PRESS RELEASE

17 March 1998

Netherlands-Mandela's South Africa Set for Confrontation on Nuclear Policy

Dutch officials have stated that no changes should be made in NATO's nuclear policies during the review of the Alliance's strategic policy, an approach that flies in the face of South African calls for assurances to non-nuclear-weapons states against the use of nuclear weapons. Speaking not for attribution, one official stated that NATO should maintain its commitment to the "nuclear paragraphs" in the Strategic Concept that is being updated. Last altered in 1991, officials plan to approve the new version of the Concept at the 1999 NATO Summit in Washington.

Under NATO's nuclear sharing arrangements, U.S. air-delivered nuclear gravity bombs are still deployed on Dutch soil. NATO's unchanging reliance on nuclear weapons, however, runs counter to the commitments made by all members of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) members during the Treaty's 1995 Review and Extension Conference.

At the 1995 Conference, Holland and all other states in the NPT committed to pursue "systematic and progressive efforts to reduce nuclear weapons globally, with the ultimate goal of eliminating those weapons . . ." and to consider further steps to assure non-nuclear NPT members "against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons." This contrasts sharply with NATO's statement in its study on its plans to add new members to the Alliance, in which it declared there was "no need now to change or modify any aspect of NATO's nuclear posture or policy."¹

South Africa, supported by the Non-Aligned Movement, has called for legally binding security assurances to be negotiated within the NPT framework. During the upcoming NPT Preparatory Committee meeting from April 27 to May 8, time has been allocated for discussion of South Africa's proposal. NATO countries will be pressed to justify a policy objecting to any changes in the Alliance's nuclear doctrine.

Background: In January 1998, NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana inspected new storage bunkers for US nuclear weapons at Kleine Brogel Air Force Base in Belgium. Holland has a similar facility: Volkel Air Force Base is one of 15 bases in seven European countries that has or is installing new storage vaults for nuclear weapons for use by NATO. Volkel is the home of the 311th and 312th Squadrons, one or both of which is trained to use nuclear weapons. The nuclear weapons, stored in 11 vaults below ground within aircraft hangers, are technically under the control of U.S. 752nd Munitions Support Squadron. During wartime, however, control over the weapons would be passed over to Dutch pilots flying U.S.-built F-16 fighter aircraft. The squadron routinely runs exercises involving mock loading, deployment and use of nuclear weapons.

For additional information, please contact Stephen Young on +1-202-785-1266 in Washington or Karel Koster in the Netherlands on +31 (0) 30-271-4376.

¹ Study on Enlargement, NATO, September 1995

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