The Nonproliferation Treaty

Atoms for Peace

• December 8, 1953 President Eisenhower spoke to the UN suggesting that peaceful uses of the atom be promoted internationally.

• Eisenhower suggested that the International Atomic Agency Association be created to promote peaceful uses of the atom.

• The IAEA is widely known as the world's "Atoms for Peace" organization within the United Nations family. Set up in 1957 as the world's centre for cooperation in the nuclear field, the Agency works with its Member States and multiple partners worldwide to promote the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear technologies.

NPT history from www.armscontrol.org

• The United States, followed by the Soviet Union, France, and others, began providing research reactors that used weapons-usable, highly enriched uranium (though usually in lesser amounts than needed for a weapon) to non-nuclear-weapon states around the world.

• These transfers and the training that accompanied the reactors helped scientists in many countries learn about nuclear fission and its potential uses.

• As these scientists moved up the nuclear learning curve, global support increased for controlling the spread of the new technology in order to prevent its use for weapons.

• Soon, debate about nonproliferation in the UN General Assembly produced a 1961 consensus Irish resolution saying that countries already having nuclear weapons would “undertake to refrain from relinquishing control” of them to others and would refrain “from transmitting information for their manufacture to States not possessing” them.

• Countries without nuclear weapons would agree not to receive or manufacture them. These ideas were the basis for the NPT.

The nonproliferation treaty• The NPT is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent

the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament.

• The Treaty represents the only binding commitment in a multilateral treaty to the goal of disarmament by the nuclear-weapon States.

• Opened for signature in 1968, the Treaty entered into force in 1970. On 11 May 1995, the Treaty was extended indefinitely. A total of 190 parties have joined the Treaty, including the five nuclear-weapon States. More countries have ratified the NPT than any other arms limitation and disarmament agreement, a testament to the Treaty's significance.

NPT

• It is a short treaty. Read it.

• http://www.armscontrol.org/documents/npt

The NPT deal

• 5 countries get to have nuclear weapons.

• US, Russia, UK, France, and China are nuclear weapons states (NWS).

• NWS agree to export peaceful nuclear technologies to the other states, but not nuclear weapons technologies.

The NPT deal

• All the other states agree not to develop nuclear weapons.

• The non-nuclear weapons states (NNWS) get to import peaceful nuclear technologies.

The IAEA police

• The International Atomic Energy Agency will police the deal, making sure that the recipients of peaceful nuclear technology do not pursue nuclear weapons.

Benefits to NWS

• No new NWS. More military and political power.

• Get to export peaceful nuclear technology.

• Safer world.

Benefits to NNWS

• Get to import peaceful nuclear technologies.

• Safer world.

Responsibilities of NWS

• Export peaceful nuclear technologies.

• Work on disarmament. Article VI of NPT.

Responsibilities of NNWS

• Don’t develop nuclear weapons.

Not buying the NPT deal

• India• Pakistan• Israel• North Korea (joined and then withdrew)• South Sudan (independence in 2011)

Nuclear Threat Initiative’sNPT Tutorial

• http://tutorials.nti.org/npt-tutorial/introduction/?mgs1=7daffMNRyd

• Quiz on NPT• http://tutorials.nti.org/npt-tutorial/quiz/

Troubles with IAEA

• Inspection regime inadequate.

• After the first Gulf War (1990-1) Iraq was found to have had an advanced program to try and develop nuclear weapons that the IAEA had not discovered.

• After the First Gulf War, Iraq’s nuclear and biological weapons facilities were destroyed by the UN Special Committee on WMD (UNSCOM).

• But the need for a better inspection regime was revealed and the Additional Protocol to the NPT was invented.

Additional Protocol

• Status of the Additional Protocol• https://www.iaea.org/safeguards/safeguards-l

egal-framework/additional-protocol/status-of-additional-protocol

IAEA Budget 2015€

Nuclear Power, Fuel Cycle and Nuclear Science 34 861 971

Nuclear Techniques for Development and Environmental Protection 38 888 632

Nuclear Safety and Security 37 555 701

Nuclear Verification

132 540 092 Policy, Management and Administration Services 77 687 366

Management of Technical Cooperation for Development 23 797 704

Subtotal of Major Programmes 345 331 466

Reimbursable work for others

2 845 593

TOTAL 348 177 059

That’s about $542,407,631 or $1/2 billion or about 1/1200 of US defense spending

123 Agreements• Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act requires the conclusion of a specific

agreement for significant transfers of nuclear material, equipment, or components from the United States to another nation.

• Section 123 Agreements are important tools in advancing U.S. nonproliferation principles.

• These Agreements act in conjunction with other nonproliferation tools, particularly the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, to establish the legal framework for significant nuclear cooperation with other countries.

• Moreover, the Agreements allow for cooperation in other areas, such as technical exchanges, scientific research, and safeguards discussions.

• In order for a country to enter into such an Agreement with the United States, that country must commit itself to adhering to U.S.- mandated nuclear nonproliferation norms.

• The United States has entered into agreements with the following states or groups of states:

• Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea (ROK), Morocco, Norway, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, UAE.

• http://nnsa.energy.gov/aboutus/ourprograms/nonproliferation/treatiesagreements/123agreementsforpeacefulcooperation

• India got on this list in 2005 under George W. Bush, despite its failure to join the NPT.