The 2000 NPT Review Conference (RevCon)
14 April - 19 May 2000, New York

   
STATEMENT BY
AMBASSADOR HASMY AGAM
PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF MALAYSIA
TO THE UNITED NATIONS 

ON THE
INTRODUCTION OF WORKING PAPER ON THE
FOLLOW-UP TO THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE 
ADVISORY OPINION ON THE LEGALITY OF THE THREAT OR USE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS 

AT THE
2000 REVIEW CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES TO THE
TREATY ON THE NON-PROLIFERATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS
 

MONDAY, 8 MAY 2000

 
Mr. Chairman, 

As this Review Conference deliberates on developments that have taken place in the context of the implementation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and on the steps that could or should be taken by States Parties to ensure its full implementation, it is pertinent that it takes into cognizance the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice of 8 July 1996, which was made in response to a question posed by the United Nations General Assembly as contained in General Assembly Resolution No. 49/75K adopted on 15 December 1994. The Court, unanimously stated in paragraph 2F of the dispositif, that "there exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control". 

2. The unanimous decision of the ICJ, representing the full weight of the legal opinion of all members of the Court, is of historic importance and significance and cannot be dismissed by the nuclear weapons States as being merely an "opinion". It is not an “opinion" in the ordinary sense of the word but a carefully considered juridical view by judges sitting on the world's highest juridical body and responding in a formal manner to a request by the United Nations General Assembly for an Opinion on the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons. That Opinion, solemnly declared by the learned judges of the International Court of Justice, is an important contribution to international law and is pertinent to the work of this Review Conference. The Court, in arriving at its conclusion, relied on international law, of which the NPT obligation in Article VI is part, as well as other international treaties such as the Geneva and Hague Conventions but, more importantly, points a clear and unambiguous direction for international action in addressing the issue of nuclear disarmament, particularly in the context of further steps that ought be taken by States Parties to the NPT for the full implementation of that Treaty. The rendering of that Opinion by the International Court of Justice has a direct bearing on the implementation of the Treaty by States Parties as well as on the activities, policies and obligations of States Parties to the Treaty in the area of nuclear disarmament, particularly as it relates to their commitments under Article VI of that Treaty. 

3. My delegation believes that the 2000 Review Conference should not only welcome the World Court's unanimous Opinion but respond positively to it. The learned judges of the ICJ, without being prompted to do so, had made it very clear that the States Parties of the NPT have not only an obligation to negotiate in good faith but to bring such negotiations to conclusion. The reaffirmation of the NPT commitment under Article VI of the Treaty cannot be more clear than that. It follows, therefore, that if States Parties to the Treaty are serious in their commitment towards nuclear disarmament, they should commence negotiations on nuclear disarmament leading to an internationally binding legal instrument on nuclear disarmament. Such a comprehensive international legal instruments nuclear weapons convention or framework convention—prohibiting the development, production, testing, deployment, stockpiling, threat or use of nuclear weapons constitutes an indispensable mechanism towards realizing a nuclear-weapons-free world. 

4. Recalling the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice and particularly underlining its unanimous conclusion, as stated above, and mindful of the solemn obligations of States Parties to the Treaty, this Working Paper, inter-alia: 

-          affirms the requirement of States Parties to fulfill their obligations under the Treaty;

-          calls for the commencement of multilateral negotiations leading to the conclusion of a nuclear weapons convention or framework convention;

-          requests States Parties to give consideration to a number of specific legal, technical and political elements required for such a convention; and

-          calls on States Parties to agree to take appropriate interim steps to further the reduction and elimination of nuclear weapons. 

5. In submitting this Working Paper on behalf of its two co-sponsors, Costa Rica and Malaysia, it is our earnest hope that it will contribute constructively to the work of this Review Conference in the interest of promoting further the cause of nuclear disarmament leading to the total elimination of nuclear weapons. 

6. I trust, Mr. Chairman, this Working Paper will be circulated as an official document of the Conference.
 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Working paper submitted by Malaysia and Costa Rica

NPT/CONF.2000/MC.I/SB. l/WP.4 

8 May 2000

Follow-up to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the
Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons
 

Working paper submitted by Malaysia and Costa Rica 

The Sixth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on file Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, 

Mindful of the solemn obligations of States parties, undertaken in article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, 

Recalling the commitment, made by the nuclear-weapon States at the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, to pursue systematic and progressive efforts to reduce nuclear weapons globally, with the ultimate goal of eliminating those weapons, 

Recalling also the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, issued on 8 July 1996, 

Underlining the unanimous conclusion of the International Court that there exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control, 

Recalling also General Assembly resolutions 51/45 M of 10 December 1996, 52/38 O of 9 December 1997, 53/77 W of 4 December 1998 and 54/54 Q of 1 December 1999, entitled "Follow-up to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons", in which the Assembly called for implementation of the aforementioned obligation by the immediate commencement of multilateral negotiations leading to the early conclusion of a nuclear weapons convention, 

Concerned that those States that operate unsafeguarded nuclear facilities and have not acceded to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, retain the nuclear-weapons option, 

Affirms requirement of States parties to fulfil their obligations under the Treaty and in accordance with the 1996 advisory opinion of the Court, and to that end: 

1. The States Parties agree to commence multilateral negotiations leading to the conclusion of a nuclear weapons convention prohibiting the development, testing, production, stockpiling, transfer, use and threat of use of nuclear weapons and providing for their elimination under strict and effective international control, and to invite those States that have not acceded to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to join in such negotiations; 

2. The States Parties agree to give consideration to the legal, technical and political elements required for a nuclear weapons convention or framework convention. Those elements may include: 

(a) Non-discriminatory general obligations, applicable to States and non­State actors, prohibiting the acquisition, development, testing, production, stockpiling, transfer, use and threat of use of nuclear weapons; 

(b) Interim control, protection and accounting of nuclear weapons and fissile material holdings; 

(c) Phases and steps for the systematic and progressive destruction of all nuclear warheads and their delivery vehicles; 

(d) An international organization to coordinate verification, implementation and enforcement under strict and effective international control; 

3. The States Parties agree to take appropriate interim steps, including unilateral measures and the achievement of other mutually reinforcing bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral instruments to remove the role of nuclear weapons from security doctrines and to further the reduction and elimination of nuclear arsenals.  

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