IMPLICATIONS OF THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL APPROACH TO NON-PROLIFERATION ENFORCEMENT IN THE 21ST CENTURY

摘要

The central principle of the international law of arms control is that there are no rules by which thelevel of armaments of states is limited except those to which the state itself consents. In the interest ofachieving the broadest possible adherence, multilateral arms control treaty regimes focused onweapons of mass destruction provide for a range of incentives to become and remain a State Party,such as codification of the right of peaceful development, while offering a way out in the form of awithdrawal clause. Both of these elements are found in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of NuclearWeapons (NPT). The conditions for withdrawal from the NPT require that extraordinary events havejeopardized the State’s supreme interests, though the text allows the state substantial discretion inmaking this determination. At the same time, in the event of non-compliance by a State Party, theinstitutional enforcement mechanisms available under the auspices of the International Atomic EnergyAgency (IAEA) are quite weak. Taking the role of enforcer, the Security Council has consistentlydeemed the proliferation of nuclear weapons to be a threat to international peace and security, therebytriggering the UN collective security system and its powers under Chapter VII of the UN Charter –being able to take measures binding on all states. Actions taken under these powers since the turn ofthe century have included requiring states to enact certain domestic legislation (Resolution 1540),demanding North Korea’s return to the NPT (essentially overriding the consent element), anddeciding that Iran must suspend all enrichment activities. This paper expounds upon whether suchactions fall under the Security Council’s competences, whether such actions denote a shift towardallowing for extraordinary measures to deal with the threat of nuclear proliferation, and what thebroader implications are for the further development of the non-proliferation regime.