The intentions and actions pursued by the presumed remaining super Power, without the slightest regard for the concerns of the rest of the internation

i-Newswire.com - Press Release And News Distribution - REVIEW CONFERENCE FOR NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY CONCLUDES, WITH MANY STATES EXPRESSING DEEP DISAPPOINTMENT AT OUTCOME: "That the 2005 Conference had ended without result, despite the sincere efforts and good intentions of a great majority of States parties, was not by itself detrimental, he continued. The intentions and actions pursued by the presumed remaining super Power, without the slightest regard for the concerns of the rest of the international community, were serious. Policies and practices pursued by the United States in the last five years clearly indicated what lay ahead if they remained unchecked. The United States had adopted its Nuclear Posture Review, incorporating the breach of the obligations on “irreversibility”, “diminished role of nuclear weapons” and “lowering the operational status of nuclear weapons” by stressing the essential role of nuclear weapons as an effective tool for achieving security ends and foreign policy objectives; developing new nuclear weapon systems, and constructing new facilities for producing nuclear weapons; resuming efforts to develop and deploy tactical nuclear weapons, despite the commitment to reverse the process and reduce them; and targeting non-nuclear weapon States parties to the Treaty and planning to attack those States.



Continuing, he said the United States had replaced the principle of destruction, perceived as the most fundamental element in the process of nuclear disarmament, with a policy of decommissioning. The United States had abrogated the Anti-Ballistic Missile ( ABM ) Treaty, recognized by the international community as the cornerstone of global strategic stability, through its unilateral withdrawal from the Treaty, creating a strategic and security gap within the overall global nuclear posture, with grave and long-term consequences for the whole world. The United States had continued the deployment of nuclear forces in other territories, raising serious concerns over the command and control of such weapons. It had continued to provide a nuclear umbrella for non-nuclear weapon States parties to the Treaty, in flagrant violation of articles I and II of the Treaty by the United States and countries hosting such weaponry.



He said the United States had also signed an agreement of nuclear cooperation with Israel, whose nuclear arsenal presented the gravest danger to the peace and stability of the Middle East, providing Israeli scientists access to its nuclear facilities, thereby demonstrating its total disregard for its obligations under article I of the Treaty. The United States had rejected the CTBT, not only damaging the prospect for the Treaty’s entry into force, but also undermining its promotion in international fora. The United States had also rejected the inclusion of the element of “verifiability” in a future cut-off treaty, thereby breaking a long-standing position of the international community on a consensus over the negotiating mandate in the Conference on Disarmament.



The extremist attitude reflected in those documents and practices seemed to have learned no lessons from the nightmare of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If history was any guide, nuclear arms were in the most dangerous hands. It was imperative, therefore, to move now with a concerned and firm resolve to stop and reverse the fast-paced drive. Nuclear weapons should not imply political clout and the capability to shape and influence world events. Holding on and expanding nuclear arsenals should be condemned, rather than condoned or tolerated. Any increase in nuclear capability should equal a reduction in political credibility. The abysmal record, achieved unilaterally by the United States in the short span of five years, testified to a mentality which sought solutions solely through demonstration of power. It was no wonder the United States had tried to create smokescreens in the Conference to deflect attention from its abysmal record.



The NPT remained the cornerstone of nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation and the ability to develop and pursue nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, he said. The United States wanted the Conference to fail, so that it could pursue its own unilateral initiatives through other more exclusive bodies. That should not be allowed. States parties needed to quickly get together, in informal and formal discussions, to reinvigorate the ways and means to achieve the Treaty’s objectives. The three pillars of the Treaty were intertwined and needed to be followed, without diminishing the significance and effectiveness of any one pillar against the others. Above all, members needed to ensure full universality of the Treaty without exception; reject any perception which permitted nuclear weapons as a means of achieving individual and collective security; strengthen collective efforts to check proliferation."