NPT review conference Bushwhacked
The month-long conference at the United Nations to review progress toward achieving the goals of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) ended May 27 in failure. The open conflict between the non-Nuclear Weapons States pushing for disarmament and the Nuclear Weapons States resisting those efforts resulted in a deadlock at the previous review conference in 2000. By the time of this year's conference, the situation had deteriorated to the point that two weeks were spent just arguing about the agenda.
The bickering between the Bush administration in particular, which wanted to focus exclusively on North Korea and Iran, and countries demanding that the United States shrink its own arsenals, ran so deep that no real negotiations over how to stem nuclear proliferation ever took place. Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency which monitors compliance with the treaty, said "absolutely nothing" had come out of the meeting. "We are ending after a month of rancor — when everyone agreed that the system is ailing but not busted," he said, "and the same issues continue to stare us in the eyes."
The 1970 NPT is the cornerstone of both non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear disarmament. The ambitious purpose of the treaty is the recreation of a nuclear-weapon-free world. Crucial to global security, the treaty rests on a bargain between those states without nuclear weapons, who agreed to renounce any ambition to acquire them, and the nuclear-weapon powers, who undertook in return to proceed in good faith to complete disarmament.
The acrimonious exchanges in the conference just concluded reflect the frustration of the vast majority of states, who believe they have kept their side of the deal by not developing nuclear weapons but have seen no sign that the privileged elite with nuclear weapons have any intention of giving them up.
The original intention of the NPT was affirmed in 1996 by a unanimous opinion of the International Court of Justice that the treaty legally binds the nuclear powers to actually achieve disarmament, not just conduct endless negotiations leading nowhere. But the Bush administration, in order to maintain the status quo of the United States' 10,000 warhead arsenal, ignored the disarmament goal and presented the purpose of the treaty as merely halting proliferation — preventing expansion of the elite club. Puffing up the North Korea and Iran issues was the administration's ploy to deflect attention from it's own violations of the NPT, such as pursuing development of smaller, "more useable" nuclear weapons.
At the 2000 review conference, the Big Five nuclear powers – the United States, Russia, France, Britain, and China – rejected any timetable for meeting the goal of nuclear disarmament, as well as a proposed requirement that they document their steps toward disarmament. They also rejected concerns that thousands of the world's 30,000 nuclear weapons remain on hair-trigger alert and refused a pledge of no-first-use of nuclear weapons in battle. Those dangerous policies could lead to an accidental nuclear war and remain unchanged.
The only nations that are not parties to the NPT are Israel, India and Pakistan, which have nuclear weapons, and North Korea, which claims to have an unsubstantiated nuclear weapon capability.
This year's conference had once been seen as a chance to deal with a gaping loophole in the treaty: how to deal with countries that are permitted to make nuclear material for civilian electrical generation, and then run secret weapons programs. IAEA director ElBaradei unsuccessfully proposed new mechanisms for international control of nuclear material so nations could not secretly produce weapons-grade fuel. And in the end, conference participants criticized (without naming them) both the United States for ignoring its commitments to disarmament, and other nations for failing to grapple with the Iranian and North Korean problems.
The Non-Proliferation Treaty has been the best barrier put up by the international community against the spread of nuclear weapons. With the support of all but a handful of nations, the treaty has provided a strong declaration that the development of nuclear weapons is taboo. That international pressure has since resulted in more countries abandoning nuclear weapons than acquiring them.
Previous NPT review conferences have been used as an important opportunity to regenerate support for the treaty. But not this time. The gulf was so wide that the conference chairman, Sergio Duarte of Brazil, mused aloud on the closing day whether the treaty was actually further weakened by the session. Due to the self-interests of the few, it was a tragically missed opportunity to strengthen international cooperation to reduce the global threats of nuclear terrorism and nuclear war.
– edited from The New York Times and The Guardian (U.K.)
For a report on the NPT review conference by Abolition 2000, see the right-hand sidebar at: www.nuclearpolicy.org
– PeaceMeal, May/June 2005
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.)
The 2005 Review Conference of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) will meet May 2-27 at the United Nations at a time when the Treaty itself faces threats to its survival. With Korea having already announced withdrawal from the Treaty, the possibility that another nation may follow, and regressive changes in nuclear doctrine by some Nuclear Weapon States — predominantly the United States, it is clear that the Treaty is vulnerable and in need of strengthening. (see: www.npt2005.org)
The NPT is the cornerstone of both non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear disarmament. As interpreted by the World Court, the Treaty legally binds the Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) to achieve nuclear disarmament. In return, the non-NWS agree to forego nuclear weapons.
In spite of the Treaty obligation to disarm, United States policy is to maintain an arsenal of some 10,000 nuclear warheads into the middle of this century. The Administration wants to build a new multi-billion-dollar facility to produce plutonium pits and has prepared to resume production of tritium for that very purpose.
In the Bush Administration's view, however, "the United States is in full compliance with its obligations." (Stephen G. Rademaker, Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, February 3, 2005)
The NPT entered into force in 1970. It represents the only binding commitment by the NWS to the goal of nuclear disarmament. It has been ratified by 188 countries — all but Israel, India, Pakistan, and North Korea — more than any other arms limitation and disarmament agreement. It has had some degree of success, as measured by the small number of NWS that exist and by the number of states that turned away from programs or actual possession of nuclear weapons. Yet after thirty-five years, the NPT still has no institutional support.
In three of the six NPT Review Conferences to date, consensus on a final document reporting the results of the conferences could not be reached. The last Review Conference in 2000 was a month of wrangling between the non-Nuclear Weapons States pushing for disarmament and the Nuclear Weapons States resisting those efforts. In overtime, the parties to the Treaty adopted a statement that provides a semantic smoke screen behind which the major nuclear powers can hide their refusal to get serious about nuclear disarmament. The Big Five nuclear powers — the United States, Russia, France, Britain, and China — agreed to an "unequivocal undertaking ... to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals leading to nuclear disarmament."
The statement seems like an "everything-is-beautiful" pledge to disarm, but nothing could be further from the truth. The Big Five rejected any timetable for meeting the goal of nuclear disarmament, as well as a proposed requirement that they document their steps toward disarmament during the five years until the 2005 Review Conference. They also rejected concerns that thousands of the world's 35,000 nuclear weapons remain on hair-trigger alert and refused a pledge of no-first-use of nuclear weapons in war. The nuclear powers did agree to negotiate by 2005 a treaty banning the production of fissile material. However, opposition by the Bush Administration has thwarted any action toward that goal.
Observers are concerned that a similar stalemate might occur at this year's Review Conference. Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), sees a positive opportunity to strengthen global security without amending the treaty by taking seven straightforward steps. They include a five-year hold on additional facilities for uranium enrichment and plutonium separation, pursuing and prosecuting any illicit trading in nuclear material and technology, and accelerating implementation by the Nuclear Weapon States of their "unequivocal commitment" to nuclear disarmament. (see: www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Statements/2005/ebsp2005n001.html).
Thirty-two Nobel prizewinners and 237 nongovernmental organizations and parliamentarians from around the world issued a statement on April 5, 2005, urging that strategic nuclear weapons systems be taken off hair-trigger alert in order to lessen the risk of accidental nuclear war. Both the United States and Russia maintain thousands of warheads on "launch on warning" status, and a number of terrifying near- misses have taken place. The European Parliament has already endorsed the appeal.
The total elimination of nuclear weapons is the only absolute guarantee for all peoples of the world against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. We advocates of non-proliferation and nuclear weapons abolition need to maintain a concerted effort to prod our elected officials along.
- PeaceMeal, March/April 2005
For the sake of achieving consensus, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) 2000 Review Conference adopted a statement that provides a smoke screen of rhetoric behind which the major nuclear powers can hide their refusal to get serious about nuclear disarmament.
After meeting for a month at the United Nations in New York, the 187 nations parties to the NPT went into overtime on May 20 and adopted a statement containing the much ballyhooed word "unequivocal." The Big Five nuclear powers — the United States, Russia, France, Britain, and China — agreed to an "unequivocal undertaking ... to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals leading to nuclear disarmament." Until now, the Big Five have always insisted on qualifiers like the "ultimate" elimination of nuclear weapons.
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan called the statement "a significant step forward in humanity's pursuit of a more peaceful world." Others said the Conference statement gives at least a psychological boost to languishing efforts to contain and abolish nuclear weapons.
But the psychology is wrong. Much better that the conflict between the Non-Nuclear Weapons States pushing for disarmament and the Nuclear Weapons States resisting those efforts be brought into focus, because the media have painted the statement as an "everything-is-beautiful" pledge to disarm.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The hypocritical statement does not represent a change in substance but only in semantics. The Big Five rejected any timetable for meeting the goal of nuclear disarmament as well as a proposed requirement that they document their steps toward disarmament during the next five years. They also rejected concerns that thousands of the world's 35,000 nuclear weapons remain on hair-trigger alert and refused a pledge of no-first-use of nuclear weapons in battle.
An anonymous official of the Clinton administration confirmed that the Conference statement did not indicate a change in U.S. policy. Official U.S. policy is to maintain an arsenal of some 10,000 nuclear warheads into the middle of the century. The U.S. is preparing to resume production of tritium.for that very purpose.
China's U.N. Ambassador was among those critical, saying the statement did not "fully reflect the current international situation, nor does it call for the removal of fundamental obstacles to nuclear disarmament." He cited a host of issues that weren't addressed, such as the expansion of NATO and its policy for use of nuclear weapons and U.S. plans for a ballistic-missile defense system.
The nuclear powers did let some crumbs fall from the table, but nothing that would threaten their status quo. They agreed to a moratorium on nuclear weapon testing pending entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, further reductions of tactical nuclear weapons, and increased reporting of information about nuclear arsenals. They also agreed not to recycle plutonium and uranium removed from nuclear warheads, and to negotiate within the next five years a treaty banning the production of fissile material — but not tritium.
The 1970 NPT is the cornerstone of both non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear disarmament. As interpreted by the World Court, the Treaty legally binds the Nuclear Weapons States to achieve nuclear disarmament. In return, the Non-Nuclear Weapons States agree to forego nuclear weapons. However, in the intervening three decades and in spite of the Treaty obligation to disarm, the United States and Russia have massively increased their nuclear arsenals.
Taking note of the 1996 World Court judgment that the threat or use of nuclear weapons is illegal under international law, the Conference reaffirmed as a bottom line for all peoples of the world that "the total elimination of nuclear weapons is the only absolute guarantee against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons."
Supporters of non-proliferation and nuclear weapons abolition need to maintain a concerted effort to prod the Nuclear Weapons States along.
- Jim Stoffels, chairman and editor
PeaceMeal, May/June 2000
The United States government is pursuing a new tritium supply program in order to maintain a large nuclear arsenal for the indefinite future. Tritium, a key ingredient of most nuclear weapons, needs to be replenished periodically because it decays at a rate of 5.5% per year. Plans of the Administration and Congress to build multi-billion-dollar tritium production facilities are in blatant violation of United States nuclear treaty obligations to achieve nuclear disarmament.
The nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), signed by the United States 29 years ago, contains a commitment to work toward nuclear disarmament. The opinion rendered last year by the International Court of Justice on the illegality of nuclear weapons asserts that the NPT requires the nuclear powers to actually achieve nuclear disarmament, not merely conduct ongoing negotiations.
When the NPT was extended indefinitely at the NPT Review and Extension Conference in 1995, the nuclear powers had to make three commitments:
1. Complete a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) for the 1996 fall session of the United Nations General Assembly.
2. Bring to an "early conclusion" a ban on the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons.
3. Engage in the "determined pursuit" of "systematic and progressive efforts to reduce nuclear weapons globally with the ultimate goal of eliminating those weapons."
The first commitment was met, although it is questionable whether the CTBT will become law because of India's refusal to sign unless the nuclear powers commit to nuclear disarmament.
The second commitment leaves a giant loophole. A ban on the production of fissile material is irrelevant to the United States and Russia. Both countries have so much weapons grade plutonium that the problem they face is disposal. The same is not the case for tritium, a fusion material used to boost the explosive power of nuclear weapons. Tritium would not be covered by a production ban limited to fissile material.
The third commitment above is blatantly violated by the U.S. policy decision to renew tritium production. The current U.S. supply of tritium (about 75 kilograms) would supply 1,000 nuclear warheads until 2040 and a smaller stockpile until the end of the 21st century. There is no reason why the United States and other nuclear weapon States should not have reduced their stockpiles well below current treaty limits by the year 2020 and eliminated nuclear weapons entirely by the middle of the 21st century. The policy decision to produce more tritium signals U.S. intent to flout its obligation to negotiate to achieve nuclear disarmament.
To carry out that policy, the Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a Record of Decision to begin work on the two most promising tritium supply alternatives:
1. Initiate purchase of an existing commercial reactor (operating or partially complete) or of irradiation services with an option to purchase the reactor for conversion to a defense facility; and
2. Design, build, and test critical components of a proton accelerator system for tritium production.
A decision on which alternative to implement fully is to be made by the end of 1997.
Even though defense production in civilian reactors is illegal, DOE is planning a demonstration test of tritium production in a commercial nuclear reactor this year (September 1997). DOE argues that the test, to be carried out in TVA's Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, would not violate the NPT because the amount to be produced would be small and it wouldn't be used in weapons.
The test does violate the third commitment above, however, as it demonstrates a definite intent to maintain a large nuclear arsenal rather than a "determined pursuit" of nuclear disarmament. In fact, DOE has declared its intent to operate tritium supply facilities "well into the middle of the next century."
Although significant reductions of the nuclear arsenals of the United States and former Soviet Union are resulting from the START I and START II treaties, neither treaty dictates a limit on stockpile size. The treaties limit only the numbers of warheads that can actually be loaded on strategic delivery systems. The START I Treaty limit is 6,000 warheads and the START II protocol limit is 3,500 warheads.
Current U.S. national security policy is to keep the option to reconstitute the stockpile to START I levels, that is, to keep at least 6,000 warheads loaded or stored. This policy is the driving force behind the alleged need to have a new tritium production facility operational by the year 2011.
There is a no-cost alternative to this tritium supply program, one which would strengthen rather than violate the NPT: a negotiated ban on tritium production. A proposal for a mutual, verifiable tritium production ban was put forth in 1988 — the same year the last tritium production reactor at the Savannah River Site was shut down. The proposal was made by a group of eminent U.S. scientists, including two former heads of the Theoretical Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory (that is, two former heads of nuclear weapons design) and two Nobel laureates, in collaboration with the Nuclear Control Institute in Washington DC.
Objections to the original proposal to ban tritium production are now largely irrelevant. Since 1988, the Cold War has ended; the former Soviet Union has disintegrated; and the START I, START II, and Comprehensive Test Ban treaties have been negotiated. The United States is helping Russia dismantle its nuclear weapons.
These dramatic political successes have built a solid foundation of confidence on which to base further disarmament treaties. A treaty to ban production of tritium is a next natural addition to this string of successes. The only requirement is that the U.S. forego its present commitment to nuclear weapons as a security blanket and adopt a true commitment to nuclear disarmament.
That change in attitude — to seeing nuclear weapons as a threat to national security rather than a protection — is becoming more prevalent among military leaders. General George Lee Butler, commander-in-chief of U.S. nuclear forces until 1994, and 60 other generals and admirals from 17 countries including the other nuclear powers, have called for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Following the World Court opinion last year, however, a proposal to eliminate nuclear weapons by the year 2020, made by the Group of 21 Non-Aligned Nations to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, was not even accepted for discussion by the United States and other nuclear powers.
Proposals for action:
All nuclear weapon States undertake a moratorium on tritium production.
Include a ban on tritium production in the proposed fissile material cut-off treaty.
Nuclear weapon States fulfill their obligation to conclude negotiations on comprehensive nuclear disarmament.
Move nuclear disarmament forward, not backward!
NO to new tritium production facilities.
YES to a ban on tritium production.
PeaceMeal, March/April 1997