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The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the International Atomic Energy Agency

This page has information about the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the International Atomic Energy Agency (see below).

Non-Proliferation Treaty

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was concluded in 1968 and entered into force on March 5, 1970. It is the founding document of multilateral nonproliferation endeavours. The Acronym Institute has closely followed NPT developments since 1994. Our website features our own detailed reports on NPT meetings and analysis from a range of academic and practitioner commentators.

NPT Review Conference 2005: Acronym Special Coverage

The seventh NPT Review Conference opened at the UN in New York on May 2, 2005 and is scheduled to run until May 27. See below for Rebecca Johnson's frequent reports and updates on behalf of Acronym. See the UN website for statements and documents, at http://www.un.org/events/npt2005/. Links are also provided for some NGO sites and activities in connection with the NPT.

Following the indefinite extension of the NPT in 1995, the previous review conference, held in 2000, reached a landmark agreement on a programme of action for nuclear disarmament known (somewhat erroniously, since it comprises at least 18 principles, measures and steps) as the Thirteen Steps.

Latest News from New York

• "Decisions, resolution and outcomes": Frustration as agenda is thwarted
  NPT Review Conference entering week 2 (May 9), by Rebecca Johnson, May 7, 2005
• "The miserable failure of the NPT to contain the nuclear spectre"?
  NPT Review Conference Day 3 (May 4), by Rebecca Johnson, May 5, 2005
• Imagine "a nuclear catastrophe in one of our great cities":
  NPT Review Conference Day 1 (May 2), by Rebecca Johnson, May 2, 2005
  

Pre-Conference analysis

• The 2005 NPT Conference in Crisis: Risks and Opportunities, by Rebecca Johnson, Disarmament Diplomacy, Issue No.79, April/May 2005
• Is the NPT up to the challenge of proliferation?, by Rebecca Johnson, published in Disarmament Forum, edition on the 2005 NPT Review Conference.
• US-UK Mutual Defence Act "arguably breaches NPT", Joint Advice from Rabinder Singh QC and Professor Christine Chinkin, Matrix Chambers

NPT Key Texts and Data

• Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), full text
• States that have signed and ratified the Treaty, September 2004
• Nuclear Disarmament Plan of Action, Final Document, 2000 NPT Review Conference
• Decisions of the 1995 NPT Review Conference on Strengthening the Treaty review process, Principles & Objectives for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament; NPT Extension, and the Resolution on the Middle East

Relevant Links

• Is the NPT up to the challenge of proliferation?, by Rebecca Johnson, published in Disarmament Forum, edition on the 2005 NPT Review Conference. For further articles from this issue of Disarmament Forum go to the UNIDIR website.
• Report on the 2004 NPT PrepCom, by Rebecca Johnson, including Chair's Summary from the PrepCom, Disarmament Diplomacy, Issue No.77, May/June 2004
• Report on the 2003 PrepCom and Chair's Factual Summary
• Report on the 2002 PrepCom and Chair's Factual Summary
• Report on the 2000 NPT Review Conference
• NPT 2000: Implementing the Disarmament Pledges, by Rebecca Johnson,
• Report on the 1995 NPT Review Conference
• The Non-Proliferation Treaty: Challenging Times, by Rebecca Johnson, ACRONYM Report No.13, February 2000, for Comparative Issues and Documents in the run-up to 2000 Review Conference.

External Links

• For NGO opinion, statements and documents from the 2004 PrepCom and past NPT meetings see http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org.
• For academic analysis and detail on the NPT, see the Monterrey Institute of International Studies and the Mountbatten Centre for International Studies.
• United Nations page on the NPT
• International Atomic Energy Agency
• 2005 Campaign to Strengthen the NPT, a joint project of the Arms Control Association and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
• Mayors for Peace, including information on the 2020 Vision Campaign to ban nuclear weapons
• Global Security Institute, including information on the Atlanta Consultation II: On the Future of the NPT held in January 2005
• Abolition Now, campaigning for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Recent Statements and Articles

• UN Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs Nobuyasu Abe, March 17, 2005
• US Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary Mark Fitzpatrick, March 17, 2005
• Non-Proliferation Review Debate in the British Parliament, Westminster Hall, March 8, 2005, Column 399WH.
• UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, March 4, 2005
• President Bush statement on the NPT, March 7, 2005
• UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, February 23, 2005
• US Compliance with Article VI of the NPT, US Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control Stephen Rademaker, February 3, 2005
• 'Seven Steps to Raise World Security', Financial Times Op-ed by IAEA Director General Dr Mohamed ElBaradei, February 2, 2005
• '[T]he events of the past few years have placed the NPT and the regime supporting it under unprecedented stress', IAEA Director General Dr Mohamed ElBaradei, November 8, 2004
• '[A] collective security framework that will serve the interests of all countries equally, and make reliance on nuclear weapons obsolete', IAEA Director General Dr Mohamed ElBaradei, November 4, 2004
• Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Russia's implementation of the NPT, November 4, 2004
• Joint Ministerial Statement on the CTBT, New York, September 23, 2004
• 'Nonproliferation and Disarmament Go Hand in Hand', New Agenda Coalition op-ed in the International Herald Tribune, September 22, 2004

See also: Acronym Institute coverage of previous NPT Review Conferences and PrepComs.

Related News

On March 4, 2005, the Report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, 'In Larger Freedom: Towards Development, Security and Human Rights for all', was published. Heads of State and Government are expected to take decisions on the report in September 2005. You can view the sections on Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Weapons at: http://www.acronym.org.uk/docs/0503/doc19.htm and the full text is available at: http://www.un.org/reform/

On December 1, 2004, the report of the UN's High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, 'A more secure world: our shared responsibility', was transmitted to the UN Secretary-General with recommendations concerning collective security, the role of the UN and nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

On April 28, 2004 the UN Security Council adopted resolution 1540 (2004) on preventing Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, analysed in Disarmament Diplomacy No.79. The resolution was originally introduced into the Security Council by the United States, following President Bush's keynote speech on proliferation on February 11. The resolution focusses on measures to prevent illegal trafficking and proliferation of WMD to non-state actors (ie terrorists).

International Atomic Energy Agency

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is responsible for safegards agreements under the NPT (Article III). Increasingly, questions are raised about the contradictions between effective fulfilment of this verification role and the IAEA's mission of promoting nuclear energy. The Acronym Institute does not cover the IAEA's work in general, but only in relation to the NPT.

Recent Documents and Reports

• '[V]erification and diplomacy, used in conjunction, can be effective', IAEA Director General Dr Mohamed ElBaradei, September 20, 2004
• IAEA Resolution on Iran, September 18, 2004
• '[A] matter of serious concern', IAEA Director General Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei on South Korea's uranium enrichment activities, September 13, 2004
• International Atomic Energy Agency Press Statement on South Korea Uranium Enrichment, September 2, 2004
• 'They always ask why Israel is outside the NPT regime', IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei in Israel, July 8, 2004
• '[T]he need for substantive change...has become even more obvious and urgent', IAEA Director General Dr Mohamed ElBaradei, June 21, 2004
• 'Agency experts have raised questions and doubts regarding the explanations provided by Iran', IAEA Resolution on Iran, June 18
• IAEA Director-General Dr Mohamed ElBaradei statement to the IAEA Board of Governors, June 14
• '[G]ood progess', IAEA Director General's report on Iran for the IAEA Board of Governors, June 1
• 'IAEA and Iran Agree on Action Plan', April 7
• 'Serious concern' as the IAEA addresses Iran's nuclear programme, IAEA Board of Governors meeting, March 13, 2004
• IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei on the AQ Khan network, March 2
• 'Time is Ripe to Act on Middle East Weapons', IAEA Director General Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei and Sir Joseph Rotblat, February 3
• Addressing Iran's Nuclear Programme: the US, IAEA, and European Foreign Ministers, Disarmament Diplomacy, Issue No. 74, December 2003

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© 2005 The Acronym Institute.