IPU eBulletin header Issue No.17, 6 June 2009   

eBULLETIN --> ISSUE No.17 --> ARTICLE 2   

PARLIAMENTARIANS SEEK TO MOBILIZE POLITICAL WILL
TOWARDS EFFECTIVE NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT
AND NON-PROLIFERATION

Over 600 legislators from some 125 national parliaments, meeting in Addis Ababa in early April on the occasion of the 120th IPU Assembly, expressed their firm commitment to work together to advance nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. In a consensus resolution, the MPs called for a series of urgent measures, including:

    Nuclear non-proliferation
  • Universal ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)
  • Promotion of negotiations on a fissile material treaty
  • Reducing the operational status of nuclear weapons
  • Promoting further reductions in nuclear weapon stockpiles
  • Establishing additional nuclear-weapon-fee zones
  • Prohibiting nuclear weapons through national legislation, which would include individual responsibility (criminalization) and divestment from nuclear weapons corporations
  • Promoting negotiations on a nuclear weapons convention and undertaking preparatory work on building the mechanisms for its implementation

Many of the participating parliamentarians warned that that disarmament and non-proliferation are facing daunting challenges, at a time when there was a real potential for the resurgence of nuclear power. This would mean more nuclear material in circulation, in the hands of a greater number of actors. It is crucial, therefore, for nuclear renaissance to go hand in hand with efforts to strengthen the relevant legal regime, with the CTBT and the Non-Proliferation treaty (NPT) – operational and implementable - as key pillars.

At the same time, a sense of optimism was expressed in relation to recent developments on the international arena: a new policy of engagement and a renewed commitment to nuclear disarmament as expressed by the new US Administration reinvigorated US-Russian Federation negotiations for the further reduction of nuclear stockpiles, tangible progress in preparations for the 2010 NPT Review Conference, as well as growing support for the UN Secretary-General’s five-point proposal for a nuclear-weapon-free world.

All of this provides a unique window of opportunity, one in which legislators have pledged their determination to play an active and meaningful role. As far as the IPU is concerned, it has been entrusted with a mandate to further strengthen cooperation with the relevant UN bodies in the area of disarmament and non-proliferation, closely monitor progress by Members on this front, and continue to mobilize parliamentary action towards meeting international commitments and breaking new ground in meeting the shared objective of a nuclear-weapon-free world.

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