SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE TREATY ON A NUCLEAR-WEAPON-FREE ZONE IN CENTRAL ASIA

Secretary-General welcomes entry into force of the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia

On 19 February, Kazakhstan deposited its instrument of ratification with the depositary, Kyrgyzstan, of the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia. With all eligible States now members the Treaty entered into force on 21 March 2009. Its five members are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

A statement by his Spokesperson issued on 20 March said that the Secretary-General welcomed the entry into force of the Treaty. The statement added that as the 2010 NPT Review Conference approaches, the Secretary-General trusted that the entry into force of the Treaty would reinforce efforts to strengthen the global nuclear non-proliferation regime, underline the strategic and moral value of nuclear-weapon-free zones, as well as the possibilities for greater progress on a range of issues in the pursuit of a world free of nuclear weapons.

The Secretary-General urged the States concerned to address any outstanding issues that may affect its operation. This included the need for the nuclear-weapon States to accept a Protocol to the Treaty which provides for nega¬tive security assurances, whereby the Parties to the Protocol undertake not to use or threaten to use a nuclear weapon or other nuclear explosive device against any Party to the Treaty.

This is the first nuclear-weapon-free zone (NWFZ) to be located entirely in the northern hemisphere. It borders two nuclear-weapon States, China and the Russian Federation. The Treaty is the first of the NWFZ treaties that requires each Party to comply fully with the provisions of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and to conclude and bring into force the IAEA Additional Protocol no later than 18 months after the entry into force of the Treaty. The Additional Protocol is a set of strengthened safeguards that enhance the ability of the IAEA to provide assurances as to the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in a State.

The Treaty obliges each party to, inter alia, not conduct research on, develop, manufacture, stockpile or otherwise acquire, possess or have control over any nuclear weapon or other nuclear explosive device by any means anywhere; nor to allow in its territory the production, acquisition, stationing, storage or use, of any nuclear weapon or other nuclear explosive device.

Other NWFZ include the 1967 Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco), the 1985 South Pacific Nuclear-Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Rarotonga), the 1995 Treaty on the South-East Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (Treaty of Bangkok) and the 1996 African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Pelindaba). In addition, Mongolia has a self-declared nuclear-weapon-free status. The Antarctic Treaty, the Outer Space Treaty and the Seabed Treaty also prohibit the placement of nuclear weapons in the respective geographical areas.

As part of its outreach activities, UNODA has recently produced both a mousepad and a postcard that depict the spread of NWFZ since 1976

http://www.un.org/disarmament/HomePage/ODAPublications/ODAUpdate/2009/June/index.html#0L

Penulis : Drs.Simon Arnold Julian Jacob