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Central Asia
Treaty Text
Opened for Signature: September 8, 2006
(Five Central Asian states:
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan)
Ratification completed on December 11, 2008
Number of
States Parties: 5
The Central Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Treaty was signed on September
8, 2006 at Semipalatinsk, the former Soviet nuclear test site in Kazakhstan.
With the approval of the CANWFZ treaty by Kazakhstan’s upper house of parliament on December 11, 2008, ratification of the treaty was completed. Encompassing Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and
Uzbekistan, the CANWFZ Treaty establishes a NWFZ in an area where thousands
of Soviet nuclear weapons were deployed during the Cold War. The first zone
established entirely in the northern hemisphere, the CANWFZ is also
strategically important in terms of counterterrorism. Progress toward its
establishment was stalled, mainly by objections from three nuclear weapon
states, namely, the United States, United Kingdom, and France. Despite the
oppositions from these states, the treaty was signed and ratified by all five Central
Asian states.
Given the significance of
the CANWFZ in terms of its geopolitical and security situation, the
establishment of such a zone in the region shows strong commitment to
nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament by these countries. In addition to
the political implications, the CANWFZ Treaty stipulates concrete provisions
relevant to strengthening the regional and international nonproliferation
regime. The treaty obligates the Central Asian states to legally adhere to
the
Additional Protocol to the IAEA safeguards on their civilian nuclear
facilities. In addition, these countries are required to meet international
standards for the
physical protection of nuclear material.
The CANWFZ covers a region surrounded by two nuclear
weapon states, Russia and China, and borders the Middle East and South Asia,
two regions of proliferation concern. While the concept of establishing the
CANWFZ is widely supported, as reflected in several UN General Assembly
resolutions since 1997, progress towards the conclusion of the CANWFZ treaty
was slow and encountered several roadblocks. In February 2005, however, the
five Central Asian states announced that they had finalized the text of a
draft treaty.
Discussions about establishing a CANWFZ began when
Mongolia declared its single-state nuclear-weapon-free status in 1992. In
its declaration, Mongolia also called for a Central Asian regional NWFZ.
Later, at the 48th session of the UN General Assembly in 1993, Uzbek
President Islam Karimov also proposed the establishment of a Central Asia
Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (CANWFZ). Between 1994 and 1996, Uzbekistan and
Kyrgyzstan made similar proposals. However, the Central Asian states were
unable to reach a consensus on the issue at this time.
The first joint political step toward creating a CANWZ
was taken in February 1997, when the presidents of the five Central Asian
states issued
the Almaty Declaration, in which they supported the idea of
establishing Central Asia as a nuclear-weapon-free zone. Negotiations to
hammer out a draft treaty took place in 1998 and 1999, with assistance from
the United Nations and the IAEA, and financial support from Japan.
Nevertheless, because of several significant disagreements among the five
Central Asian states, agreement on a treaty was not reached until mid-2002.
Among these disagreements that slowed the negotiation process were regional
rivalry among the five states and differences in their approaches to
relations with Russia. Russian interest in a CANWFZ shifted following NATO's
bombing campaign in Kosovo in April 1999, which prompted Russia to
re-emphasize the role of nuclear weapons in its national security strategy.
This shift in Russian views created a deadlock on some aspects of the
proposed CANWFZ, as it intensified divisions among those Central Asian
states with close ties to Russia and those which took a more independent
stance.
After the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001,
the regional security environment changed owing to U.S. military operations
in Afghanistan. The United States deployed military forces at bases in
Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan which increased the U.S. role in the region and
made the Central Asian countries less dependent on Russia. Moreover, as
Central Asia became the front line of the war against terrorism, the
proposal to establish a NWFZ became more prominent as a measure to prevent
possible proliferation of nuclear weapons to terrorist groups in the region.
On September 27, 2002, the five Central Asian states
tentatively agreed to the text of a CANWFZ treaty at a meeting in Samarkand,
Uzbekistan. The Central Asian states then sent the draft text to the nuclear
weapon states for comments. While China and Russia signaled their support,
the United States, United Kingdom and France all had concerns about the
draft text, and indicated they could not endorse it.
One cause for concern cited by the United States, for
example, was the relationship of the CANWFZ to the 1992 Tashkent Collective
Security Treaty. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan are parties to this
treaty, as is Russia. Russia, although implicitly, holds that the members of
the Tashkent Treaty could take a joint decision to deploy nuclear weapons on
the territory of treaty member Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, or Tajikistan.
The draft CANWFZ Treaty stated that the new nuclear
weapon-free zone would not affect the rights and obligations of its parties
under previous treaties. Therefore, even after the CANWFZ Treaty enters into
force, Russia and its Central Asian allies could still possibly deploy
nuclear weapons in Central Asia, under the terms of the
Tashkent Treaty.
The United States views this provision of the CANWFZ
treaty as inconsistent with U.S. and UN guidelines on establishing NWFZs
because both guidelines require the total absence of nuclear weapons on the
territory of a NWFZ.
China and Russia both indicated support for the CANWFZ
treaty as drafted. Although the Central Asian countries did not want to
repeat the experience of the Southeast Asian NWFZ - where none of the
nuclear weapon states has signed the protocols to that treaty - it was seen
as difficult, if not impossible, to negotiate a text that satisfies both
Russia and United States.
On February 9, 2005, the Central Asian states announced
their reaction to the comments by the nuclear weapons states. Following a
meeting in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the five states declared that they had
finalized the text of the treaty. While some minor changes were made to the
earlier draft, the final text did not contain any alterations in the
provisions governing the relationship between the CANWFZ and other
international agreements. The three nuclear weapon states the
United States, United Kingdom, and France made
it clear that they would not support the treaty unless it was modified to
meet their concerns. Nevertheless, the establishment of the CANWFZ despite
the objections by these NWS is significant in terms of progress in nuclear
nonproliferation and disarmament.
For more details about the Central Asia Nuclear Weapon
Free Zone background, see "Central Asia Becomes a Nuclear Weapon Free Zone," and Central Asian States Establish Nuclear-Weapon
Free-Zone despite U.S. Opposition.
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