In a debate on Tuesday and a vote on Wednesday, Parliament is expected to recommend that the Council and the EU foreign policy chief should reaffirm the EU’s and member states’ full support to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the most important international instrument for regulating the nuclear regime in the last fifty years.
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Effective multilateralism and a rules-based international order are essential to keep the world’s nuclear regime in balance, MEPs are set to stress.
The 2020 Review Conference of the treaty will take place in a particularly challenging international security context; no progress has been made in the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, the US has withdrawn from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran, the INF Treaty has collapsed, and negotiations to extend the new START Treaty between Russia and the US are at a stalemate.
In force since 1970, the NPT is a multilateral treaty aimed at limiting the spread of nuclear weapons. According to the Treaty, the non-nuclear power states have committed to not acquiring nuclear weapons and the states with nuclear power are obliged to pursue disarmament. One hundred and ninety one states are parties to the NPT, which the UN reviews every five years. The next review is due in the first quarter of 2021.
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Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)
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 191 States 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.
The Treaty is regarded as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime and an essential foundation for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament. It was designed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, to further the goals of nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament, and to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy
To further the goal of non-proliferation and as a confidence-building measure between States parties, the Treaty establishes a safeguards system under the responsibility of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Safeguards are used to verify compliance with the Treaty through inspections conducted by the IAEA. The Treaty promotes cooperation in the field of peaceful nuclear technology and equal access to this technology for all States parties, while safeguards prevent the diversion of fissile material for weapons use.
The provisions of the Treaty, particularly article VIII, paragraph 3, envisage a review of the operation of the Treaty every five years, a provision which was reaffirmed by the States parties at the 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference.
The 2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, ended without the adoption of a consensus substantive outcome. After a successful 2010 Review Conference at which States parties agreed to a final document which included conclusions and recommendations for follow-on actions, including the implementation of the 1995 Resolution on the Middle East, the 2015 outcome constitutes a setback for the strengthened review process instituted to ensure accountability with respect to activities under the three pillars of the Treaty as part of the package in support of the indefinite extension of the Treaty in 1995. The preparatory process for the 2020 Review Conference is currently underway.
