Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference: Issues for Congress

摘要

Member states of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) will meet in New York from May 2 through May 27, 2005, to review treaty implementation. These Review Conferences have taken place every five years since the treaty entered into force in 1970. The NPT was designed to: (1) prevent the spread of nuclear weapons (Articles I, II); (2) provide assurance, through international safeguards, that the peaceful nuclear activities of non- nuclear weapon states are not diverted to making nuclear weapons (Article III); (3) promote, to the maximum extent consistent with the other purposes of the treaty, the peaceful uses of nuclear energy through full cooperation (Article IV); (4) express the determination of the parties that the treaty should lead to further progress in comprehensive arms control and nuclear disarmament (Article VI) In recent years, several developments have led many to believe that the nuclear nonproliferation regime needs to be strengthened: the discovery of the A.Q. Khan nuclear black market network, Iran s unreported nuclear activities, including secret uranium enrichment facilities, the withdrawal of North Korea from the NPT in April 2003, and the discovery of Libya s covert nuclear weapons program, renounced in December 2003. Brazilian Ambassador Sergio Duarte, who will chair the May Review Conference, suggested that the main difficulty facing the review conference will be how to balance a perceived need for greater controls with treaty provisions that ensure the right to peaceful applications of nuclear technology. While the conference is unlikely to make specific recommendations, it will likely discuss some proposals to strengthen the regime, including those from President Bush and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamed ElBaradei.