Nuclear Weapon Free Zones (NWFZ)

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Nuclear Weapon Free Zones(NWFZ)

• Presentation made by Jayantha
  DhanapalaPresident, Pugwash Conferences on
  Science and World Affairs

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What is a Nuclear Weapon Free Zone?

• A regional arrangement in accordance with Chapt
  VIII of the UN Charter that prohibits the
  development, manufacture, stockpiling,
  acquisition, possession, stationing and control
  of any nuclear explosive device within the zone
  of application by any contracting party. It also
  prohibits the assistance in research in all of
  the areas mentioned above. However, peaceful
  application of nuclear energy is allowed in these
  zones.
• The parties to the NWFZ receive assurances from
  the five NPT nuclear-weapon states (NWS) through
  the ratification of relevant protocols to the
  treaties, to respect the status of these Zones
  and not use or threaten to use nuclear weapons
  against states parties to NWFZ treaties.

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Article VII of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT)

• 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.
• Source http//www.un.org/disarmament/WMD/Nuclear/
  NWFZ.shtml

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The UN General Assembly definition of NWFZs of
1975.

• UNGA Resolution 3472 B (XXX), adopted on November
  11, 1975
• " A nuclear-weapon-free zone shall, as a general
  rule, be deemed to be any zone, recognized as
  such by the United Nations General Assembly,
  which any groups of states, in the free exercise
  of their sovereignty, have established by virtue
  of a treaty or convention whereby a. The
  statute of a total absence of nuclear weapons to
  which the zone shall be subject, including the
  procedure for the delimitation of the zone is
  defined b. An international system of
  verification and control is established to
  guarantee compliance with obligations derived
  from that statute."
• http//cns.miis.edu/nwfz_clearinghouse/

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1999 UN Disarmament Commission report on the
objectives, purposes, principles, and guidelines
for establishing NWFZs.

• NWFZ should be established on the basis of
  arrangements freely arrived at among the States
  of the region concerned.
• The initiative to establish a NWFZ should emanate
  exclusively from States within the region
  concerned and be pursued by all States of that
  region.
• The NWS should be consulted during the
  negotiations of each treaty and its relevant
  protocol(s) establishing a NWFZ in order to
  facilitate their signature to and ratification of
  the relevant protocol(s) to the treaty, through
  which they undertake legally binding commitments
  to the status of the zone and not to use or
  threaten to use nuclear weapons against States
  parties to the treaty.
• A NWFZ should not prevent the use of nuclear
  science and technology for peaceful purposes and
  could also promote, if provided for in the
  treaties establishing such zones, bilateral,
  regional and international cooperation for the
  peaceful use of nuclear energy in the zone, in
  support of socio-economic, scientific and
  technological development of the States parties.

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First Special Session of the General Assembly on
Disarmament (1978) - A/S-10/4 Final document of
SSOD-I

• 33. The establishment of nuclear-weapon-free
  zones on the basis of agreements or arrangements
  freely arrived at among the States of the zone
  concerned and the full compliance with those
  agreements or arrangements, thus ensuring that
  the zones are genuinely free from nuclear
  weapons, and respect for such zones by
  nuclear-weapon States constitute an important
  disarmament measure.

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The 2010 NPT REVCON on NWFZ

• Article VII and the security of NWFZ
• The Conference
• reaffirms the conviction that the establishment
  of the internationally recognized NWFZ on the
  basis of arrangements freely arrived at among the
  States of the region concerned enhances global
  and regional peace and security, strengthens the
  nuclear non-proliferation regime and contributes
  towards realizing the objectives of nuclear
  disarmament.
• welcomes the steps taken since 2005 to conclude
  NWFZ treaties and recognizes the continuing
  contributions that the Antarctic Treaty, the
  Treaty of Tlatelolco, Treaty of Rarotonga, the
  Bangkok Treaty, the Pelindaba Treaty, and the
  Treaty on a NWFZ in Central Asia are making
  towards attaining the objective of nuclear
  disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation.
• The Conference welcomes the declaration by
  Mongolia of its NWF status.

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Nuclear Weapons Free Zones

• 1967 Treaty of Tlatelolco for Latin America and
  the Caribbean (entered into force in 1969 )
• 1985 Treaty of Rarotonga for the South Pacific,
  (entered into force in 1986 )
• 1995 Treaty of Bangkok for Southeast Asia,
  (entered into force in 1997)
• 1996 Pelindaba Treaty for the entire continent
  of Africa, (entered into force in 2009)
• 2006 Treaty of Semipalatinsk for Central Asia
  (entered into force in 2009)
• Mongolia's self-declared nuclear-weapon-free
  status in 1992 has been recognized by UN General
  Assembly resolution 55/33S on "Mongolia's
  international security and nuclear weapon free
  status." (1 member)
• http//cns.miis.edu/inventory/pdfs/apmseanwfz.pdf

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(No Transcript)
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Treaty Status

• Treaty of Tlatelolco - sig by all 33 Latin
  America Caribbean states. Prot 1 rati by
  France, Netherlands, US UK .Prot II rati by
  all NWS
• Treaty of Rarotonga rati by all 13 states. Prot
  1 sig rati by France UK while the US has sig
  nor rati it. Prot II rati by China, France, the
  UK, S.U. Prot III rati by China, France, UK,
  the SU . US has submitted protocols 2 3 to the
  Senate for ratification.
• Treaty of Bangkok rati by all 10 members. Not
  ratified by the NWS China has expressed
  willingness to ratify the protocol in the past.
  In Nov 2011 Asean members and the NWS reached
  agreement on the outstanding substantive issues
  related to the zone, paving the way for the NWS
  to sign and ratify the updated protocol once some
  additional procedural arrangements have been
  concluded.
• Treaty of Pelindaba -(Rati 31 Sig 52) Prot I
  2 sig rati by China, France, the UK, the
  Russian Federation. US has sig but pending rati
  of prot 1 2 by US Senate. Prot 3 sig rati by
  France but Spain has neither sig nor rati prot 3
• Treaty of Semipalatinsk - Rati by all 5 Sig. Not
  ratified by NWS.US has declared intent to work
  with parties to sign the protocol

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Other treaties

• Antarctic Treaty
• Outer Space TreatyTreaty on Principles Governing
  the Activities of States in the Exploration and
  Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other
  Celestial Bodies
• Moon Agreement
• Agreement Governing the Activities of States on
  the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies
• Seabed TreatyTreaty on the Prohibition of the
  Emplacement of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons
  of Mass Destruction on the Sea-Bed and the Ocean
  Floor and in the Subsoil Thereof

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• A total of 114 countries are party to NWFZ
• 22 states are not part of a NWFZ or a
  collective security bloc nor nuclear weapons
  states,
• 12 in the Middle East,
• 6 in South Asia,
• 4 in the former Soviet Union.

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Proposed Zones

• Several new NWFZ have been suggested
• 1975-Pakistans proposal for the establishment of
  a NWFZ in South Asia.
• 1974, Iran and Egypts proposal for the
  establishment of a Middle Eastern NWFZ.
• proposal to declare the entire Southern
  Hemisphere a NWFZ.
• suggestions to establish a NWFZ in Northeast
  Asia. 1992- North and South Korea signed a Joint
  Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean
  Peninsula.
• Arctic Ocean NWFZ proposed by NGOS Academics

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• Thank you