft for Main Committee 2 has 19 pages and the draft for Main Committee 3 has 11 pages. Early next week, each committee will engage in discussion based on its respective draft, deciding by May 24 the elements that will be included in the draft for the final document. The review conference will seek to integrate the three drafts into one final document and adopt it by May 28, the day the conference closes.

The draft submitted by Main Committee 1 stresses that the total elimination of nuclear weapons is the only absolute guarantee against the use or threat of nuclear weapons. It also proposes that the so-called "negative security assurance," in which nuclear weapon states pledge not to attack non-nuclear states, be made legally binding in order to strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation regime.

The draft also reaffirms the "unequivocal undertaking" toward nuclear abolition, which was agreed at the 2000 NPT Review Conference. A legal framework, such as a nuclear weapons convention, is mentioned, too, as a helpful structure in pursuit of abolition. The draft states clearly that North Korea, which has conducted nuclear tests, must not be permitted to become a nuclear weapon state. The document also urges Israel, India, and Pakistan, de facto nuclear weapon states, to join the NPT as non-nuclear weapon states.

The draft of Main Committee 2 declares the validity of the Resolution on the Middle East, first proposed in 1995, which refers to making the Middle East a region free of nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, specific language in this regard has been avoided, implying the difficulty of such negotiations.

The draft of Main Committee 3 calls for prompt discussion at the United Nations Security Council when a nation withdraws from the NPT, based on lessons learned from North Korea's declaration of withdrawal. Iran's possible withdrawal from the NPT, as a suspected nuclear weapon state, was apparently also in mind during the drafting of this provision.

(Originally published on May 16, 2010)


Commentary: Nuclear weapon states are expected to oppose the draft
by Yumi Kanazaki, dispatched from New York

The draft of agreements presented at the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty Review Conference by Main Committee 1 touched on the need for the goal of nuclear abolition, with a deadline, as well as a nuclear weapons convention. Such agreements are historic. However, strong opposition from nuclear weapon states is anticipated and it is not clear whether these ideas will be included in the final document.

The draft puts emphasis on the five-point plan for nuclear disarmament that U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced in 2008. In particular, the draft states clearly that a nuclear weapons convention would be an effective course toward the abolition of nuclear arms.

This development can be considered a success of the efforts of international NGOs, which have called for the convention to be included in the final document by spotlighting the start of negotiations for a nuclear weapons convention at the conference. This also overlaps with the appeal made by Mayors for Peace, for which Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba serves as president, as the organization is seeking the abolition of nuclear weapons by the year 2020.

Based on this draft, full debate will begin next week. Five nuclear weapon states -- the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China -- are expected to oppose setting a deadline for nuclear abolition. Four of these nations, excepting China, have taken a negative view toward a nuclear weapons convention.

Tim Wright, program manager of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), warned that the first draft of the recommendations compiled by the preparatory committee last year mentioned a nuclear weapons convention, yet this language was removed after meeting strong opposition, particularly from France and Russia.

Hope still remains. At the conference, non-aligned nations such as Egypt, and non-nuclear weapon states concerned over the fact that little progress has been made with regard to nuclear disarmament, including Austria and Switzerland, are stressing the necessity of the convention. According to a source within the non-aligned nations, strong support was voiced for the convention by some countries at the closed-door subsidiary bodies.

Japan, however, has not officially announced its support for a deadline for nuclear abolition and for a nuclear weapons convention. While many non-nuclear weapon states are making specific suggestions for realizing the abolition of nuclear arms, Japan, the only nation to have suffered nuclear attack, should take greater heed of its responsibility.

(Originally published on May 16, 2010)

Related articles
Joint statement led by Japan calls for promotion of nuclear disarmament education (May 13, 2010)
Main Committees 2 and 3 begin debate at NPT Review Conference (May 12, 2010)

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