3-16-05, 9:15 am
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty 2005 Review Conference
From The Guardian
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) 2005 Review Conference will take place at the United Nations in New York from May 2 to 27, 2005.
The treaty is reviewed every five years and at the last review conference in 2000 the five acknowledged nuclear weapons states (the US, Britain, France, China and Russia) made new promises to eliminate their nuclear weapons. Israel is not acknowledged by Western governments or the UN as a nuclear weapons state, despite its development and accumulation of these weapons. In year 2005 the world is facing an increased danger from nuclear proliferation.
The Bush administration in particular has failed to honour the treaty obligations and the additional promise given at the 2000 review conference. It has started the production of a new generation of nuclear weapons – smaller and more compact. The USA justifies the violation of the NPT obligations by their “war on terrorism”.
The Bush Administration is seeking to change the NPT so that the nuclear weapons states will no longer be obliged to eliminate their nuclear arsenals. It is says that it “no longer supports” the 13 steps agreed to at the conference in 2000. It states that the agreement of the 2000 review conference is “merely historical” and should be set aside.
If the USA succeeds in doing this, the disintegration of the NPT is almost a forgone conclusion.
Mohammed El Baradei, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director has repreatedly stated that it is unsustainable for nuclear weapons states to claim a right to hold nuclear weapons while asking others not to develop them.
In view of the serious threat and attempts to undermine the NPT, readers are urged to write to Foreign Minister Alexander Downer to act in support of the treaty and its Article VI, which demands that nuclear weapons states should eliminate their stockpiles.
The NPT has many faults but is the only existing mechanism guarding against the unlimited proliferation of nuclear weapons.
