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Potential NPT Violators Should Be Punished Before Completing Weapon Work, U.S. Envoy Says
Potential violators of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty should be punished before actual breaches occur, U.S. envoy Jackie Sanders said earlier this month during a treaty review meeting in Tokyo (see GSN, Feb. 3). “It is dangerous and foolish to wait until a non-nuclear-weapon state has finished assembling a nuclear weapon — or until unassailable proof of weaponization work has been disclosed,” Sanders said, according to a transcript of her remarks. “There are activities that can demonstrate a purpose to acquire nuclear weapons, including the pursuit of clandestine programs for reprocessing and enrichment, and which thus make clear an Article II [violation],” she said (PTI/NewKerala.com, Feb. 24). Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan yesterday expressed his support for the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Additional Protocol, which gives the agency increased authority to monitor a country’s nuclear activities, according to the Associated Press. In a speech before the U.N. Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, Annan said the Additional Protocol was “the norm for verifying compliance with the NPT.” He said that this year’s NPT review conference, set to be held in May, “will test the commitment of all states to nuclear disarmament, nonproliferation and the peaceful use of nuclear energy.” Annan also called on all U.N. member nations to implement a 2004 Security Council resolution requiring them to pass laws to prevent WMD proliferation (Edith Lederer, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Feb. 23).
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