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The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) [external link] is the key international treaty for controlling the spread of nuclear weapons. It contains the only multilateral treaty commitment to nuclear disarmament on the part of the five nuclear weapon states – the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, France and China.
New Zealand was one of the original signatories to the NPT on 1 July 1968. The Treaty entered into force on 5 March 1970.
The key provisions of the treaty are:
The peaceful uses of nuclear energy are to be promoted to the maximum extent consistent with non-proliferation commitments. This includes the potential benefits of any peaceful application of nuclear explosion technology being made available to non-nuclear parties.
India, Pakistan, and Israel are the only countries that do not belong to the NPT, and thus are not bound by its provisions. Efforts continue to encourage these states to join the NPT as non-nuclear weapon states and to place all of their nuclear facilities under comprehensive International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. A recent challenge facing the NPT is North Korea’s announced withdrawal from the Treaty in 2003, following reports that they had restarted elements of a nuclear weapons programme in November 2002.
The seventh NPT Review Conference was held in New York in May 2005 and disappointingly ended with no agreed outcome. However existing commitments, in particular the “13 practical steps” agreed by the 2000 Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference, remain intact.
In a new feature of the review process, countries were encouraged to provide reports on their implementation of the NPT.
The Treaty has a five-yearly process, with the next Review Conference due in 2010. The Second Preparatory Committee in the lead up to the Review Conference was held in Geneva, 28 April - 9 May 2008. Copies of all circulated statements and official documents for this meeting are available on the United Nations Website (2010 Review Conference page) [external link]. The third Preparatory Committee is scheduled for 4-15 May 2009 in New York.
New Zealand plays an active role within the NPT as a strong proponent of the Treaty.
