By Shinya Ajima

HIROSHIMA, Aug. 4 Kyodo, A Mexican representative to U.N. disarmament campaigns Wednesday criticized poor efforts by nuclear powers toward the total elimination of nuclear weapons, calling for a union of non-nuclear states.

''So far, nuclear-weapon states have completely refused any verification mechanism to enhance transparency with Article 6,'' said Luis Alfonso de Alba, permanent representative of Mexico to U.N. organizations in Geneva, in a speech in Hiroshima.

Alba was referring to an article in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that calls for effective international controls toward nuclear disarmament.

''The mere existence of these (nuclear) weapons constitutes a threat to humanity. All countries that share these concerns should form a united front,'' Alba told thousands gathered for the opening of a rally by a Japanese antinuclear group.

Hiroshima will mark its 59th anniversary of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing Friday.

''The modernization or sophistication of nuclear weapons necessarily implies that there are some who perceive a need to make them more usable,'' Alba said.

Earlier this year at a preparatory committee meeting for the 2005 NPT Review Conference, Alba led a group of nations and complained of the poor efforts by the NPT nuclear powers -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- to realize the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals.

Mexico is a member of the eight-country New Agenda Coalition, which demands ''the speedy, final and total elimination'' of nuclear arms. Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, New Zealand, Slovenia, South Africa and Sweden are also members of the group, established in 1998.

The main focus of the NPT review conference scheduled for next May in New York is to what degree the nuclear powers have implemented ''the unequivocal undertaking'' they pledged in the previous 2000 review meeting, Alba said.

In 2000, the signatories agreed on 13 practical steps to implement the NPT, including speedy ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, as well as a moratorium on all nuclear explosions before the treaty comes in to force.

Visiting Hiroshima, Alba participated in a campaign by a major antinuclear group, the Japan Council against A & H Bombs, known in Japanese as Gensuikyo.

''Promoting nuclear disarmament is not only a responsibility of states. The international community as a whole, including civil society, should act together to address this problem in a comprehensive manner,'' he said.

2004-08-04 20:04:15JST