March 5, 2010 will mark the 40th anniversary of the entry into force of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was prepared by the UN Disarmament Committee, approved by the UN General Assembly on June 12, 1968, and opened for signature on July 1, 1968 in Moscow, Washington and London.
The Treaty entered into force on March 5, 1970 after the deposit of the instruments of ratification. Ratified by the USSR on November 24, 1969. 190 states are parties to the Treaty. India, Pakistan and Israel remain outside the NPT. North Korea announced its withdrawal from the NPT.
The treaty serves as one of the factors in ensuring international security. It contains the obligations of states to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and create broad opportunities for the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Consists of a preamble and 11 articles.
According to the Treaty, each of the States Parties that possess nuclear weapons undertakes not to transfer them or other nuclear explosive devices to anyone else, as well as control over them, either directly or indirectly, nor in any way to help, encourage or not induce any non-nuclear-weapon State to manufacture or acquire them.
Non-nuclear-weapon States Parties undertake not to accept them from anyone, not to manufacture or acquire, or accept any assistance in the production of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. The Treaty establishes the inalienable right of its member states to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination and in accordance with agreements. All participants pledged to facilitate for this purpose the fullest possible exchange of equipment, materials, scientific and technical information.
The Treaty imposes on its participants the obligation to seek effective measures to end the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament under strict and effective international control.
Nuclear non-proliferation is monitored through the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), with which each non-nuclear-weapon State party to the Treaty must enter into an agreement.
An important addition are the resolutions of the UN Security Council adopted before the signing of the Treaty (6/19/1968) and the corresponding statements of the nuclear powers - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain on the issue of security guarantees for non-nuclear states parties to the Treaty.
Since 1992, the Russian Federation has been the legal successor of the USSR in the implementation of the Treaty.
(Based on materials from: Military Encyclopedia. Chairman of the Main Editorial Commission S. Ivanov. Military Publishing House. Moscow. In 8 volumes ‑2004. ISBN 5 - 203 01875 - 8)
A Review Conference (Review Conference) is convened every five years. At the 1995 Conference, it was extended indefinitely. The 2000 Conference adopted the Final Document, which contains a forward-looking "list" of multilateral measures in the field of strengthening the nuclear non-proliferation regime, as well as disarmament (the so-called "13 steps"). The 2005 conference ended with the adoption of a final procedural document (this result was assessed by many countries as a failure).
From 4 to 15 May 2009, the third session of the Preparatory Committee (PP-3) for the 2010 Review Conference was held in New York, which was attended by about 150 countries and about 100 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as observers.
The session agreed on the agenda of the Conference, the candidacy of the Chairman of the Conference (representative of the Philippines Libran Kabaktulan), and other organizational issues.
PP-3 demonstrated the determination of the NPT member states to develop an agreed “package” of measures to strengthen the Treaty based on the unconditional fulfillment by all its parties of their obligations under the Treaty and a balanced consideration of its key components - non-proliferation, nuclear disarmament and the peaceful use of atomic energy.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources
TASS-DOSSIER / Tatiana Chukova /. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons - NNPT, or Non-Proliferation Treaty - NPT, is a multilateral international document developed by the UN Disarmament Committee in order to prevent the expansion of the circle of countries possessing nuclear weapons , and limit the possibility of an armed conflict with the use of such weapons.
The document was approved on June 12, 1968 at the XXII session of the UN General Assembly and opened for signing on July 1, 1968 in London, Moscow and Washington (depositories - Great Britain, USSR and USA). Entered into force on March 5, 1970 after the deposit of the instruments of ratification of 40 countries, including the depositary countries. In 1992, France and China joined it. Thus, the obligations under this document are borne by all five permanent members of the UN Security Council. Currently, 190 states are parties to the treaty. Israel, India and Pakistan remain outside the document; in 2003 the DPRK withdrew from it (a party to the NPT since 1985).
According to the NPT, "a nuclear-weapon state is a state that produced and detonated a nuclear weapon or other nuclear explosive device prior to January 1, 1967." Thus, the status of the official nuclear powers was assigned to the United States, Great Britain, France, China and the USSR, after the collapse of which Russia retained this status (Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine joined the treaty as non-nuclear states in 1993-1994). The rest of the NPT countries voluntarily renounced the right to possess nuclear weapons.
The NPT contains reciprocal obligations of nuclear and non-nuclear states. The former pledged not to transfer nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices to anyone, and states that do not possess such weapons - not to produce or acquire them. However, the NPT does not prohibit the deployment of nuclear weapons on the territory of states that do not possess them.
The Treaty supports the inalienable right of the parties to develop nuclear power for peaceful purposes. And at the same time, within its framework, a system of guarantees has been created, according to which the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has the right to verify the fulfillment by non-nuclear countries of their obligations on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
An important addition to the treaty is the UN Security Council resolution of June 19, 1968 and the statements of the three nuclear powers (USSR, USA and Great Britain) on the issue of security guarantees for non-nuclear states parties to the treaty (made on June 19, 1968). In accordance with the resolution, in the event of a nuclear attack on a non-nuclear state or the threat of such an attack, the UN Security Council and, above all, its permanent members possessing nuclear weapons must immediately act in accordance with the UN Charter to repel aggression. The resolution confirms the right of states to individual and collective self-defense in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter until the Security Council takes measures to maintain international peace and security. The statements indicate that any state that has committed aggression with the use of nuclear weapons or threatens such aggression must know that its actions will be effectively reflected by means of measures taken in accordance with the UN Charter; they also proclaim the intention of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain to provide assistance to that non-nuclear party to the treaty, which is subject to a nuclear attack.
Every five years, the parties to the NPT hold Treaty Review Conferences (Review Conferences).
At the 5th conference in 1995, a decision was made on the indefinite validity of the agreement (the initial term is 25 years).
At the 2000 conference, the five nuclear powers announced a moratorium on all types of nuclear tests, without waiting for the Comprehensive Ban Treaty (CTBT) to enter into force, as well as their intention to continue to reduce stockpiles of strategic and tactical weapons and increase transparency. The final document of the conference included a "list" of multilateral measures in the field of strengthening the nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime - "13 steps towards nuclear disarmament."
In 2005, the participants did not succeed in adopting an agreed final document, it was stated that the "13-step program" remained unfulfilled.
In 2010, an Action Plan was agreed, containing 64 practical “steps” aimed at strengthening the treaty.
40 years ago, on July 1, 1968, a fundamental international agreement was signed - on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (entered into force on March 5, 1970). This is the most powerful and universal international treaty limiting the proliferation of any weapons: 189 states of the world have joined it.
The initiative for the adoption of the Treaty came from Ireland. Unlike many other international agreements, the name of the person who proposed this idea is well known - it was Frank Aiken Frank Aiken, Minister of External Relations of Ireland. He first voiced the call for the conclusion of such an agreement in 1958, ten years before its actual signing. Finland became the first country in the world to join the Treaty. In 1968, the Treaty was adopted at a conference in London. The ceremony was attended by representatives of about 60 states. Initially, the duration of this Treaty was determined at 25 years, but in 1995 the participating countries agreed to extend its duration indefinitely.
In fact, the Treaty has divided the countries of the world into two categories: countries possessing nuclear weapons and non-nuclear states. The states with atomic weapons at that time included the United States (received nuclear weapons in 1945), the USSR (1949), Great Britain (1952), France (1960) and China (1964).
The treaty is based on three fundamental principles: firstly, non-proliferation, secondly, disarmament and, thirdly, the peaceful use of nuclear materials and technologies. The treaty obliges non-nuclear powers to refrain from producing and acquiring nuclear weapons, as well as to recognize the International Atomic Nuclear Agency's control over all of their nuclear facilities. The nuclear powers, in turn, pledged to refrain from transferring technologies and materials to non-nuclear states that can be used to create atomic weapons, with the exception of transactions under the control of the IAEA. An exception was made only for peaceful atomic technologies.
Pakistan and India did not join the Treaty, which officially declared that they had nuclear weapons (1998), and Israel, which does not recognize, but does not deny that it possesses nuclear weapons. Another exception is North Korea, which is the only country in the world to withdraw from this Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty twice. The DPRK joined this Treaty in 1985, withdrew from it in 1993, joined it again in 1994 and again refused to participate in it in January 2003 . A country participating in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons may withdraw from it with 90 days' warning (with an approximate wording that extraordinary circumstances related to the subject of this agreement endanger the supreme interests of this state).
In 1995, the Treaty expired, so the members of the "nuclear club" made significant efforts to continue the life of this agreement. This was achieved, but the nuclear powers assumed a number of additional obligations - this step was made at the request of non-nuclear countries. Among these commitments were work on agreements on the total cessation of nuclear testing and control of nuclear materials, as well as the commitment to make "systematic and progressive efforts to reduce the number of nuclear weapons on a global scale with the strategic goal of the total destruction of these weapons."
The results of the Treaty are quite contradictory. Three countries remained outside the scope of this agreement and created their own nuclear weapons (India, Pakistan and possibly Israel). One country became nuclear, but subsequently abandoned its atomic bomb, however, mostly for internal reasons (South Africa). Another made real attempts to become a member of the nuclear club, but was forced to stop them as a result of the war (Iraq). One withdrew from the Treaty and created nuclear weapons (North Korea), which it considers, rather, as a subject of trade and guarantees of the continued existence of the existing regime. Another state, apparently, is trying to create an atomic bomb, which it considers to be a guarantee of its security and a means of increasing its international status (Iran). June 27, 2008 Washington ProFile
Nonproliferation Treaty. Short story
According to the estimates of the research organization Natural Resources Defense Council, in 1968 (the year of the signing of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons) there were 38,974 nuclear warheads in the world. In 1980, there were 55,246, in 1986 - an absolute record was set - 70,481. After that, nuclear arsenals began to decline: to 40,344 in 1995, 28,245 in 2005 and 20,100 in 2008.
However, only data on five members of the "nuclear club" - the USA, the USSR (Russia), Great Britain, China and France are taken into account. Four other countries - India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel - have (or are supposed to have) nuclear weapons, which together have 300-500 nuclear warheads.
1957 year. At the initiative of US President Dwight Eisenhower, Dwight Eisenhower, the International Atomic Nuclear Agency (IAEA) was formed - the UN unit responsible for overseeing the use of nuclear materials and technologies.
1958 year. Ireland has proposed a draft resolution to the UN that should stop the further proliferation of nuclear weapons.
1960 France carried out the first nuclear explosion, thus becoming the fourth nuclear power (after the USA, USSR and Great Britain).
1961 year. The UN General Assembly unanimously approved Resolution 1665 based on the Irish draft. The Assembly called on the governments of the countries of the world to begin negotiations in order to stop the further spread of nuclear weapons. The resolution stated that the countries of the world that already possess nuclear weapons must make every effort to ensure proper control over them and must refrain from transferring relevant technologies and materials to states that do not have nuclear weapons. In turn, the non-nuclear powers urged not to produce or accept nuclear weapons from nuclear powers. These principles formed the basis of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
1963 year. US President John F. Kennedy made one of the statements that made him famous. He predicted that 15 or 20 more states would join the nuclear club in the near future. Kennedy said: “I ask you to stop and think about what it means to have a terrible weapon in such different hands: in countries small and large, stable and unstable, responsible and irresponsible ... If this happens, then it will be impossible to talk about world stability, neither about world security, nor about real disarmament. "
This announcement by Kennedy was made a month after the publication of the secret memorandum of the US Department of Defense, the Department of Defense. The memorandum indicated that 8 countries of the world - Canada, China, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Sweden and the Federal Republic of Germany - will have the ability to produce nuclear weapons within the next decade. Moreover, the memorandum contained the following forecast: in 10 years, the cost of producing an atomic bomb will decrease so much that dozens of other states will have the opportunity to possess the most powerful type of weapon invented by man. As a result, the likelihood of the outbreak of a nuclear war will increase enormously. This memorandum and similar reports prepared in many countries of the world became one of the reasons for the adoption of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
1964 year. China has successfully tested its nuclear weapons (the corresponding technologies and materials were mostly provided by the USSR) and became the fifth member of the "nuclear club". After the success of China, India began feverishly to build its atomic bomb.
1967 year. The precedent Tlatelolco Treaty was signed. As a result, the world's first nuclear-free zone was created in Latin America. The Tlatelolco Treaty (entered into force in 1968) applies to the states of Central and South America, as well as the states of the Caribbean. On the territory of the states that have formed a nuclear-free zone, it is prohibited to store, test, use and create nuclear weapons on their territory.
Over the past decades, five nuclear-free zones have appeared in the world. In 1985, a treaty (Treaty of Rarotonga) was signed, declaring the South Pacific a nuclear-free zone (entered into force in 1986). In addition to traditional prohibitions, in this part of the planet it is forbidden to conduct nuclear tests, including for peaceful purposes, and, in addition, to dispose of radioactive waste.
In 1995, a nuclear-free zone was created in Southeast Asia (the Bangkok Treaty entered into force in 1996). Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam joined the agreement. In addition to the territories of the signatory states themselves, the ban on nuclear weapons also extends to the zones of their economic interests, which include significant parts of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
In 1996, a nuclear-free zone appeared in Africa (Pelindaba Treaty). This agreement applies to the entire African continent and a number of adjacent islands (54 states in total), but this convention has not yet entered into force. Member States are, among other things, prohibited from threatening to use nuclear weapons. In addition, a ban has been introduced on any type of attack on peaceful nuclear facilities located on the territory of this zone.
In 1992, South and North Korea signed a declaration establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone on the Korean Peninsula. Both countries agreed not to test, produce, own, receive, store, deploy or use nuclear weapons, not to authorize (or close existing) uranium enrichment facilities, and to use atomic energy exclusively for peaceful purposes. However, the declaration never came into force due to the fact that North Korea withdrew from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and subsequently tested an atomic bomb.
In 2006, an agreement was signed in Semipalatinsk (Kazakhstan) to establish a Central Asian nuclear-free zone. The agreement was joined by five post-Soviet states of this region - Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. This is the first zone of its kind located entirely in the northern hemisphere.
1967 year. Presumably this year, Israel received the materials and technology needed to produce nuclear weapons.
1968 year. On June 12, the UN General Assembly approved Resolution 2373, which contained the main provisions of the future Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Representatives of 95 states expressed support for this resolution, four against (Albania, Cuba, Tanzania and Zambia).
On July 1, the Treaty was opened for signature. It was immediately joined by three of the four nuclear powers - the USA, the USSR and the UK. China and France refused to sign the Treaty: China called it discriminatory, France expressed doubts that the signatories would comply with the terms of the agreement. Beijing and Paris joined the Treaty only in 1992.
1970 year. 46 states have joined the treaty.
1974 year. India became the first non-nuclear state to conduct nuclear tests. An underground "peaceful nuclear explosion" (as defined by the Indian Foreign Ministry) was carried out at the Pohran test site. In 1997, the former head of the Indian nuclear program admitted that this explosion was not only peaceful in nature. The treaty then did not prohibit non-nuclear states from conducting such tests (a corresponding addition appeared only in 2000).
Nevertheless, the result of this action was scandals in the United States and Canada, which supplied India with nuclear materials and equipment, believing that they were helping the Indian peaceful atom. As a result, in 1975 a new unofficial international structure was formed - the Nuclear Suppliers Group, which began to monitor the relevant direction of international trade.
1974 year. For the first time, the IAEA published a list of nuclear materials that required special permits to be exported to non-nuclear states. In 1978, the Nuclear Material Suppliers Group proposed its version of the list, which was approved by the IAEA.
1980s. The beginning of the 1980s was marked by another deterioration in relations between the USSR and the United States: the danger of the outbreak of a nuclear war was more serious than ever. Detente began in the second half of the decade: in 1987, both sides agreed to completely destroy an entire class of medium-range missiles, and then began negotiations on a radical reduction in nuclear arsenals (the corresponding agreement was signed in 1991). Against this background, Pakistan, Iran, North Korea, Taiwan and South Africa were actively developing their military nuclear programs.
Argentina and Brazil jointly abandoned attempts to create their own atomic bombs; later, under pressure from the United States, Taiwan took a similar step. About 30 more states, including North Korea, have joined the Nonproliferation Treaty.
1991 year. The UN Security Council adopted the famous Resolution 687. It says that Iraq must agree to the unconditional and carried out under international supervision "destruction, removal or disabling" of its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles with a range of over 150 km. The resolution came after it was proven that Iraq had secretly acquired nuclear materials and technology in violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty to which it was a party. This Resolution, or rather the chronic non-fulfillment by Iraq of a number of its conditions, ultimately became the reason for the start of the war in 2003. Subsequently, it became apparent that Iraq did not possess weapons of mass destruction.
1991 year... South Africa joined the Treaty as a non-nuclear state. Two years later, representatives of South Africa admitted that their state independently manufactured 6 nuclear charges.
1992 year... Independent Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine signed the Lisbon Protocol, stating that they intend to join the Treaty as non-nuclear states. By 1994, this process was completed. Soviet nuclear arsenals located on the territory of these republics were exported to Russia. In the same year, China and France joined the Treaty.
1993 year. North Korea suspended its membership in the Treaty, and the IAEA accused Pyongyang of non-compliance with the articles of the Treaty.
1995 year. Five members of the "nuclear club" have promised not to threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states that have joined the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
1998 year. India and Pakistan conducted military nuclear tests and officially declared possession of nuclear weapons.
2003 year. North Korea announced its withdrawal from the Treaty. For the first time, the IAEA published a report expressing concern over the direction of Iran's secret nuclear program. Libya agreed to stop all secret programs for the development and production of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear.
2005 year. North Korea has pledged to abandon military nuclear programs. The IAEA has submitted the Iranian dossier to the UN Security Council.
2006 year. North Korea has carried out the first successful tests of a nuclear charge.
2007 year. North Korea has once again agreed to begin negotiations to eliminate its military nuclear programs. June 27, 2008 Washington ProFile
War on Nuclear Weapons. Evidence base
Almost immediately after nuclear weapons appeared on the world stage, attempts were made to prove that their very existence was meaningless and illegal.
The logic of the supporters of the total renunciation of nuclear weapons is as follows. In their opinion, the possession of such weapons by a small group of states is in itself dishonest in relation to other countries. Many non-nuclear states with or had nuclear ambitions motivated their efforts by the fact that the treaty legitimized the hegemony of the great powers, depriving poorer or less fortunate countries of the opportunity to resist their pressure. They consider nuclear weapons to be one of the mechanisms to curb the excessive appetites of the great powers, as well as a serious argument in negotiations.
The very existence of nuclear arsenals periodically prompts non-nuclear states to take actions aimed at obtaining "their" atomic bomb. The regime of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and technologies is not able to protect against this: firstly, because nuclear technology is already more than 60 years old, and many specialists know perfectly well how to create a bomb, and secondly, the presence of such bans did not stop four countries, who received nuclear weapons at their disposal.
The nuclear powers have traditionally viewed their nuclear arsenals more as a means of political deterrence than as a real military weapon. Nuclear weapons are not weapons in the conventional sense of the word. Its use is dangerous for all parties to the conflict. Its presence is not capable of preventing war or the use of other types of weapons of mass destruction. A nuclear weapon is an extremely expensive pleasure, which, however, does not increase the security level of the country that possesses it. No international agreement can 100% guarantee that nuclear weapons will not be used: a nuclear explosion may result from a technical accident, personnel error, or the result of terrorist actions.
The consequences of this will be dire: in just one second of a nuclear explosion, more energy is released than during the entire period of using conventional weapons. A specific feature of nuclear weapons is their indiscriminateness: not only a country participating in an armed conflict will suffer from it, but also many other countries, as well as countless future generations.
At the very first meeting of the UN General Assembly, held in London on January 24, 1946, a special commission was created, which was assigned the following task: to propose measures that could lead "to the withdrawal from national arsenals of atomic weapons and all other types of weapons suitable for mass destruction ". Subsequently, the General Assembly has repeatedly adopted similar resolutions, calling for the renunciation of nuclear weapons.
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which entered into force in 1970, also implied that its strategic goal was to destroy the atomic bomb. Article 6 of the Treaty states that "each Party to this Treaty undertakes in good faith to negotiate effective measures to end the nuclear arms race in the near future and nuclear disarmament, as well as a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control." At the height of the Cold War, when the size of nuclear arsenals was amazing and could destroy the planet many times, this situation did not look serious. The situation changed after the collapse of the USSR (1991) and the end of the nuclear confrontation between East and West.
In 1994, the UN General Assembly appealed to the International Court of Justice (the legal division of the UN with the highest jurisdiction in general matters of international law) with a request to answer the question: "Does international law allow the threat of the use of nuclear weapons?" It is curious that not all states of the world voted for the corresponding resolution: 79 states voted for, 43 voted against (including the USA, Russia, Great Britain and France), abstained - 38 (including the fifth member of the nuclear club - China ). Representatives of another 18 states did not take part in the voting.
The essence of this step was as follows: non-nuclear states in this way counted on depriving nuclear weapons of their political significance - it was believed and is still considered to this day that in the dispute between a nuclear and a non-nuclear country, the best trump cards are in the hands of a nuclear state. This reasoning was partly inspired by the ideologues of the nuclear programs of North Korea and Iran.
The International Court of Justice consisted of 15 lawyers specializing in international law, they were selected not as representatives of their states and peoples, but as specialists in the field of jurisprudence. Each of them was approved by a vote of the UN General Assembly. The court considering this issue included lawyers from five "nuclear states" (USA, Russia, Great Britain, France, China), there were also three judges each from Europe and Africa, two from Asia, one from Latin America.
The court considered this claim for more than a year and a half, the verdict was passed in 1996. This time was spent studying the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons, as well as analyzing international law (including the laws and customs of war contained in religious traditions). The International Court of Justice formulated its verdict in 105 paragraphs. He ruled that there is no legal framework that would allow threats to use nuclear weapons, and such threats should be considered illegal. This conclusion was made on the basis of a number of conclusions about the essence of the war and about the uniqueness of nuclear weapons. For example, a nuclear weapon can bring unnecessary suffering to the soldiers of the warring parties; it kills and wounds not only combatants, but also civilians; it is capable of killing citizens of neutral states (for example, as a result of radioactive contamination of the area); it is not a "proportionate" response to an attack; it can cause serious and lasting damage to the environment; as a result of its use, many generations can suffer, etc.
The court unanimously ruled that "all states of the world must enter into the necessary negotiations with a view to carrying out complete nuclear disarmament under strict and effective international control." The verdict of the International Court of Justice was recognized as a great victory for the fighters against nuclear weapons, but it had no direct effect. However, this verdict has become a judicial precedent that has become an integral part of international law. June 27, 2008 Washington ProFile
Attempts to destroy the bomb. A set of initiatives
Attempts to completely destroy nuclear weapons began to be undertaken literally immediately after their appearance. Some of these initiatives have led to major advances in the world. However, their strategic goal - total and final rejection of the atomic bomb - was not achieved.
Baruch's plan
For the first time, nuclear weapons were tested in the United States on July 16, 1945. This date marked the beginning of the nuclear age. Three weeks later, an atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. From 1945 to 1949 (the successful tests of the Soviet atomic bomb), the United States was the only power in the world with the most powerful weapon in the history of mankind. Then US President Harry Truman Harry Truman considered the atomic bomb to be more of a deterrent than a weapon. In the decades that followed, the situation changed.
One of the reasons for this was the failure of the first total prohibition of nuclear weapons, which went down in history as the Baruch Plan, named after Bernard Baruch, Bernard Baruch, who was appointed by Truman to represent the United States in the newly created UN Nuclear Energy Commission. At the first meeting of the Commission, in June 1946, this plan was announced. It stipulated that all states conducting nuclear research should exchange relevant information; all nuclear programs must be exclusively peaceful in nature; nuclear weapons and other types of weapons of mass destruction must be destroyed - in order to fulfill these tasks, it is necessary to create competent international structures that are obliged to control the actions of individual states.
At the same time, the United States went for broke: it offered to abandon its nuclear weapons, provided that the other states would commit themselves not to produce them and agree to create an adequate control system. The plan was rejected by the USSR. The Soviet representatives explained this by the fact that the United Nations was dominated by the United States and its allies, therefore, it was impossible to trust them. Therefore, the USSR proposed that the United States destroy its nuclear weapons BEFORE the rest of the countries establish a control system - this proposal was rejected by Washington. In 1949, at a diplomatic conference in Geneva, the USSR made a counter-proposal: he proposed to outlaw nuclear weapons. By that time, the Cold War was gaining momentum, and the initiative of the USSR also did not find understanding. After the collapse of the "Baruch Plan" and the Soviet initiative, a nuclear race began in the world, which continues to this day.
Russell-Einstein Manifesto
In 1955, the world's leading media received news that a message of extreme importance would be announced in London. On July 9, the famous philosopher, mathematician and pacifist Bertrand Russell appeared in front of the correspondents, who said that 11 of the most famous scientists in the world had signed the appeal to mankind. It contained a call for peace and for the renunciation of nuclear weapons, since nuclear war can lead to the death of all life on the planet: "We address people as people. Remember your humanism and forget about everything else." This appeal went down in history as the Russell-Einstein Manifesto.
The manifesto was signed by leading figures - out of 11 signers, only one was not a Nobel Prize winner. Among them were scientists whose names are known even to complete laymen in science, for example, Albert Einstein, Albert Einstein and Frederic Julio-Curie.
The initiator of this appeal was Joseph Rotblat Joseph Rotblat, a physicist born in Poland, who fled from Nazi occupation, first to Great Britain and later to the United States. He turned out to be the only scientist involved in the Manhattan Project (a top-secret nuclear weapons project) who stopped work on the atomic bomb for ideological reasons. Rotblat, with Russell's support, assembled this "team" of luminaries of science.
It is curious that the authors of the Manifesto offered to sign it to the famous German scientist Otto Hahn, who refused to do so, since he himself was working on a similar appeal. The staunch anti-communist Khan also feared that the Manifesto would be used by the USSR, since Curie and Russell had long had a reputation as "friends of the Soviet Union." Six days after the appearance of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, at the annual meeting of Nobel laureates in Lindau (Germany), Hahn announced the Mainau Declaration, the provisions of which differed little from those set out in the Manifesto.
The Manifesto and Declaration led to the emergence of a powerful and very active movement of scientists against nuclear war in the world. In 1957, in the town of Pugwash (Canada), a new organization was formed - the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, which became the first public structure that began to fight to reduce the nuclear threat. Hundreds of other public organizations followed in the footsteps of the Pugwash Conference (better known in the USSR as the "Pugwash Movement"). The Pugwash Conference has played an important role in the development and adoption of many international agreements in the field of disarmament and security:
In 1995, Joseph Rotblat and the Pugwash Conference received the Nobel Peace Prize for "diminishing the role that nuclear weapons play in international relations and, in the long term, for the elimination of such weapons."
1990s.
In the 1990s, after the end of the Cold War, there were quite a few initiatives of various levels and degrees of influence aimed at eliminating nuclear weapons.
The Canberra Commission on the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons was formed by the Australian government in 1995. Australia's activity (the country does not possess nuclear weapons, does not have a nuclear power plant on its territory, although it possesses colossal reserves of uranium ores) was explained as follows: "nuclear weapons do not recognize state borders, so absolutely all countries interested in their security must be active." The Commission was tasked with developing concrete steps that could lead to the destruction of nuclear arsenals. The commission has attracted many well-known specialists for cooperation, it continues its work to this day, holds scientific conferences and publishes interesting research, but has not achieved concrete results.
In 1996, the initiative of retired American generals Lee Butler and Andrew Goodpaster attracted much attention. It was difficult to call these people convinced pacifists who do not understand anything about nuclear matters. Prior to retirement, Butler headed the United States Strategic Command, that is, commanded all sea and air-based strategic and tactical nuclear warheads. Goodpaster was the Commander-in-Chief of NATO's North Atlantic Treaty Organization, after which he headed the renowned US Army Academy at West Point United States Military Academy.
Butler and Goodpaster developed a plan according to which all nuclear states were to make drastic reductions in their nuclear arsenals, and in the future, completely abandon them. The leaders of this process were to be the United States and Russia, which were to leave at their disposal 100-200 nuclear charges. As part of this process, it was required to work out a scheme of mutual control. Butler and Goodpaster warned of the dangers of nuclear terrorism (then the threat was not considered as serious as it is today) and accidental explosion (for example, as a result of a computer error). The generals also argued that from a military point of view, nuclear weapons were no longer valuable.
The generals stressed that their idea was by no means new to the US establishment. Thus, they often recalled the words of President Dwight Eisenhower Dwight Eisenhower (headed the United States in 1953-1961): "Nuclear weapons are the only thing that can destroy the United States." Subsequently, US leaders have repeatedly called for total nuclear disarmament. President John Kennedy John Kennedy coined the following phrase: "The world should not be a prison in which humanity awaits its execution." Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan also dreamed of "the disappearance of nuclear weapons from the face of the Earth." As you know, in 1985 Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev made a joint statement declaring that a nuclear war could not be won.
In 1998, the New Agenda Coalition was formed by Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Slovenia, South Africa and Sweden. Earlier, South Africa and, presumably, Brazil created their own atomic bombs, but abandoned them, Sweden and Egypt had their own military nuclear programs. These countries have issued several declarations calling for the renunciation of nuclear weapons and have successfully acted on the diplomatic front, convincing many nuclear-weapon states of the need for change.
The Coalition insisted that the nuclear-weapon states unequivocally recognize that their strategic goal should be the complete destruction of their nuclear arsenals. As part of this, the Coalition proposed that the previously carried out reductions in nuclear arsenals should be recognized as permanent (that is, a state that had previously agreed to certain limits of its nuclear power would not have the opportunity to take back its words and start increasing it again) so that nuclear forces would not constantly were on high alert (this should reduce the risk of a "accidental" nuclear war), so that more effective methods of international control over nuclear arsenals were used, etc.
Letter of four
In 2007, the influential Wall Street Journal published an open letter signed by two former US Secretaries of State - George Shultz and Henry Kissinger Henry Kissinger and former US Secretary of Defense William Perry William Perry and former Senator Sam Nunn Sam Nunn "). The authors of the Letter of Four called for reducing dependence on nuclear weapons and potentially completely abandoning them. The quartet argued that this idea is supported by a large number of prominent representatives of the US establishment, including people who are involved in political and military planning. Many of the supporters of the ideas outlined in the letter took part in the build-up of nuclear arsenals during the Cold War.
The Letter of Four came at a time when anti-nuclear sentiment was on the rise. In July 2007, a Simons Foundation poll showed that more than 82% of Americans support the total destruction of nuclear weapons, only 3% support the development of new types of nuclear weapons. At the end of 2007, a study was conducted in the United States and Russia of the Program on International Policy Attitudes (operated by the University of Maryland, University of Maryland). As it turned out, most Americans and Russians believe that the nuclear forces of their states should not be on high alert, that the size of their nuclear arsenals should be seriously reduced, and the production of weapons-grade uranium and plutonium should be seriously limited. In the long term, residents of both countries would prefer to completely destroy nuclear weapons: 73% of US residents and 63% of Russians would support the total destruction and prohibition of nuclear weapons. June 27, 2008 Washington ProFile
The nuclear world. Collection of facts
The exact amount of nuclear weapons and ammunition in the world's arsenals is unknown. There is, perhaps, only one common figure. The total capacity of nuclear weapons now stands at 5,000 megatons - about 1 ton for every inhabitant of the planet.
Nuclear weapons began to be produced in 1945. Since then, more than 128 thousand charges have been manufactured, of which about 55% came from the USA, 43% from the USSR (Russia).
According to the Federation of American Scientists, there were 26,854 nuclear warheads in the world in 2007, but about half of them are on alert. The rest are in storage. Russia has the largest nuclear arsenal (16,000), the United States has 10,104 charges, France has 350, and the UK and China have 200 each.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, at the end of 2007 Russia possessed 8,232 nuclear weapons, the USA - 7068, China - 402, France - 348, the UK - 185.
According to the CIA, the US nuclear arsenal is 12,070 warheads, Russia - 18,000, Britain - about 400, France - about 510, China - about 425.
The research organization Natural Resource Defense Council uses different numbers: Russia - 16 thousand units, USA - 10.1 thousand, China - 200, France -350, Great Britain - 200.
The Center for Defense Information provides other statistics: the United States - 10 656 warheads, Russia - about 10 thousand, China - 400, France - 350, Great Britain - 185.
There is even less reliable data on the nuclear arsenals of countries that do not officially belong to the "nuclear club": India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea. The data on their arsenals is based solely on speculation. For example, the Center for Defense Information believes that India may have more than 60 charges, Pakistan - 15-25, North Korea - 2-5, Israel - 200.
The US Military Intelligence Agency operates with different numbers: India - about 70, Pakistan - about 40, North Korea - about 10, Israel - 60-85.
According to the Arms Control Association, the nuclear layout may look like this: India - 60-250, Pakistan - 10-150, North Korea - 4-10, Israel - about 100.
In any case, now the share of Russia and the United States accounts for approximately 97% of all nuclear warheads in the world. However, the main threat of the outbreak of a nuclear war comes from the owners of small and ultra-small nuclear arsenals, which account for no more than 3% of the world's nuclear arsenal. The concern is not so much the likelihood of using an atomic bomb by these states themselves, which is also possible, as the chance of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorist organizations.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) believes that 43 states of the world (including 28 developing countries) have reserves of highly enriched uranium, 12 countries have plutonium (there are also serious suspicions about the presence of plutonium reserves in three more states) There are more than 900 laboratories and enterprises in 71 countries around the world that use radioactive and nuclear materials that can be used as a basis for military nuclear programs. These facilities are monitored by 250 international inspectors.
To create an atomic bomb with a power equal to that which was dropped on Nagasaki in 1945, you need 8 kg of plutonium (plutonium-239) or 25 kg of highly enriched uranium (uranium-235). However, modern nuclear warheads use much less plutonium and uranium (US Department of Energy, the Department of Energy claims that 4 kg of plutonium or uranium-233, or 12 kg of uranium-235 is enough for this).
Modern nuclear weapons usually use uranium and plutonium together. For comparison: the bomb dropped on Hiroshima carried 64 kg of uranium, and the bomb dropped on Nagasaki carried 6.3 kg of plutonium. Uranium and plutonium are not the only radioactive materials that can be used to create nuclear weapons. For example, according to preliminary estimates (similar experiments were carried out, for example, by France), 73 kg of neptunium-237 or 60 kg of americium-241 can be used to create a nuclear charge.
The world's stocks of weapons-grade plutonium are approximately 500 tons. For the most part, it is at the disposal of the states that are members of the "nuclear club". However, Japan, Belgium and Switzerland also have similar materials. The United States, Russia, the United Kingdom and China have all reported stopping production of weapons-grade plutonium in recent years.
The explosion of an atomic charge made from 40 kg of highly enriched uranium is equivalent to the explosion of 15 thousand tons of TNT. Its explosion in the center of a large city can cause instant death of 20 thousand people and death of another 120 thousand people in the coming days. The cost of rescue work, decontamination, garbage disposal, etc. will be approximately $ 50 billion.
According to the forecast of the California Institute of Technology, the use of one gram of uranium isotope in an explosive device can cause radioactive contamination of 1 sq. miles (2.6 sq km) of land. At the same time, the risk of acquiring cancer for 100 thousand people is seriously increasing. June 27, 2008 Washington ProFile
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The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was opened for signature on July 1, 1968 and entered into force on March 5, 1970. Its members are 191 states. India, Pakistan, Israel and South Sudan have not signed the treaty. The DPRK announced its withdrawal from the NPT in 2003, but many states proceed from the fact that the withdrawal was formalized incorrectly from a legal point of view. In this regard, the UN Secretariat continues to consider the DPRK as a party to the NPT.
July 1, 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the opening for signing of the NPT. On the occasion of this date, conferences in support of him were held in Moscow and Washington. A joint statement was made by the Foreign Ministers of the three depositories of the Treaty (Great Britain, Russia and the United States) on the most important contribution of the NPT to international security and stability and the continuing relevance of this Treaty today.
Every five years, a Review Conference is convened to review the functioning of all provisions of the NPT, as well as agree on a list of recommendations for strengthening the Treaty.
At the 2015 Review Conference, the adoption of the final document was blocked by the delegations of the US, UK and Canada. For them, it was unacceptable that in the section on the Middle East, which was prepared on the basis of Russian proposals, the right of veto to hold the Conference on the Establishment in the Middle East of a Zone Free of Nuclear and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction (ZWMD) by the three co-sponsors of the 1995 resolution. (this provision would allow, if necessary, to block the holding of the Conference, which was important for Israel).
On April 23 - May 4, 2018, the second session of the Preparatory Committee (PP-2) for the 2020 NPT Review Conference took place in Geneva.
As the session showed, contradictions on such issues as nuclear disarmament and the creation in the Middle East of a zone free of nuclear and other types of weapons of mass destruction (ZWMD) persisted and even intensified somewhere. New trends have also emerged, including attempts to use the NPT review process as a “tribune” to exert political pressure on individual states, as well as the introduction of topics that have nothing to do with the Treaty on the NPT platform.
During PK-2, the Russian delegation staked on a balanced approach to the consideration of the three main components of the NPT - nuclear non-proliferation, disarmament and the peaceful use of atomic energy. Together with the PRC, we issued a statement in support of the JCPOA.
The third PC session will take place from April 29 to May 10, 2019 in New York. The candidacy of the Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the UN in New York M. Jacob was approved for the post of chairman of the session.
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, a treaty aimed at putting a limit on the expansion of the range of countries possessing nuclear weapons (NW) in order to limit the possibility of an armed conflict with the use of such weapons. Developed by the UN Disarmament Committee and approved by the UN General Assembly on June 12, 1968. On July 1, 1968, it was opened for signature in the capitals of the depository countries - the USSR, the USA and the UK. Entered into force on March 5, 1970 after the deposit of ratifications. certificates for safekeeping. On March 1, 1974, 82 states were parties to the treaty; in addition, by this time the treaty had been signed but not ratified by another 24 countries. The agreement provides for the right of any state to withdraw from it, subject to prior (3 months) notification of all other participants and the UN Security Council of their intention to withdraw from the membership. The period of validity is not limited; 25 years after the treaty entered into force, a conference of its participants by a majority vote will determine whether it should remain in force indefinitely or whether it will be extended for a certain period. The treaty states that one of its goals is to pave the way for the adoption of other measures in the field of disarmament, as well as the right of any group of states to conclude agreements on nuclear-free zones. The treaty consists of a preamble and 11 articles. He establishes that the state that has nuclear weapons is considered to be the one that manufactured and tested such a weapon (device) before January 1. 1967 (i.e. USSR, USA, UK, France, China). The contract sets out the main. goals, to-rymi are guided by the states that conclude it, and a comprehensive formula is given to prohibit the distribution of IO, which excludes the possibility of the appearance of k.-l. channels, using to-rye this or that nuclei. or non-nuclear. state - a party to the treaty could change the content of the formula under the guise of its interpretation or actually circumvent the ban on the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The treaty imposes on the nuclei, countries, the obligation not to admit to the k.-l. form or k.-l. way of transferring nuclear weapons to any non-nuclear, state-woo, regardless of its participation in the treaty, as well as to any state association, be it an international one. organization, body or union, and also not to assist them in the production or acquisition of these weapons. The duty of non-nuclear weapons, the parties to the treaty, is not to accept nuclear weapons from anyone, not to produce them, and not to seek anyone's help in this. At the same time, it is stipulated that the required guarantees should not interfere with the economy, development of countries or international relations. cooperation in the field of nuclear and energy use for peaceful purposes, in connection with which the treaty obliges its participants to exchange equipment, materials, scientific. and tech. information and facilitate the receipt of benefits of non-nuclear weapons by the states from any peaceful use of nuclei and explosions. Concludes, the article defines the procedure for the operation of the contract. Monitoring compliance with the contract is entrusted to Mezhdunar. atomic energy agency. An important addition to the treaty are the resolutions of the UN Security Council of June 19, 1968 and identical statements by 3 nuclei, powers - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain on the issue of security guarantees for non-nuclear, states - parties to the treaty.
A. A. Bykov.
Used materials of the Soviet military encyclopedia in 8 volumes, volume 3.
Publication:
Collection of existing treaties, agreements and conventions concluded by the USSR with foreign states. Issue 26. M., 1973, p. 45-49.
Literature:
History of the foreign policy of the USSR. Ch. 2. 1945-1970 M., 1971, p. 406-409.
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