Non-proliferation treaty deemed "essential" to international peace and security, continued support for objectives expressed.

Non-Proliferation Treaty deemed "essential' to international peace and security, continued support for objectives expressed

The Third Review Conference of Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)--in its Final Declaration adopted on 21 September--stated that the Treaty is essential to international peace and security and expressed its continued support for the Treaty's objectives.

Nuclear-weapon States were called on to resume talks in 1985 aimed at the negotiation of a comprehensive multilateral nuclear test-ban treaty.

The Conference declared it was determined to "enhance the Treaty and to further strengthen its authority'. In examining the nuclear arms race, many conferees expressed concern that the nuclear-weapon States continued to augment the destructive power of their arsenals.

During the four-week meeting held in Geneva (27 August-21 September), the Conference established three Main Committees to review implementation of the Treaty, which entered into force on 5 March 1970. On 12 June 1968, the General Assembly commended the Treaty and requested the three Depository Governments (USSR, United Kingdom, United States) to open it for signature and ratification.

Main Committee I examined provisions relating to the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, disarmament, and international peace and security. Main Committee II dealt principally with provisions relating to safeguards and nuclear-weapon-free zones. Main Committee III reviewed provisions relating to the peaceful applications of nuclear energy. Twe earlier review conferences were held in 1975 and 1980 and the participants at the third review proposed that a fourth be convened in 1990.

In accepting the Treaty, nuclear-weapon States are obliged not to transfer nuclear weapons to non-nuclear-weapon States. Non-nuclear-weapon States undertake not to receive or manufacture such weapons. Parties to the Treaty in a position to do so are to co-operate in contributing to the further development of the applications of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

In the Final Declaration, the Conference on Disarmament was urged to begin multilateral negotiations on nuclear disarmament; continued support was declared for preventing proliferation of nuclear weapons and for the cessation of the nuclear arms race; creation of nuclear-weapon-free zones was deemed an important disarmament measure; and "great and serious concern' was expressed regarding the nuclear capabilities of South Africa and Israel.

The Conference noted the demands made on all States to suspend any co-operation which would contribute to South African and Israeli nuclear programmes, and further noted the demands made on South Africa and Israel to accede to the NPT, to accept IAEA safeguards on all their nuclear facilities, and to pledge themselves not to manufacture or acquire nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.

The Conference was also determined to further strengthen barriers against the proliferation of nuclear weapons among States. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguarsd provided assurances that States were complying with their agreements.

All non-nuclear weapon States not party to the Treaty were urged "to make an international legally-binding commitment' not to acquire nuclear weapons and to accept IAEA safeguards on all peaceful nuclear projects. An armed attack, or threat of attack on a safeguarded nuclear project, the Conference noted, would create a situation in which the Security Council would have to act immediately, in accordance with the Charter.

The NPT now has 131 parties, 128 of which are non-nuclear-weapon States. Three of the five nuclear-weapon States (USSR, United Kingdom, United States) are parties to the treaty. China and France have not acceded to it.

Eighty-six States parties to the Treaty, and two signatory States which had not yet ratified the Treaty, participated in the Conference which was also attended by representatives of 10 States that are neither parties nor signatories to the Treaty and of 43 non-governmental organizations.

Mohamed Ibrahim Shaker (Fgypt), Conference President, said at the outset that many Conference participants were convinced that little progress, if any, had been made to effectively control the arms race. But many-- including the Soviet Union and the United States--had expressed their readiness to achieve progress.

Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, in a message read to the Conference on his behalf, said implementation of the Treaty had been "largely one-sided'. Restraint on one side "cannot reasonably be demanded in the face of unlimited expansion on the other'. He welcomed the fact that "the two most powerful nuclear States are again engaged in disarmament talks'.

The Conference also received messages from Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, and Ronald Reagan, President of the United States.

"The moratorium on any nuclear explosions announced by the Soviet Union provides fresh evidence of our desire to make easier the road to curbing the nuclear arms race', Mr. Gorbachev stated. He recalled that the Soviet Union had already pledged not to be the first to use nuclear weapons.

The arms control objective of the United States, Mr. Reagan said in his message, was to reduce "substantially, and ultimately to eliminate, nuclear weapons and rid the world of the nuclear threat'. Regarding a more co-operative relationship with the Soviet Union, he said: "Of the shared interests between our two countries, avoiding war and reducing the level of arms are among the greatest.'

Hans Blix, IAEA Director-General, said that explicit acceptance by States of Agency safeguards--through acceptance of the NPT or through bilateral agreements--was "remarkable'.

Of the world's nearly 900 nuclear energy facilities, he said, 98 per cent in non-nuclear-weapon States were now under IAEA safeguards. Four nuclear-weapon States had concluded agreements for such safeguards in their peaceful nuclear sectors. The first on-site inspection in the Soviet Union had recently been made, he added.

"Verification machinery for arms control and disarmament agreements could not become an international police force', because they took place at the invitation of a sovereign State, Director-General Blix said

Nuclear power accounted for nearly 13 per cent of the world's electricity, he added. By the year 2000, that was expected to rise to 20 to 25 per cent. Nuclear power would be an indispensable option for the production of electricity.

In its Final Declaration, the Conference proposed measures for consideration by the IAEA, including: assistance to developing countries to construct, operate and maintain nuclear power projects; assistance from outside sources to finance nuclear power projects in developing countries; and greater support for regional co-operative projects among developing countries.

Photo: Harnessing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.