MANY TO MANY Model Nuclear Weapons Convention

Model Nuclear Weapons Convention

On April 7, 1997, the Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy released a Model Nuclear Weapons Convention at the United Nations, as part of an international campaign to stimulate the commencement of negotiations on an international treaty to abolish nuclear weapons. Abolition 2000, an international network of over 700 organisations, aims for the conclusion of such a treaty by the year 2000.

The Model Nuclear Weapons Convention has been crafted by an international consortium of lawyers, scientists and disarmament experts. It outlines procedures to dismantle and destroy all nuclear weapons in a series of graduated steps, safeguard weapons materials, and ensure compliance with the requirements to abolish nuclear weapons.

The model convention has been drafted to demonstrate the feasibility of eliminating nuclear weapons and to encourage governments to enter into nuclear abolition negotiations. The world’s governments have negotiated conventions to abolish biological weapons and chemical weapons. The time is now ripe to agree to a nuclear weapons convention.

The following is a summary of the Model Nuclear Weapons Convention: General Obligations

The treaty prohibits development, testing, production, stockpiling, transfer, use and threat of use of nuclear weapons. States possessing nuclear weapons will be required to destroy their arsenals according to a series of phases. The treaty also prohibits the production of weapons usable fissile material and requires delivery vehicles to be destroyed or converted to make them non-nuclear capable.

Agency

The treaty would establish an agency to implement the treaty. It will be responsible for verification, ensuring compliance, and decision making, and will comprise a Conference of States Parties, an Executive Council and a Technical Secretariat.

Verification

Verification will include declarations and reports from States, routine inspections, challenge inspections, fixed on-site sensors, satellite photography, radionuclide sampling and other remote sensors, information sharing with other organisations, and citizen reporting.

The Agency will establish an international monitoring system to gather information, and will make most of this information available through a registry. Information which may jeopardize commercial secrets or national security will be confidential.

The Agency will cooperate with other nuclear disarmament verification regimes and organisations including the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organisation.

Compliance and Enforcement

The treaty provides for a series of graduated responses for non-compliance beginning with consultation and clarification, negotiation, and, if required, sanctions or recourse to the U.N. General Assembly and Security Council.

Individual responsibility

The obligations would apply to individuals as well as States. Procedures for apprehension and trial of individuals accused of ccmmitting crimes under the treaty are provided for.

Phases for elimination

The treaty outlines a series of five phases for the elimination of nuclear weapons beginning with taking nuclear weapons off alert, removing weapons from deployment, removing nuclear warheads from their delivery vehicles, disabling the warheads, removing and disfiguring the “pits” and placing the fissile material under international control. In the initial phases the U.S. and Russia are required to make the deepest cuts in their nuclear arsenals. -On March 13, 1997, the Parliament called on all its members to support negotiations leading to the conclusion of a nuclear weapons convention.

-On March 14, 1997, US Representative Major Owens invited other US Representatives to sign a letter to President Clinton calling for the US to join negotiations leading to the conclustion of a nuclear weapons convention.

-On April 3, 1997, Abolition 2000 released a US opinion poll showing that 87% of US citizens support the negotiation of a nuclear weapons convention.

For more information and to order a copy of the Model Nuclear Weapons Convention, contact:

LAWYERS’ Committee on Nuclear Policy, 666 Broadway, Room 625, New York, NY 10012, U.S.A.



Many to Many
a quarterly publication issued by
Operation Peace through Unity

Anthony Brooke and Gita Brooke, co-founders
Te Rangi, 4 Allison Street, Wanganui 5001, New Zealand
phone/fax: +64-6-345-5714 ~ e-mail:
OPTU is an accredited NGO in association with the UN Dept of Public Information
Many to Many
under the aegis of
Operation Peace Through Unity
is a communicating link between
'we, the peoples' of all nations, races, creeds and ideologies offering in the spirit of the preamble of the United Nations Charter an instrument for the furthering of better relationships based on deepening mutual understanding and the aspiration to promote unity and cooperation beyond all differences.