 |
|
History
- Negotiating the Treaty
 he pre-negotiation
phase was characterized by the following discussions, which occurred
simultaneously:
- bilateral negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union;
- multilateral negotiations on a draft text of the NPT in the Geneva-based Eighteen-Nation Disarmament Committee (ENDC);
and
- discussions between the United States and its NATO NNWS allies focusing on the continuation of collective defense under the U.S. nuclear umbrella.
UN General Assembly Resolution 2028, adopted in 1965, provided the conceptual basis for the NPT. The
resolution outlined five governing principles:
- both the NWS and NNWS must be obligated not to engage in nuclear weapon proliferation;
- there should be an appropriate balance between the obligations undertaken by the NWS and the NNWS;
- the treaty should constitute a step toward nuclear disarmament, as well as toward general and complete disarmament;
- there should be practical provisions to ensure the treaty's effectiveness; and
- the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones (NWFZs) should not be curtailed in any way under the treaty.
In 1965, the United States and the USSR each submitted drafts of a nonproliferation treaty to the ENDC and the UN General Assembly,
respectively. During early negotiations, the United States made plans for a Multilateral Nuclear Force (MLF) under NATO auspices, consisting of nuclear-armed naval vessels under a multinational NATO military command. The MLF was meant to reassure its NATO allies of the credibility of U.S. nuclear guarantees. The Soviet Union reacted with alarm to such a proposal as it was irrevocably opposed to any possibility of West Germany gaining access to nuclear weapons. In response to unyielding Soviet opposition and the
impracticality of the plan, in 1967 the United States gave up plans for an MLF.
After much debate and
intensive negotiations on collective security arrangements, safeguards, and balanced obligations, the United States and Soviet Union submitted a revised version of the NPT in 1968. After making certain amendments, the UN General Assembly on June 12, 1968, approved Resolution 2372 that endorsed the treaty and that requested the depositary governments (United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union) to open it for signature. The depositary states were charged with accepting the instruments or documents of ratification
for accession to a treaty, and notifying all other states party to the treaty of any new ratification. Sixty-two states, including the three depositary states, signed the treaty that day.
To address concerns of the NNWS, the U.S., U.K., and USSR submitted positive security assurances stating that nuclear aggression or threats against any NNWS member of the NPT would require immediate action by the UN Security Council. They were incorporated into UN Security Council Resolution 255, on June 19, 1968. Negative security assurances were also given by the NWS to NPT member NNWS and members of nuclear-weapon-free zones. According to these assurances, each NWS undertook not to threaten to use, or to use nuclear weapons against such NNWS provided that these
states were not allied with or acting in concert with another NWS in launching an attack. In 1995, these assurances were reaffirmed through UN Security Council Resolution 984.
The NPT entered into force on March 5, 1970, after the three depositaries and 40 additional states had ratified it. France and China did not sign the NPT in 1968, but France pledged to behave as if it were a member. Eventually, in 1992, both China and France joined the treaty.
|
|