The 2000 NPT Review
Conference (RevCon) 2000
REVIEW CONFERENCE OF THE STATE PARTIES Statement
by May 1, 2000 Mr. President. It is a pleasure for me to extend my congratulations to you on your assumption of the Presidency of the 2000 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Armenia will support your efforts to achieve a successful conclusion of our common work. Mr. President, This, sixth in order, NPT Review Conference affords us, the State Parties, the first opportunity to thoroughly discuss the overall operation of the Treaty since its indefinite extension in 1995 and to explore ways to strengthen its vitality in the future. Armenia affirms the crucial role of NPT for international peace and security in eliminating the proliferation of nuclear weapons, both horizontal and vertical, and promoting peaceful uses of nuclear energy. We believe that these two objectives enshrined in the Treaty will continue to serve the vital interests of all State Parties for many years to come. I join all the previous speakers in acclaiming the decision of the State Duma of the Russian Federation two weeks ago to ratify START II. This landmark decision does not only constitute an achievement in nuclear disarmament by itself but is also opening the way for commencement of negotiations on START III. The successful consummation of START III resulting in further reduction of ceilings of deployed strategic warheads will mark a major step on part of the Russians Federation and the United States towards the fulfillment of their obligations under Article 6. Concurrent with these efforts, the United States and the Russian Federation should be joined at an appropriate stage by the other nuclear weapon states (NWS) in further reduction of their nuclear arsenals. Since 1996, 155 states, including my country, have signed and 55 have ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). CTBT was a top priority measure towards implementation of Article 6 envisaged in the compromise decisions package that paved the way for indefinite extension of NPT at the 1995 Review and Extension Conference. In this regard, we particularly welcome the adoption by Russian Duma of legislation on ratification of CTBT. We earnestly hope that all 44 states whose accession to the Treaty is required for its entry into force will do so at the earliest possible date, thus making permanent the global no-testing norm embodied in it. Armenia supports the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones (NWFZ) that are freely arrived at among the states of the regions concerned. Since 1995, two new treaties establishing nuclear-weapon-free zones, in Southeast Asia and Africa, have been signed. We would also back any new proposals for the establishment of nuclear-weapon free zones in other regions of the world where the concerned states have reached a consensus among themselves prior to seeking international consideration of the zone. Mr. President, As was rightly observed by the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his recent address to the Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters "progress in the disarmament field tends to reflect the general political climate of the day." It is indeed difficult to regard the NPT and to evaluate its implementation and operation in the review period in isolation from the global security context. The five-year review period since 1995 has been marked with both achievements and setbacks for the global nuclear nonproliferation regime, which went parallel to positive and unwelcome developments on the global and regional levels. Universality of the Treaty remains a high priority for all State Parties. Further efforts are needed to involve those states that have not yet acceded to the Treaty into the nuclear non-proliferation regime. The problem of proliferation of nuclear weapons is a global problem, and the NPT is a global rather than a regional treaty. However, it is essentially regional security problems that are in the way of achieving universality of the NPT. Bringing the four non-party states to the membership of the Treaty has not proved feasible without addressing the security concerns of these states and their neighbors on the regional level. We believe that non-parties will have all the reasons to join the NPT and some of the State Parties will be more inclined to fully comply with their obligations under the Treaty if effective security assurances were achieved. Such assurances would de-emphasize the role of nuclear weapons as a guarantee of security and facilitate the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones. Another important agreement on the 1995 package list was the Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty (FMCT), which would ban any further production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons use. We welcome the announcements made by some nuclear weapon states that they have ceased the production of fissile material for use in nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. We urge all States capable of producing fissile material for weapons purposes to declare a moratorium on the production of such material for nuclear explosive devices pending the conclusion in the Conference on Disarmament of a legally binding and effectively verifiable FMCT. The progress on the Treaty has been disappointingly slow during the review period. However, we are confident that the common interest of the overwhelming majority of State Parties in achieving an early conclusion of an FMCT will prevail. The Conference on Disarmament should make full use of its capability as the sole multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of the international community and find a compromise solution leading to adoption of such a treaty. Mr. President, On September 24, 1991, just three days after Armenia declared its independence, the Armenian Parliament adopted a decision to abide by the NPT. Shortly after its formal accession to the Treaty as a non-nuclear-weapon state in 1993, Armenia concluded a comprehensive safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency. That made it possible for us to reactivate our peaceful nuclear program with the assistance of the IAEA and to solve the drastic energy crisis in the country. Thus, we availed ourselves of the legitimate right of the States Parties to develop peaceful uses of nuclear energy under international safeguards. That is of critical importance to us as a state with no viable power generation alternatives. Mr. President, Armenia would like to see an outcome of the Sixth Review Conference which will contribute to strengthening the effectiveness of the nuclear non-proliferation regime. We believe that this general goal will be attained by future progress in the areas which I have already mentioned, and by a reaffirmation of the support of NPT Parties for the IAEA and its role in verifying the fulfillment of obligations under the Treaty and in facilitating further peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Thank you. |