The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons: A Global Success

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is one of the great success stories of arms control. It has made major contributions to global security and economic well being. It has been remarkably successful in achieving its main goals and -- with 187 parties -has become the most widely-adhered to arms control treaty in history. The NPT:

• is an indispensable tool in preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.

• promotes the peaceful uses of the atom from the generation of electricity to the many applications in medicine, industry, agriculture and other areas.

• serves as an essential basis for the reduction of nuclear weapons and for progress toward nuclear disarmament.

The need to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons was evident from the first days of the nuclear era. By 1964 there were five declared nuclear weapon states -- the United States, the former Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France and China. Many predicted that the nuclear club could grow to 20-30 countries within two decades. It rapidly became clear that if the many peaceful uses of nuclear technology were to be developed, states needed credible assurances that nuclear programs would not be diverted to military applications.

In 1961, the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution sponsored by Ireland calling on all states to conclude an international agreement that would ban the acquisition and transfer of nuclear weapons. In 1965, the Geneva disarmament conference began consideration of a draft nonproliferation treaty. Negotiations were completed in 1968 and on July 1 of that year the NPT was opened for signature. On March 5, 1970, the NPT entered into force. The United States, United Kingdom, and the former Soviet Union were among the 43 original parties.

Important members of the international community did not embrace the NPT in 1970. There were many questions. Would its terms be honored? Would the inspections of civil nuclear facilities lead to commercial espionage? Would others join the Treaty? Would it provide real benefits?

Over time, the many benefits of the NPT became clear. The NPT establishes a political and legal barrier to the spread of nuclear weapons. That fact alone offered to many states a compelling rationale for joining. The growth in Treaty membership toward universality has been steady over the years. From 43 original parties in 1970 the number grew to 96 in 1975, 132 in 1985, 177 in 1995, and stands at 187 today. Only Cuba, Israel, India and Pakistan remain outside the Treaty.

In 1995, the parties faced the critical decision of whether to extend the NPT indefinitely or for a fixed period or periods. A majority decision was necessary. There was some speculation that the international community was not ready to make the NPT a permanent fixture of global security. However, at the Conference called to consider this issue, it was decided by consensus on May 11, 1995, that a majority of parties supported the indefinite extension of the Treaty. On that day President Clinton called the decision historic, hailing it as:

"...a critical step in making the American people -- and people throughout the world -more safe and secure. It will build a better future for our children and the generations to come."

There is a strong international consensus that the further spread of nuclear weapons would endanger the security of all countries, threaten global and regional stability, and undermine efforts to achieve peaceful solutions to existing problems among states. The NPT, and the norm of nonproliferation that it supports, are the primary reasons why the proliferation of nuclear weapons has been far slower than predicted in the 1960s.

The security benefits of the NPT are evident in every region of the world. South Africa's accession to the NPT in 1991 enhanced the security of all African states and opened the way for the negotiation of a treaty to make Africa a nuclear-weapon-free zone. Widespread acceptance of the NPT in Latin America and Southeast Asia has reinforced the desire of nations in these regions to ensure that nuclear weapons do not undermine their security.

There have been challenges to the NPT. Iraq was found to be in violation of the NPT in 1991. Its nuclear program continues to pose a threat. In Asia, North Korea's failure to meet its NPT obligations undermines regional and global security. In both cases, the international community responded strongly, insisting that Iraq and North Korea cease their noncompliance. The NPT is a critical tool in efforts to restrain the nuclear programs of both countries.

Nuclear proliferation in South Asia in 1998 poses a continuing challenge. But these tests by India and Pakistan also reinforced the NPT as nations around the world condemned these actions and reaffirmed the critical importance of the Treaty.

In Europe and Central Asia, great political and economic changes have occurred over the last decade as a result of the dissolution of the former Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact. In the midst of these massive changes, the NPT has provided stability. All of the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union transferred nuclear weapons deployed on their territories to Russia and joined the NPT as non-nuclear-weapon states.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), founded in 1957, is the primary mechanism for verifying that parties to the NPT are complying with its terms. The implementation of IAEA safeguards is further evidence of the way in which the NPT strengthens international security. Safeguards under the Treaty, including international inspections, help to deter the use of nuclear material for nuclear explosive purposes, and thus are an important confidence-building measure.

In light of the lessons learned with Iraq, the members of the IAEA have taken measures to strengthen the Agency's safeguards system. These include a reaffirmation of the IAEA's right to conduct special inspections and the use of new tools for the detection of clandestine nuclear facilities. In 1997, the IAEA adopted a model protocol for existing safeguards agreements under the NPT that is designed to give the IAEA a stronger role and more effective tools for conducting worldwide inspections.

The NPT's role in checking nuclear proliferation also is critical to reducing existing nuclear arsenals. A vast array of actions has been taken in recent years that meet the objectives of NPT Article VI which calls for effective measures relating to nuclear disarmament.

Since the fall of the Berlin wall, the United States and the former Soviet Union (now the Russian Federation) have taken many dramatic steps to reduce Cold War stockpiles of nuclear weapons. The U.S. alone has dismantled approximately 13,000 nuclear weapons over this period.

Today, the nuclear arms race between the United States and Russia is over. They are seeking further reductions in nuclear weapons and their delivery systems, and taking other steps to reduce their nuclear weapon infrastructures.

The START I Treaty has significantly cut the number of strategic nuclear warheads deployed by the United States and the former Soviet Union. Reductions foreseen under START II and III would result in 80% reductions in strategic forces since the end of the Cold War.

The United States and Russia are also cooperating on bilateral and multilateral measures to establish a universal, legally binding halt in the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons. For example, both are obligated under a 1997 bilateral agreement not to restart any shutdown plutonium production reactors and not to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons in any such reactors still in operation. They are also working on ways to store safely and to dispose of stocks of fissile material no longer needed for defense purposes.

The United States halted production of fissile material for nuclear weapons many years ago. More than 200 tonnes of fissile material have been removed from the U.S. military stockpile and will be placed under IAEA safeguards as soon as practical.

Dramatic reductions have also been made in stockpiles and deployments of shorter-range nuclear weapons. Over 85% of tactical nuclear weapons dedicated to the NATO alliance have been withdrawn over the past decade and the United States has removed nuclear weapons from all surface naval ships and naval aircraft. In effect, these actions have denuclearized the U.S. Army, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the surface and air components of the U.S. Navy.

The Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) was opened for signature in 1996. The United States has not conducted a nuclear test explosion since 1992, and is continuing the moratorium while it works to bring about the entry into force of the CTBT at the earliest possible time. The United States is fully funding its share of the organization that is preparing to oversee implementation of the Treaty including establishing the verification system.

Most U.S. facilities dedicated to the production of nuclear weapons stand idle or have been converted to other uses. The resources dedicated to nuclear weapons and nuclear forces have been drastically cut.

[More information on U.S. compliance with Article VI of the NPT is found in a separate publication entitled "Reducing Nuclear Dangers."]

The NPT creates a vital and irreplaceable framework for peaceful nuclear cooperation by providing assurances that non-nuclear-weapon state NPT parties will devote their nuclear programs exclusively to peaceful purposes. Consistent with its NPT Article IV obligations, the United States has for many years granted preference to NPT parties with exemplary commitments to nuclear nonproliferation when considering U.S. assistance to foreign nuclear programs.

The United States aids nuclear programs through the IAEA by providing a voluntary financial contribution and certain "in-kind" assistance. This assistance supports many IAEA programs that benefit developing countries, which comprise the majority of NPT parties. Among such projects are nuclear applications in the fields of water resources and environmental pollution, nutrition and agriculture, and human health. The U.S. cash contribution for IAEA technical assistance projects from 1996 through 1999 totaled over $65 million, providing approximately 1/3 of the total available resources.

The primary legal vehicle for bilateral U.S. assistance is an agreement concluded under Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act. There are 27 agreements in force as of January 1, 2000. Hundreds of millions of dollars of fuel, nuclear equipment, and other commodities are exported from the United States to NPT Parties pursuant to these agreements each year. Also, U.S. Department of Energy laboratories have signed bilateral agreements with scientific institutions in several NPT developing countries to promote collaboration on various nuclear technology applications.

[More information on U.S. peaceful nuclear cooperation with other NPT parties is found in a separate pamphlet.]

The world is emerging from the Cold War, a period marked by costly and spiraling nuclear competition. As the international community moves into a new era, the NPT will remain critical in a world where security is defined increasingly by the absence of nuclear weapons programs, rather than by their presence, and by the sharp reduction, not expansion, of existing nuclear arsenals.

The NPT is vital for security, arms control and disarmament, and economic and social development throughout the world. By rededicating themselves to the NPT, its parties can ensure that this Treaty will play an even more vital role in the new millennium.