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Declaration by the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Chile, Indonesia, Norway, Romania, South Africa and the United Kingdom on strengthening adherence to nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament agreements, July 26, 2005

On behalf of seven countries Norway presented the President of the General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Jean Ping, with the following ministerial declaration and proposals for the outcome document of the High Level Plenary Meeting to take place in New York in September this year.

See also: Oped below, Response from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and background information on the 2005 World Summit, at http://www.acronym.org.uk/un.

Ministerial Declaration

1. We the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Chile, Indonesia, Norway, Romania, South Africa and the United Kingdom have agreed today on a contribution to the current debates at the United Nations in the field of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. This is a critical time for the international community to take stock of how we respond to today's threats, and we are committed to working for a strong outcome for the 2005 World Summit in September.

2. We sincerely regret that an opportunity to strengthen international resolve on non-proliferation and disarmament was missed at the 2005 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) - especially at a time when the risks of proliferation and actual use of nuclear weapons constitute one of the most fundamental threats to our common security. The Treaty is a cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime and the essential foundation for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament. We cannot be complacent about the challenges it confronts. At the Summit, all states must take a strong stand on non-proliferation and disarmament. We believe that failure to do so may ultimately imperil peaceful nuclear cooperation and our shared vision for a world free of nuclear weapons.

3. The NPT rests on three pillars - non-proliferation, disarmament and peaceful nuclear cooperation. We have an obligation to maintain the integrity of this carefully crafted multilateral instrument, and we reaffirm our commitment to its mutually supportive rights and obligations.

4. Full compliance with all articles of the NPT by all States Parties is crucial. States Parties are at all times accountable for compliance with their Treaty obligations. We call for universalization of the Treaty. We also call on States not party to the NPT to fulfill their responsibilities to the international community in the fields of non-proliferation and disarmament.

5. The spectre of nuclear terrorism has placed a new premium on the need to strengthen the global nuclear non-proliferation regime. Finding weapons of mass destruction in the hands of terrorists is today a real and frightening prospect. Terrorists would not hesitate to threaten to use them or to use them. And we know they are trying to acquire them.

6. Current threats require the strengthening of effective measures to safeguard nuclear materials, and to control access to them. All member states of the UN have a solemn obligation to put in place adequate national legislation and enforcement in both areas. We emphasize the obligation of all states to implement Security Council resolution 1540. We also welcome the amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, seek its early ratification and encourage States not party to the Convention to accede promptly and ratify its amendment. We recognize that the only full guarantee against the use of nuclear weapons would be complete security of nuclear materials and a world free of all nuclear weapons. 7. We reaffirm the inalienable right of all States Parties to the NPT to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination but also in conformity with their non-proliferation obligations and safeguards obligations under the Treaty, and provided that peaceful nuclear activities are not diverted for weapons purposes. We recognize the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as the competent authority responsible to verify and assure compliance with safeguards agreements which States Parties undertake in fulfillment of their obligations under the Treaty. We must continue to strengthen verification to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of IAEA safeguards. This requires concrete commitments from States. We call on all States that have not yet done so to conclude and implement relevant Safeguards Agreements and Additional Protocols without delay; conclusion of both is essential for effective verification. These safeguards measures should facilitate robust peaceful nuclear cooperation. However, States may choose to fully enjoy the benefits of nuclear energy without developing a domestic fuel cycle capability. We should establish mechanisms to ensure guaranteed access to the market for nuclear fuel and related services for States in compliance with their non-proliferation obligations and safeguards obligations under the NPT, as determined by the IAEA. We welcome the report of the IAEA Director General's Expert Group on Multilateral Approaches to the Nuclear Fuel Cycle, and resolve to support all efforts to identify and develop a consensus solution that provides assurances of both supply of services and non-proliferation.

8. We also need firm action to discourage any potential defection from the NPT. Whilst recognizing the sovereign right of States Parties to withdraw from the NPT, we also reaffirm that a State remains liable for breaches of international obligations undertaken prior to withdrawal from a Treaty. Leaving the Treaty must not be considered a viable or consequence-free option. The obligations undertaken by NPT States Parties cannot be retrospectively forgotten; to ensure confidence in the Treaty, we must respond decisively to non-compliance.

9. We believe that general and complete disarmament is a global responsibility. We must continue practical, systematic and progressive efforts to advance nuclear disarmament globally and reduce nuclear weapons towards a world free of nuclear weapons. All States should increase transparency and security of their fissile material holdings. We must seek the early entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty; we also urge the soonest commencement of negotiations without preconditions on a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.

Source: Norway's Mission to the United Nations in New York, http://www.norway-un.org/

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Proposal for the outcome document of the High Level Plenary Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly

Endorsed by the governments of Australia, Chile, Indonesia, Norway, Romania, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

1. We affirm that nuclear non-proliferation, continued progress on nuclear disarmament and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy are all vital and impose responsibilities on all States. We appeal to all States to pursue and intensify negotiations with a view to preventing proliferation, achieving a world free of nuclear weapons, and strengthening the international non-proliferation regime through full compliance with all of their obligations.

2. We urge all States to accede to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Chemical Weapons Convention, and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. We pledge to comply fully with all the articles of these conventions; to ensure the integrity of these conventions; and to reinvigorate the multilateral framework for non-proliferation and disarmament.

3. We resolve therefore to:

A. Take urgent action to eliminate the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction;

B. Pursue practical, systematic and progressive efforts to advance disarmament globally and reduce nuclear weapons towards achieving a world free of nuclear weapons, including through greater security and transparency of fissile material holdings for all States;

C. Ensure the soonest commencement in the Conference on Disarmament of negotiations without preconditions on a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. Pending entry into force of such a Treaty we urge all nuclear weapon States and the States not party to the NPT to apply a moratorium on the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices;

D. Maintain a moratorium on nuclear test explosions pending the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty; support completion of the International Monitoring System for the Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization; and call on States to sign and ratify the Treaty;

E. Strengthen verification to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards, and to this end call on all states that have not yet done so to conclude and implement relevant Safeguards Agreements and Additional Protocols without delay;

F. Support and continue to work with all prospective States parties and other countries engaged in the region towards the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones in order to prevent proliferation and advance disarmament;

G. Prohibit any non-State actor to develop, acquire, manufacture, possess, transport, transfer or use nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and their means of delivery, including by criminalizing such acts and establishing and enforcing appropriate effective control measures in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1540; and also to seek early ratification of the amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, and to encourage those States that have not already done so to promptly accede to the Convention and ratify its amendment;

H. Fully respect the inalienable right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy, under the framework of the NPT, and urge timely agreement to establish mechanisms to ensure guaranteed access to the market for nuclear fuel and related services for States in compliance with their non-proliferation obligations and safeguards obligations under the NPT, as determined by the IAEA. We welcome the report of the IAEA Director General's Expert Group on Multilateral Approaches to the Nuclear Fuel Cycle, and resolve to support all efforts to identify and develop a consensus solution that provides assurances of both supply of services and non-proliferation;

I. Explore for consideration in the Conference on Disarmament effective measures for the prevention of an arms race in outer space.

Source: Norway's Mission to the United Nations in New York, http://www.norway-un.org/

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UN Secretary General Kofi Annan welcomes the Seven Nation initiative, July 26, 2005

Statement by the Spokesman for the Secretary-General, July 26, 2005.

"The Secretary-General welcomes the recent initiative on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament led by the foreign ministers of Australia, Chile, Indonesia, Norway, Romania, South Africa and the United Kingdom. He thanks the Foreign Minister of Norway, Jan Petersen, for spearheading this initiative.

"The Secretary-General was deeply troubled by the failure of the Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), held earlier this year, to achieve substantive agreement to strengthen our collective security against the many nuclear threats to which all States and all peoples are vulnerable.

"The agreement announced today by these seven ministers, who represent a diverse group of States, is deeply encouraging. The political declaration they have adopted and the input for the 2005 World Summit they have submitted to the President of the General Assembly provide the basis, the Secretary-General expects, for a wide-ranging consensus. The Secretary-General hopes that leaders will use the opportunity offered by the World Summit, and the added impetus which these seven foreign ministers have provided, to make bold commitments and address the pressing challenges to the nuclear non-proliferation regime."

Source: United Nations, http://www.un.org.

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OP-ED by the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Chile, Indonesia, Norway, Romania, South Africa and the United Kingdom, July 27, 2005

Earlier this year in New York, a critical opportunity to strengthen international resolve on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament was missed at the 2005 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). This is particularly regrettable at a time when the risks of proliferation and actual use of nuclear weapons constitute one of the most fundamental threats to our common security.

The Treaty is a cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime and the essential foundation for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament. We cannot be complacent about the challenges it confronts.

The spectre of nuclear terrorism has placed a new premium on the need to strengthen the global nuclear non-proliferation regime. Finding weapons of mass destruction in the hands of terrorists is today a real and frightening prospect. Terrorists would not hesitate to threaten to use them or to use them. And we know they are trying to acquire them.

Therefore, we the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Chile, Indonesia, Norway, Romania, South Africa and the United Kingdom have agreed on a number of critical steps forward in the field of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. We hope that these may contribute towards constructive debate and a strong outcome for the 2005 World Summit to be held in New York this September.

All states must take a strong stand on non-proliferation and disarmament, and reaffirm their commitment to the Treaty's mutually supportive rights and obligations.

Full compliance with all articles of the NPT by all States Parties is crucial. States Parties are at all times accountable for compliance with their Treaty obligations. We call for universalization of the Treaty. We also call on States not party to the NPT to fulfill their responsibilities to the international community in the fields of non-proliferation and disarmament.

Current threats require the strengthening of effective measures to safeguard nuclear materials, and to control access to them. We emphasize all states' solemn obligation under UN Security Council resolution 1540 to put in place and implement adequate national legislation and enforcement to this end. We also welcome recent amendments to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and encourage all states to ratify the convention and implement its provisions. We reaffirm the inalienable right of all States Parties to the NPT to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination but also in conformity with their non-proliferation obligations and safeguards obligations under the Treaty. Peaceful nuclear activities must not be diverted for weapons purposes.

We must continue to strengthen verification to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. We call on all States that have not yet done so to conclude and implement relevant Safeguards Agreements and Additional Protocols without delay; conclusion of both is essential for effective verification.

We also recognize that states may choose to fully enjoy the benefits of nuclear energy without developing a domestic fuel cycle capability. We should establish mechanisms to ensure guaranteed access to the market for nuclear fuel and related services for States in compliance with their non-proliferation obligations and safeguards obligations under the NPT, as determined by the IAEA. In this regard, we welcome the report of the IAEA Director General's Expert Group on Multilateral Approaches to the Nuclear Fuel Cycle, and resolve to support all efforts to identify and develop a consensus solution that provides assurances of both supply of services and non-proliferation.

To ensure confidence in the NPT, we also need firm action to discourage any potential defection from the Treaty. Leaving the Treaty must not be considered a viable or consequence-free option. States Parties have a sovereign right to withdraw from the NPT, but they remain liable for any breaches committed prior to withdrawal; obligations cannot be retrospectively forgotten. To ensure confidence in the Treaty, we must respond decisively to non-compliance.

Finally, we believe that general and complete disarmament is a global responsibility. We recognize that the only full guarantee against the use of nuclear weapons would be complete security of nuclear materials and a world free of all nuclear weapons. We must continue practical, systematic and progressive efforts to advance nuclear disarmament globally and reduce nuclear weapons towards such a world free of nuclear weapons. All States should increase transparency and security of their fissile material holdings. We must seek the early entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty, and we urge the soonest commencement of negotiations without preconditions on a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.

This is a crucial time for the international community to take stock of how we respond to today's threats. In the field of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, ours is a responsibility not only to our own citizens, but to all peoples. The 2005 World Summit at the United Nations in September offers an extraordinary opportunity. Our citizens, and we believe those of all states, cannot afford for us to miss it.

Source: Reaching Critical Will, http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org.

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© 2005 The Acronym Institute.