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UN: 122 countries adopted Non-Proliferation Treaty except for nuclear-armed states
UN: 122 countries adopted Non-Proliferation Treaty except for nuclear-armed states
8/7/17
A
global treaty banning nuclear weapons was adopted at the United Nations on
Friday despite opposition from nuclear powers Britain, France and the United
States which said it disregards the reality of dealing with international
security threats such as North Korea.
The
treaty was adopted by a vote of 122 in favor with one country — NATO member The
Netherlands — voting against, while Singapore abstained.
None
of the nine countries that possess nuclear weapons — the United States, Russia,
Britain, China, France, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel — took part in
the negotiations or the vote.
Even
Japan — the only country to have suffered atomic attacks, in 1945 — boycotted
the talks as did most NATO countries.
Loud
applause and cheers broke out in a UN conference hall following the vote that
capped three weeks of negotiations on the text providing for a total ban on
developing, stockpiling or threatening to use nuclear weapons.
The
decades-old NPT seeks to prevent the spread of atomic weapons but also puts the
onus on nuclear states to reduce their stockpiles.
Impatience
however is growing among many non-nuclear states over the slow pace of
disarmament as are worries that weapons of mass destruction will fall into the
wrong hands.
Delegitimizing nuclear weapons
Led
by Austria, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and New Zealand, 141 countries joined
in drafting the treaty that they hope will increase pressure on nuclear states
to take disarmament more seriously.
Ireland,
Sweden and Switzerland voted in favor as did Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Kazakhstan and
many African and Latin American countries.
“We
have managed to sow the first seeds of a world free of nuclear weapons,” said
Costa Rica’s ambassador, Elayne Whyte Gomez, the president of the UN conference
that negotiated the treaty.
The
International Committee of the Red Cross hailed it as a “historic step towards
delegitimizing” nuclear weapons and declared the adoption “an important victory
for our shared humanity.”
Welcoming
“an important step” towards a nuclear-free world, UN Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres said the treaty reflects growing “awareness of the catastrophic
humanitarian consequences” of a nuclear war.
Disarmament
campaigners say the treaty will increase the stigma associated with nuclear
weapons and have an impact on public opinion.
“The
key thing is that it changes the legal landscape,” said Richard Moyes, director
of the British-based organization Article 36.
“It
stops states with nuclear weapons from being able to hide behind the idea that
they are not illegal.”
“It
is beyond question that nuclear weapons violate the laws of war and pose a
clear danger to global security,” said Beatrice Fihn, director of the
International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.
The
treaty will be open for signatures as of September 20 and will enter into force
when 50 countries have ratified it.
Except for America, Russia, China and other nuclear-armed nations
Except for America, Russia, China and other nuclear-armed nations
“These
states are sending a message. They are expressing their profound frustration
that the U.S., Russia, China and other nuclear-armed states have not fulfilled
previous political and legal commitments," said Daryl Kimball, executive
director of the Arms Control Association, a Washington-based advocacy group,
who attended the session.
He
noted those countries have failed to live up to the terms of the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1970, in which they pledged, among other things, to
take steps toward complete disarmament. "It's a reminder that the U.S. and
Russia are possessors of the world’s largest arsenals,” Kimball said. “Are they
going to lead or are they going to engage in a second Cold War?”
President
Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who met Friday at the G-20
Summit in Germany, control about 3,000 nuclear weapons between them. They “hold
the state of the world in their hands,” Kimball said.
But
the nuclear triumvirate of the United States, Britain and France made clear
after the vote that they have no interest in the pact.
In
a joint statement, their governments said they do not consider the ban legally
binding — or a new “development of customary international law" — and that
the treaty's entire premise “disregards the realities of the international
security environment.”
“We
do not intend to sign, ratify or ever become party to it. Therefore, there will
be no change in the legal obligations on our countries with respect to nuclear
weapons,” their statement said.
Nonetheless,
the treaty — which prohibits the possession and use of nuclear weapons — sends
an important signal to nuclear powers that the weapons are not supported by the
majority of the world’s nations, advocates say./.
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All comments [ 12 ]
The Non-Proliferation Treaty embodies the commitment of the vast majority of the world's states to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons into the possession of additional countries.
The goal of the NPT is important because every additional state that possesses nuclear weapons represents an additional set of possibilities for the use of nuclear weapons in conflict ( bringing immense destruction and risk of escalation ), as well as additional possibilities and temptations for the acquisition of nuclear weapons by still further states and by terrorists.
The existence and strength of the NPT itself are important because the goal of preventing proliferation cannot be attained by one or a few states acting alone.
Any government concerned about the dangers from the use of nuclear weapons by either states or terrorists, as all governments ought to be, should be doing everything in its power to strengthen the NPT and nothing to weaken it.
Despite cases of nuclear smuggling and continuing interest of terrorist groups in acquiring nuclear weapons, no thefts of enough fissile material to build a bomb are believed to have taken place.
The success of the non-proliferation regime to date could understandably give rise to speculation that we have seen the end of nuclear proliferation–that the number of nuclear-armed states will remain capped at single digits.
But recent international developments suggest that such an optimistic assessment may be premature and that continued success cannot be taken for granted.
The Trump administration inherits a global nuclear non-proliferation regime that has been more effective and durable than many observers expected, but the regime may now be coming under stress.
In close coordination with its regional partners, the United States should take a more assertive approach to countering destabilizing Iranian behavior.
While national and multilateral export controls have played a major role in impeding transfers of proliferation-sensitive items, the performance of many national control systems remains uneven, with shortfalls both in technical capacity and political will.
This treaty adoption proves that power nations do not care about general interests of the globe, they just care about themselves!
Do not hope those countries like America, France, China... to do something better for the humankind like this agreement.
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