The Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference:
Breakthrough or Bust in '05?
A BASIC/ORG project, Briefing 2, February 2005
 
Back to the main page on the 2005
NPT Review Conference.
Nuclear Weapons Free Zones: The Untold Success Story of Nuclear
Disarmament and Non-Proliferation
"[Mexican] Ambassador Alfonso Garcia Robles, the father
of the Treaty of Tlatelolco, was wont to say that Nuclear Weapons
Free Zones [NWFZs] were not an end in themselves, but rather a
means for achieving general and complete nuclear disarmament.
Those inspired words were captured in the Preamble of the Treaty
of Tlatelolco and time has proven the wisdom of them. But in the
meantime, until an agreement is reached to abolish nuclear weapons,
NWFZs are still the best way to continue the journey toward general
and complete disarmament."
Edmundo Vargas Carreño, Secretary-General of OPANAL (Agency
for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the
Caribbean), December 2004.
Background
Since the end of the Cold War, the momentum toward nuclear disarmament
has been fitful. But the obligation to bring about nuclear disarmament
does not rest solely with the Nuclear Weapons States (NWS).
A belligerent and fearful atmosphere after the Cuban Missile Crisis
in the early 1960s prompted the countries of the Latin American
and Caribbean Region to create the world's first Nuclear Weapons
Free Zone (NWFZ) Treaty. The 1967 Treaty of Tlatelolco set the standard
for all subsequent NWFZ treaties, predating and preparing the way
for the most widely agreed treaty in the world: the 1968 Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT).
Since 1967, three more NWFZs have been created:
- the 1985 Treaty of Rarotonga, covering the South Pacific;
- the 1996 Treaty of Bangkok, covering Southeast Asia; and
- the 1997 Treaty of Pelindaba, covering Africa.
The continent of Antarctica is a de facto NWFZ under the provisions
of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, which bans all nuclear explosions
and radioactive waste disposal. Similarly, the Earth's orbit, the
moon and all other celestial bodies, are also de facto NWFZs under
the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.
Each succeeding treaty has been stricter than previous ones, adding
to and building on the strengths of earlier ones. The Treaty of
Rarotonga, for example, forbids nuclear test explosions. The Treaty
of Bangkok prohibits nuclear transport within the Economic Exclusion
Zones of treaty parties, and the Treaty of Pelindaba renounces nuclear
weapons research. Within existing NWFZs, New Zealand and the Philippines
have added national legislation to strengthen protections of their
territory. In addition, Austria (1999) and Mongolia (2000) are each
single-state NWFZs.
Shared Characteristics of Nuclear Weapons Free Zones
All existing NWFZs:
- ensure the absence of nuclear weapons in a regional zone of
application defined within the treaty;
- exemplify a regional effort to create a common security structure;
contribute to nuclear non-proliferation, promote nuclear restraint
and general and complete disarmament;
- use nuclear materials and facilities under the jurisdiction
of the treaty parties for exclusively peaceful purposes;
- commit the parties to abstain from carrying out, promoting,
or authorising, directly or indirectly, the testing, use, fabrication,
production, possession, or control of all nuclear weapons or to
participate in these activities in any form;
- prohibit the receipt, storage, installation, deployment or any
form of possession of all nuclear weapons, directly or indirectly
by any of the parties, by order of third parties or by any other
means;
- place all regional facilities under the inspection regime of
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); and
- enjoy security assurances granted to them by the NWS through
NWFZ treaty protocols.
Current Status of Nuclear Weapons Free Zones
Twenty-two years after the first use of nuclear weapons in 1945
the world witnessed the creation of the first NWFZ, thereby grounding
the hope for a nuclear weapon-free world.
Today, one NWFZ treaty or another covers virtually the entire Southern
Hemisphere of our planet. In 2000, under the sponsorship of Brazil
and Aotearoa/New Zealand, the UN General Assembly called for the
creation of a Southern Hemisphere and adjacent areas NWFZ treaty,
uniting the current zones around the planet. The next NWFZ may well
be the Central Asian NWFZ covering the countries of Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. This treaty
needs only the signatures of the NWS on its protocols to enter into
force.
Throughout the world, hundreds of cities and municipalities have
declared themselves nuclear weapons-free. While without international
legal status, these zones generate significant political will and
public support for nuclear disarmament and larger regional NWFZs.
Regional bodies can negotiate NWFZs as preventive disarmament measures,
thereby taking action independent of the NWS to create a common
security structure. Unfortunately, the package of agreements agreed
at the NPT Review Conference in 2000 includes no reference to NWFZs
despite the following reference in Article VII of the NPT that encourages
the creation of these progressive alliances:
Nothing in this Treaty affects the right of any group of
States to conclude regional treaties in order to assure the total
absence of nuclear weapons in their respective territories.
Future Prospects
As we near the NPT Review Conference in May 2005, and hear calls
to rein in nuclear proliferation, we would do well to remember that
many parts of the globe have already given us a tested and flexible
model that provides for both non-proliferation and disarmament.
Regional NWFZs form the heart of the untold success story of the
road to a nuclear weapon-free world. They are one of our best hopes
for bringing it into being. We can expand upon and link these zones
as part of the global menu to achieve nuclear abolition. NWFZs in
the Middle East, South Asia, Northeast Asia, and Central Europe
are currently under discussion in respective regions and at the
UN. These proposed NWFZs differ significantly from previous ones
in that they all include or border on de facto or declared NWS.
They also indicate a transition from a passive but legally protected
region to a region where active disarmament is carried out. Establishing
a Central European NWFZ, for example, would require the actual withdrawal,
dismantling and destruction of nuclear weapons. Establishing such
a zone in Northeast Asia would require the folding and withdrawal
of the US nuclear umbrella.
While it is important and necessary to create new NWFZs, strengthening
existing zones contributes to the creation of a nuclear weapon-free
world. In this regard, Mexico has called for an International Conference
of the Parties to NWFZs treaties to take place in April 2005, just
prior to the NPT Review Conference. Such a conference, which has
never before been convened, would bring together over 110 countries
with a strong, shared agenda.
At a time when people and governments of nearly every persuasion
look for better ways to be safe and create the conditions for their
children and societies to flourish, the citizens and governments
of the world's NWFZs have much to teach us. In a post 9/11 world,
it is more important than ever to create regional zones of safety
and security that foster co-operation and trust among neighbouring
states. Sustaining and expanding NWFZs can lead the way to nuclear
abolition and the fulfilment of the NPT promises.
Recommendations
1. All NWS sign extant protocols for the existing NWFZ treaties.
2. All relevant states sign and ratify the NWFZ pertaining to their
region.
3. New NWFZs are established in the Middle East, South Asia, Northeast
Asia, Central Asia, and Central Europe.
4. All States Parties support the creation of a Southern Hemisphere
(and Adjacent Areas) NWFZ.
5. All States Parties support the International Conference of the
Parties to NWFZs treaties in Mexico City from 26 to 28 April.
6. All States Parties put the development and expansion of NWFZs
on their agenda of the forthcoming NPT Review Conference.
7. All governments and civil society organisations continue to
educate and raise public awareness about NWFZs and their potential
for the creation of a nuclear weapon-free world.
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