The 2000 NPT Review
Conference
14 April - 19 May 2000, New York
Statement delivered by H.E. Ms. Rosario
Green,
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mexico
On Behalf of the New Agenda
States of
Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, & Sweden
2000 Review Conference of
the Parties to the Treaty on
the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
New York, 24 April 2000
Mr. President,
May I begin by expressing to you our
congratulations on your assumption as President of the VI Review
Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and
express our full confidence in your diplomatic skills to provide the
appropriate guidance for a successful outcome. Let me assure you of our
support in the discharge of your important responsibilities.
I have the honor to take the floor on
behalf of Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and
Sweden, to address some issues of nuclear disarmament and
non-proliferation that we think are important to ensure that the purposes
of the preamble and the provisions of the Treaty are being realized.
This is the first occasion that the States
Parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty are gathered to review the
operation of the Treaty since the adoption without a vote of the three
Decisions and the Resolution of 1995. One of the cornerstones of this
package was the Principles and Objectives which we agreed would govern our
actions in pursuing the goals of nuclear disarmament and
non-proliferation.
Our renewed commitment in 1995 to pursue
negotiations in good faith on effective nuclear disarmament measures
included a commitment to the determined pursuit by the nuclear-weapon
States Parties of systematic and progressive efforts to reduce nuclear
weapons globally.
We must concede that the period of this
review has not delivered systematic and progressive efforts by the nuclear
weapon states, nor the entry into force of any multilateral instrument in
the field of nuclear disarmament. We must recognize that the international
nuclear non-proliferation regime is in a fraught state and that our Treaty
is under stress.
It was within this context that we jointly
launched the Declaration: Towards a Nuclear Weapon Free World: The Need
for a New Agenda. Our purpose in taking such an initiative was to put
the nuclear agenda back on track, to give a clear perspective and
underpinning through a new and clear undertaking to bring about a nuclear
weapon free world without further prevarication.
The New Agenda is a programme of action
sufficiently flexible to adapt to the circumstances and requirements of
each successive stage in the process that leads to the achievement of a
world without nuclear weapons. It captures the elements of ongoing
processes. And, in a pragmatic and r(~alistic way it brings together
successive steps for the international community to implement the
obligations of this Treaty.
Fundamental to this initiative is the
requirement for an unequivocal undertaking on the part of the five nuclear
weapon states to the total elimination of their respective nuclear
arsenals. Such a commitment would be new. It would determine all future
action on the part of.the nuclear weapon states. It would provide a
reference point to evaluate progress towards the goals of the NPT, when we
again meet in 2005 to review the implementation of the Treaty. And it
would signal determination to uphold disarmament imperatives.
Mr. President,
The singular goal of the States Parties to
the NPT is the total elimination of nuclear weapons. This requires
bringing to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in
all its aspects, an imperative that was the unanimous conclusion of the
International Court of Justice. Adherence to this Treaty by all but four
states, three of which operate unsafeguarded nuclear facilities and retain
the nuclear weapons option, is a testament to the extent of international
commitment to the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons. Underwritten by
this unique commitment, there is now an inescapable onus on the nuclear
weapon states to meet that challenge. And they must do so by making a
definitive and unequivocal undertaking to the total elimination of nuclear
weapons. This would be demonstrated by engaging in an accelerated process
of reductions. This new signal of determination, together with the efforts
of the international community working in concert can achieve the goal of
a nuclear weapons free world, a goal that is both realistic and pressing.
The one hundred and eighty seven State's
Parties gathered in this review process must engage in plain speaking. We
have witnessed continued challenges to the purposes of the Treaty since we
last met in 1995. Two states non-parties have carried out nuclear weapon
test explosions. These states non-parties and one other state non-party
continue to operate unsafeguarded facilities and have not renounced the
nuclear weapon option. There has been alleged non-compliance by others.
The achievements of the two major nuclear weapon states parties have
fallen short of the systematic and progressive efforts to reduce nuclear
weapons globally, as required by the 1995 Review and Extension Conference.
Besides the completion of the negotiation of a Comprehensive Nuclear Test
Ban Treaty nothing else has been achieved on the multilateral front. In
short the response to the challenge of the persistence of nuclear weapons
has been of complacency or indifference in some quarters.
This critical Review Conference offers us a
unique opportunity to move definitively forward in the achievement of a
world without nuclear weapons. We have reached the juncture when more
far-reaching action must be decided upon. We already have precedents when
firm steps were taken which initiated a process leading to the elimination
of entire categories of weapons of mass destruction. In the case of
nuclear weapons more than half a century after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we
are long overdue in taking a determined step in the same direction.
Yet, in place of such determination we
continue to witness re-statements of policies and postures which reaffirm
the central role of nuclear weapons in strategic concepts and the
possibility of fighting war with the use of nuclear weapons. In short, we
are witnessing a re-rationalization of nuclear weapons in an age when the
context which gave rise to the original proliferation of nuclear weapons
among the five nuclear weapon states has long disappeared.
The elements of the agenda which we have
set before you are not in themselves novel. Each of these elements has
been the subject of detailed consideration. In this review process we are
called upon jointly to develop nuclear disarmament objectives on the basis
of the Treaty and the Principles and Objectives of 1995, What the New
Agenda advocates is a coherence in approach that could be attained with
the necessary political commitment.
The achievement of our common goal requires
action by all states. We do not seek to interfere in the details of those
negotiations which are the primary responsibility of the nuclear weapon
states. We acknowledge the prime responsibility of the United States and
the Russian Federation in providing the leadership and first steps in
nuclear force reductions. We welcome the ratification of the START II
Treaty by the Russian Federation and urge the United States to complete
the ratifica tion procedure as soon as possible so that full and effective
implementation of the Treaty can proceed. We acknowledge the unilateral
measures undertaken by two of the five nuclear weapon states but call for
the early involvement of all five nuclear weapon states in bringing about
the elimination of their respective nuclear forces. We consider that the
principle of irreversibility should be applied to all disarmament
measures. We look to greater transparency as the nuclear disarmament
process gains pace.
We recognize that the process of nuclear
weapons elimination will take time, even with the implementation of an
accelerated program of force reductions. But we are also conscious that
the nuclear weapon states parties have a responsibility to undertake
interim measures consistent with a determination to lessen the prospect of
the unleashing of nuclear weapons whether by design or accident before
they are eliminated. The measures which we advance are those which our
governments consider achievable if not in all cases with immediate effect,
but at least in step with underlying nuclear force reductions:
- we propose that the outcome of any
evaluation of nuclear policies and postures should result in the adoption
of non-first use strategies, by all nuclear weapon states among themselves
and of non use with respect to non-nuclear weapon states.
- we propose that de-alerting and
arrangements for the separation of warheads from delivery vehicles be
progressively advanced.
- we underline the importance of
withdrawing non-strategic nuclear weapons from deployment and their
elimination.
- we advocate the provision of security
assurances of a legally binding nature to all non-nuclear weapon states
parties.
In the process of nuclear disarmament, the
priority pursuit of force reductions by the nuclear weapon states must be
paralleled by the conclusion of instruments necessary to guarantee the
conditions of confidence required for a world without nuclear weapons.
Nuclear disarmament is the responsibili ty of all states and all states
must be involved in the process leading to this goal. The maintenance of a
nuclear weapons free world will require an instrument or a series of
instruments negotiated multilaterally, which will result in a non
discriminatory and universal nuclear non-proliferation regime.
The conclusion of the Comprehensive Nuclear
Test Ban Treaty was an essential building block in the nuclear disarmament
agenda. The urgent commencement of negotiations on a fissionable materials
treaty must be another essential element, providing as it would the
beginnings of the extension of multilateral verification to cover all
fissile materials for weapons purposes, as required in a world free of
nuclear weapons. Pending the conclusion and entry into force of these
instruments, we call for a moratorium by the nuclear weapon states on all
further production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons and to uphold
the purposes of the CTBT to which they are all signatories. We also urge
those states nonparties that operate unsafeguarded nuclear facilities to
halt immediately production of fissile material for nuclear weapons.
The further extension and development of
existing nuclear weapon free zones and respect for their status by the
nuclear weapon states through adherence to the relevant protocols
reinforce the global thrust of non-prol ife ration efforts and the
international consensus that these contribute to that end. We also
call'for the establishment of additional nuclear weapon free
zones'especially in areas of tension such as the Middle East and South
Asia.
To date, the Conference on Disarmament has
been central to the shaping of the agenda for a world free of nuclear
weapons. It is now time to advance our engagement there on the next steps
as well as the overall framework necessary for the achievement of a global
ban on these weapons. Other organizations, in particular the IAEA, should
be mandated to intensify work on elaborating the verification mechanisms
required in a world free of nuclear weapons.
Mr. President,
We are encouraged by the fact that the
Secretary General in his report to the Millennium Assembly of the United
Nations proposes to give consideration "to convening a major
international conference that would help to identify ways of eliminating
nuclear danger". We consider that an international conference on
nuclear disarmament and nuclear nonproliferation, which effectively
complements efforts being undertaken in other settings, could facilitate
the consolidation of a new agenda for a nuclear weapon free world.
Mr. President,
The States Parties of the NPT gathered here
today comprise one hundred and eighty seven out of the one hundred and
ninety two member states of the international community. The three states
non-parties to the Treaty that operate unsafeguarded nuclear facilities
and engage in nuclear weapons development are central to the achievement
of nuclear disarmament. This Review Conference must address these states
non-parties and work for their accession to the Treaty as
non-nuclear-weapon states and for the placement of their nuclear
facilities under IAEA safeguards.
We are committed to this treaty. But no
treaty can be upheld, if the bargain which originally gave rise to is not
being fulfilled. This is a critical moment for the NPT. This Review
Conference may be our last and best opportunity to move definitively
towards the. achievement of the goals of the Treaty and to deliver the
security that the retention of nuclear weapons can never confer on
humankind. Failure to move now or to signal new determination will make
these weapons accepted currency. Nuclear power must not be perverted to
endow humanity with the reckless instrument of its own destruction. The
New Agenda is the advocacy of responsible and concerned states for a
future in security. It is for this Conference to give this message
substance by supporting the call for a new political undertaking for an
accelerated process of action.
Mr. President:
-Consistent with the need to identify areas
in which and the means through which further progress should be sought,
the delegations of Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, South
Africa and Sweden are putting forward a working document with measures and
steps regarding the obligation under Article VI to achieve nuclear
disarmament, and request the Secretariat that it be circulated as an
official document of this Conference.
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