Nuclear Non-Proliferation Review: US and Iran clash
THE Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference has commenced on 3 May at the UN Headquarters in New York, and will end on 28 May. Under the terms of NPT, it is required to be reviewed every five years. Last time the review took place in 2005. The NPT review mechanism is intended for states parties to take stock of what has been achieved and look forward to what can be implemented in the future. A total of 189 countries including Bangladesh are participating to review the weaknesses and strengths of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). In 2005, member-countries gathered to review the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and the meeting collapsed in conflict; partly over the perceived failure of the US to follow through on the disarmament commitments underpinning the treaty. Treaty obligations: Two way street
The 1970 NPT has been built on a global deal in which the five original nuclear powers - Britain, the US, China, France and Russia - agreed to begin dismantling their arsenal in exchange for a promise from non-nuclear states that they would not build a bomb. All parties to the Treaty are guaranteed the right to peacefully use nuclear energy so long as obligations are met. If nuclear weapons states fail to abide by their obligations (gradually reducing nuclear arsenals), their insistence on compliance of obligations of non-nuclear states is grossly discriminatory. The NPT is based on its " three pillars"
-Nuclear disarmament,
-Non-proliferation, and
-Peaceful use of nuclear energy. The Review Conference is being held against a backdrop of some positive developments, such as the Russia-US Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the 47-nation Nuclear Security Summit convened in April in Washington, and the positive thrust given by US President Barak Obama in Prague last year outlining his agenda for a nuclear weapon-free world. One of the most important aspects of non-nuclear proliferation is to agree on the Fissile Materials Cut-off Treaty (FMCT). Its aim is to seek a global halt to the production of weapon grade uranium and plutonium. The European Union supports it but India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea do not agree as they are not parties to NPT. Iran issue
The Review Conference is also being convened at a time when the Iranian nuclear issue is becoming a most hectic subject in international politics. At the review conference, the Iranian issue is expected to be one of the focuses of attention at the meeting. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council, together with Germany, have been meeting in the "Five Plus One" mechanism to hammer out how to solve the Iranian problem. At the moment, an agreement is yet to be reached among the six countries over this issue. The United States is leading the push for new sanctions against Iran for pursuing a clandestine nuclear weapon program. US declaration on nuclear weapons
The United States and Russia, the two countries with the most nuclear weapons in the world, have the primary responsibility for taking the lead in advancing nuclear disarmament. The United States revealed the size of its nuclear arsenal in an unprecedented attempt to galvanise efforts to rid the world of nuclear weapons. The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, announced the declassification of one of the Pentagon's most closely guarded secrets at the opening day of the review conference. It shows that the US stockpile consists of 5,113 nuclear warheads and "several thousand" more retired warheads await dismantling. The Pentagon said that the arsenal had been reduced by 84 per cent from a high of 31,225 warheads in 1967. She acknowledged that the US would never give up its nuclear deterrent while such weapons still existed. The real significance of the announcement is an act of transparency, lifting the veil on information that has remained classified for more than half a century in the US. Clinton's announcement had been under discussion in Washington for some time but the final decision appears to have been made only after Ahmadinejad's 11th-hour decision to attend the conference. Her address came just hours after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke at the conference, railing against the US's nuclear supremacy and demanding key changes to the international policing of nuclear development. On 3 May, Iranian President called on for states that threaten to use atomic weapons to be punished, a clear reference to a new US nuclear strategy released last month. Such threats should face "swift reaction from the United Nations and termination of all cooperation of NPT member-states with the threatening aggressor state," he said. Tehran insists that its nuclear program is developed for peaceful purposes. Nuclear energy
More and more countries start to develop nuclear energy against the spiraling prices of fossil energy. Meanwhile, a rapid economic advancement leads to a shortage of global energy and worsening of environment. Nuclear energy, as a kind of clean energy with infinite potential, naturally becomes the focus of interest. Therefore, peaceful use of nuclear energy becomes an inevitable strategic choice for many countries for sustainable development. Peaceful uses of nuclear energy is a right by non-nuclear weapon states under NPT, but this right is often denied with some countries wishing to take some others hostage at a time when development of nuclear energy is attracting growing attention around the world. Non-nuclear states have rights to develop enrichment technology of uranium for peaceful purposes. But the catch is the know-how can be used to make nuclear bombs. Expert say if a country enriches uranium up to 3% per cent which is suitable to generate electricity, it has done nearly three-quarters of the work needed to move along the road to 90% per cent enrichment, which is what is required to make a nuclear bomb. The UN watchdog IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) believes that 40 nations have the technical know-how to manufacture nuclear weapons from their civilian atomic reactors. No justification of nuclear weapons
The possession of nuclear warheads poses an intolerable threat to all humanity and its habitat. At the review conference in New York, on 4th May, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr. Dipu Moni has called upon the international community to come together to ensure a world free from nuclear weapons and leave behind a planet habitable for the generations to come. Former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating in his book "Engagement: Australia Faces the Asia Pacific" (2000) argues "Three possibilities exist with regard to nuclear weapons. First, they will be used either deliberately or accidentally. Second, they will not be used but will be managed forever by wise, prudent and well-meaning governments and will never fall into the hands of terrorists. Third, we agreed to get rid of them. The first possibility offers catastrophe to the human race. The second requires us assumptions about the future that run completely counter to logic and experience. The third is the possibility that can secure our safety." Conclusion
On the non-proliferation front, the treaty has not been able to prevent either the horizontal or the vertical proliferation of nuclear weapons although some analysts say, with some justification, that nuclear proliferation would have been much worse without the NPT. The international gathering will be an opportunity to strengthen the non-proliferation regime and it will be also a forum to reach consensus by both the nuclear haves and have-nots. It is important to keep in mind that the outcome should be premised on that which is attainable within the next five-year period. The success will be largely an agreement to strengthen NPT and the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in such region as the Middle East, which Iran supports.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments