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Nuclear Weapons: NON-PROLIFERATION TREATYThe non-proliferation treaty went into force in 1970. The five first nuclear states committed themselves to nuclear disarmament in return for non-nuclear states agreeing not to acquire nuclear weapons. Four nations have not signed the treaty -- India and Pakistan (both conducted nuclear tests in 1998), Israel (which is believed to have nuclear weapons), and Cuba. In May, 2000, the first nuclear powers -- the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China -- agreed to "an unequivocal undertaking'' to totally eliminate their nuclear arsenals. They have not as yet committed themselves to any timetable! MEDIA RELEASE 14/9/2000AUSTRALIAN PEACE COMMITTEE PEOPLE FOR NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT FRIENDS OF THE EARTH NUKE WEAPONS STATEMENT AT U.N. WELCOMED Friends of the Earth, the Australian Peace Committee, and People for Nuclear Disarmament today welcomed a ministerial statement pushing for a nuclear weapon-free world, made in New York at the United Nations by the nations of the New Agenda Coalition, consisting of New Zealand, Ireland, Sweden, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico and Egypt. The statement, made yesterday New York time (this morning Australian time), called on the nuclear weapons states including especially the United States, to comply with their obligations under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), and demanded that the weapons states show the coming session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) how they were going to comply with the obligation to 'accomplish the total elimination of nuclear arsenals', as demanded by the final declaration of the NPT Review Conference in May. According to spokespeople for FOE, APC, and PND: "The New Agenda Coalition, in calling for the nuclear weapon states to implement the commitments they entered into under the final declaration of the NPT Review Conference, has made the right call. The NPT review conference final declaration calls on the nuclear weapon states to accomplish the total and unequivocal elimination of their nuclear arsenals, as per article VI of the NPT itself. The question we would like to ask however, is why Australia is not amongst their number when New Zealand is there. As a major United States ally, Australia's joining with the New Agenda's call for the nuclear weapon states to fulfil their binding international obligations to eliminate their nuclear arsenals would send a powerful signal to our great and powerful ally. Instead, Australia has done absolutely the wrong thing by saying it 'understands' the U.S. desire to deploy NMD [National Missile Defence] when the rest of the world was saying a loud 'NO'. We call on Australia to support the actions of the New Agenda Coalition at the coming session of UNGA, and to support the New Agenda resolution and other constructive anti-weapons resolutions when they come up for consideration in that forum." (NAC STATEMENT TEXT FOLLOWS) Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the New Agenda Coalition Countries (Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, New Zealand, Mexico, South Africa, Sweden) New York, 13 September, 2000 CommuniquéMeeting to review progress on their joint initiative Towards a Nuclear Weapon Free World: The Need For A New Agenda, the Ministers noted that their initiative had advanced the agenda for the total elimination of nuclear weapons. They stressed that this goal remains a matter of real urgency and must be delivered through an accelerated process of negotiations on all fronts. The Ministers warmly welcomed the positive and substantial outcome of the 2000 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference. The unequivocal political undertaking given by the five nuclear weapon States "to accomplish the total elimination of nuclear arsenals" demonstrates a new determination to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons. Recognition that nuclear weapons cannot be allowed to exist indefinitely was a singular step forward. This has been achieved against a background of limited progress in negotiations in the field of non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament, and a failure to grasp the opportunities of the post-cold war security environment. The programme of action agreed at the 2000 NPT Review Conference must now be implemented fully and progress reported regularly through the review mechanism of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) The Ministers expressed concern at on-going challenges to the non-proliferation regime. They urged the international community to redouble its efforts to achieve universal adherence to NPT. They repeated their call on those three States, (India, Pakistan, Israel) which are not parties to the NPT and which operate un-safeguarded nuclear facilities, to accede to the Treaty as non-nuclear weapon States and to place their nuclear facilities under comprehensive IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] safeguards. They stressed the importance of full compliance with the provisions of the NPT. The Ministers called for the early commencement of negotiations on nuclear arms reductions between the United States and the Russian Federation in light of the NPT outcome. They looked forward to early action by the five nuclear weapon States on the series of undertakings made by them at the NPT Review Conference. All States must contribute to the achievement of the objectives agreed at the Review Conference. They called on the parties to the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM) to preserve its integrity and validity. They reiterated their call on them to refrain from the implementation of any measure that would undermine the Treaty's purpose. They encouraged them in this way to contribute to the creation of more favourable conditions for further negotiations on limiting strategic arms to which they have committed themselves at the NPT Review Conference. In this context, they called on all States to refrain from decisions that could impact negatively on nuclear disarmament, lead to a new arms race or be inconsistent with the commitment to the total elimination of nuclear weapons. The Ministers regretted that the agreement at the NPT Review Conference for the immediate establishment of a body to deal with nuclear disarmament in the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva has not yet been acted upon. The Ministers underlined the importance of the NPT Review Conference agreement for the entry into force of the CTBT and the negotiation of a ban on the production of fissile material. They also welcomed the agreement to begin consideration of the broader verification regime that will be required in a world without nuclear weapons. The Ministers concluded that international peace and stability can best be maintained and enhanced with the involvement of the international community as a whole. Multilateral engagement and further progress on disarmament is crucial to this. The Ministers would continue to pursue the New Agenda initiative with determination. They announced that they will table a draft resolution at the First Committee of the 55th session of the United Nations General Assembly session. [to be held in New York beginning on 3rd October 2000] ends
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