The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is a treaty, opened for signature on July 1 1968, to which the vast majority of states (189) are parties, restricting the possession of nuclear weapons to the US (signed 1968), UK (1968), France (1992), Soviet Union (1968), and People's Republic of China (1992) (the five states which possessed nuclear weapons when the treaty was adopted, which are also the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.) Russia has since replaced the Soviet Union as one of the five original signatories. These 5 NWS (Nuclear Weapons States) agree not to transfer nuclear weapons technology to other states, and the non-NWS state parties agree not to seek to develop nuclear weapons.
The 5 NWS parties have made undertakings not to use their nuclear weapons against a non-NWS party except in response to a nuclear attack, or a conventional attack in alliance with a Nuclear Weapons State. However, these undertakings have not been incorporated formally into the treaty, and the exact details have varied over time. The United States, for instance, has indicated that it may use nuclear weapons in response to an attack with non-nuclear "weapons of mass destruction", such as biological or chemical weapons, since the US may not use either of these in retaliation. United Kingdom Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon has also explicitly invoked the possibility of the use of the country's nuclear weapons in response to a non-conventional attack by "rogue states".
In New York City, on May 11, 1995, more than 170 countries decided to extend the Treaty indefinitely and without conditions.
North Korea ratified the treaty, but revoked its signature after a dispute with inspectors over inspections of non-declared nuclear facilities.
Iran signed, but is currently (2004) under suspicion of having violated the treaty through an active program to develop nuclear weapons. The International Atomic Energy Agency is investigating.
In August 2004, United States intelligence officials and non-governmental experts concluded that diplomatic efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons to Iran and North Korea have failed to slow their weapons development programs. [1] http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/08/politics/08nuke.html?hp
Several states decline to sign the treaty. India, Pakistan, and Israel possess nuclear weapons, which would be prohibited had any of them ratified the treaty. South Africa formerly undertook a nuclear weapons program, with the assistance of Israel, and may have detonated a nuclear test over the Atlantic, but has since renounced its nuclear program and signed the treaty in the early 1990s after destroying its small nuclear arsenal. India and Pakistan have publicly announced possession of nuclear weapons, and have detonated nuclear tests. Israel has been developing nuclear weapons at its Dimona site in the Negev since 1958, and is believed to have stockpiled between 100–200warheads—claims the Israeli government refuses to confirm or deny, though this is now regarded as a public known secret after scientist Mordecai Vanunu revealed the program to an English newspaper.
The major loophole in the NPT is that uranium enrichment can be used for fuel reasons. This is only a small step away from developing nuclear warheads, and this can be done in secret or by withdrawing from the NPT (like North Korea). So at the moment, the only barrier to missile construction is political will. Mohamed El-Baradei, the head of the UN nuclear regulatory body IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) has said that if they wanted to, 40 countries could develop nuclear missiles.
The NPT meets again on the 25th November, 2004, and they are thinking of changing the rules to prevent this situation arising.
Treaty violations: Not only non-NWS parties can be viewed as violating the treaty, but also the NWS parties. Article VI and the preamble indicate that the NWS parties pursue to reduce and liquidate their stockpiles. After more than 30 years this has remained only a promise. In Article I, the NWS declare not to "induce any non-nuclear-weapon State to ... acquire nuclear weapons". A preemptive-strike doctrine and otherwise threatening postures can be viewed as induction by non-NWS parties. Article X states that any state can withdraw from the treaty if they feel that "extraordinary events", for example a perceived threat, force them to do so.
The parties to the treaty are: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, The Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Federated States of Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
See also
External link
- Text of the treaty http://disarmament2.un.org/wmd/npt/npttext.html
- Signatories to the treaty http://www.fas.org/nuke/control/npt/text/npt3.htm
- Abolition 2000 Europe http://www.motherearth.org/a2000/
Last updated: 01-28-2005 06:31:35
Last updated: 05-03-2005 17:50:55
