PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR THE
2000 REVIEW CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES
TO THE TREATY ON THE NON-PROLIFERATION OF
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
First Session
New York 7-18 April 1997
Statement made by H. E. Mrs Joelle Bourgois,
Ambassador, Head of the French delegation,
on behalf of the delegations of France, the People's
Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
and the United States of America'
on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament
New York
8 April 1991
STATEMENT BY THE DELEGATIONS OF FRANCE,
THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF
CHINA, THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION, THE UNITED
KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN
IRELAND AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
ON NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION AND
DISARMAMENT
AT THE PREPARATORY COMMITTEE OF THE NPT
REVIEW
CONFERENCE
The delegations of China, Prance. Russia, the United
Kingdom, and the United States, in the particular context of
the commencement of the strengthened review process at
the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties
to the Treaty on the Non Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons',
reiterate our countries' strong and continuing support for
the NPT. We express our determination to continue to
implement fully ail the provisions of the Treaty, including
those of Article VI.
Stressing the importance of the indefinite extension of the
NPT, we reaffirm our continued support for the documents
adopted by consensus on 11 may 1995 by the Review and
Extension Conference of the Parties to the NPT.
We welcome the fact that Andorra, Angola, Chile,
Comoros, Djibouti, United Arab Emirates, Vanuatu and
Oman have acceded to the Treaty since the 1.995 NPT
Review and/Extension Conference. We stress the
importance of achieving universal adherence to the Treaty
which would contribute to the enhancement of both
regional and global security.
==============
Since the May 1995 NPT Review and Extension
Conference, there have been very significant developments
in the area of nuclear disbandment, notably with respect to
the programme of action set out in the Decision on
Principles and Objectives for Nuclear Non- Proliferation
and Disarmament:
a) The completion by the Conference on Disarmament
of the negotiations on a universal and
internationally and effectively verifiable
Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty in 1996 is
a step that has long been one of the highest priority
objectives of the international community
The signing of the CTBT by more than one hundred and
forty States, including the five nuclear-weapons States
which signed on the first day of its opening for Signature
on 24 September 1996 is a historic event.
By banning any nuclear weapon test explosion or any other
nuclear explosion, the Treaty, as stated in preamble, by
constraining the development and qualitative improvement
of nuclear weapons and ending the development of
advanced new types of nuclear weapons, constitutes an
effective measure of nuclear disarmament and non-
proliferation m all its aspects.
This is why China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom sad
the United States value this Treaty. We are pleased to see
that, in such a short period of time since the 1995 Review
and Extension Conference, this major achievement,
followed by the successful creation of the Preparatory
Commission of the CTBT, took place.
We stress the importance of early signature and ratification
of the Treaty by all States which would facilitate its early
entry into force; this is an objective we fully share.
b) We also reaffirm our readiness for the immediate
commencement and early conclusion of negotiations in the
Conference on Disarmament on a non-discriminatory,
universal and internationally and effectively verifiable
convention banning the production of fissile material for
nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. a goal
contained m the Decision on Principles and Objectives for
Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament and as its
second step, following the completion of the CTBT
negotiations.
Such a treaty will cap the fissile material stockpiles
available for use in nuclear weapons and, by adding new
constraints, will strengthen the international nuclear
nonproliferation regime and will constitute a significant
step towards the eventual achievement of nuclear
disarmament
We encourage all States Parties to the NPT to fulfill this
shared commitment set forth in the Decision on Principles
and Objectives for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and
Disarmament We also stress the importance for the States
which are not yet parties to the NPT to join the negotiations
on a fissile material cut-off treaty in accordance with the
statement of the Special Coordinator of the Conference on
Disarmament and the mandate contained therein.
c) it is the responsibility sad obligation of all States to
contribute to the relaxation of international tension and to
the strengthening of international peace and security The
nuclear-weapon States underscore the important and
tangible progress achieved in the area of nuclear
disarmament and reaffirm our determination to continue the
pursuit by the nuclear-weapon Stat" of systematic and
progressive efforts to reduce nuclear weapons globally,
with the ultimate goal of eliminating those weapons, and by
all States of general and complete disarmament under strict
and effective international control.
In this context we welcome the recent understanding
reached by the Presidents of the Russian Federation and the
United States in Helsinki on further reductions of nuclear
weapons building on progress already achieved.
The other steps being taken by us in this area are also to be
welcomed.
We also welcome the removal of all nuclear-weapons of the
former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from the
territories of Belarus, Kazakstan and Ukraine.
d) China , Prance, Russia, the United Kingdom and; the
United States reaffirm our conviction that the establishment of
nuclear-weapon-free-zones, on the basis of arrangements
freely arrived at among the States of the region concerned,
enhances global and regional peace and security.
We consider that the signature by all the nuclear-weapon
States of the Protocols to the Treaty of Rarontonga and the
Treaty of Pelindaba, establishing nuclear- weapon-free
zones in the South Pacific and in Africa was a significant
development. By signing these protocols, all the nuclear-
weapon States are giving security assurances in treaty form
to the very large number of states concerned.
Moreover, we remain ready to work with the signatories of
the South East Asian nuclear-weapon-free zone Treaty to
remove those obstacles currently preventing the
nuclear-weapon States from signing the Protocol to that
Treaty.
These steps are in line with the security assurances we have
provided in our national declarations, which are referred to
in United Nations Security Council resolution 984 of 11
April 1995, and constitute a positive development with
regard to the relevant paragraph of the Decision on
Principles and Objectives for Nuclear Non-Proliferation
and Disarmament.
We are ready to contribute to global nuclear
non-proliferation objectives by doing our part in support of
the programme for strengthening the effectiveness and
improving the efficiency of the safeguards system. In this
regard, we intend to apply those measures provided for in
the model protocol that each of us identifies as capable of
contributing to the non-proliferation and efficiency aims of
the Protocol, when implemented with regard to that State,
and as consistent with that State's obligations under article I
of the NPT.
China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United
States attach importance to the full implementation of
article IV of the Treaty. In this context we reaffirm our
commitment towards cooperation in the field of nuclear
energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination and in
conformity with article I, II, and III of the Treaty and
following the Decision on the Principles and Objectives for
Nuclear Non- Proliferation and Disarmament.