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Disarmament DiplomacyIssue No. 44, March 2000British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook on NPTStatement to mark the 30th anniversary of the NPT's entry into force, March 5, 2000."The United Kingdom is unequivocally committed to the Treaty, which remains the cornerstone of the Non-Proliferation regime. There are now 187 States Parties. This shows the contribution which the Treaty has made to curbing nuclear proliferation. But there are still some States which have remained outside the NPT framework. Universal adherence to the Treaty remains a vital objective and we will continue to work towards its achievement. The next milestone will be the NPT Review Conference which begins in New York next month. The UK will work constructively for a successful outcome. We are committed to the determined pursuit of systematic and progressive efforts to reduce nuclear weapons globally. We have already reduced the number of our operationally available warheads by 50 per cent since the end of the Cold War, most recently in the 1998 Strategic Defence Review when we announced a reduction of a third in the previously planned number of warheads. The NPT continues to provide the most effective process for preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons and promoting nuclear disarmament." Source: British Foreign & Commonwealth Office website at: http://www.fco.gov.uk © 2000 The Acronym Institute. |