Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 14: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on his attendance at the seventh review conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in New York; the Government's priorities in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18498/05]

Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 49: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on such progress as has been made on the implementation of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty; his views on whether provisions in the treaty require existing nations with nuclear capacity to reduce transparently their arms; his further views on whether the treaty envisaged a complete block on nuclear capacity for energy purposes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18479/05]

Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 83: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the progress being made on the review of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18635/05]

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 94: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on his speech to the seventh review conference of the non-proliferation treaty in New York; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18643/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 14, 49, 83 and 94 together.

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, NPT, which is the most universal of all of the multilateral instruments in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation, came into force in 1970. The treaty has been reviewed at five-year intervals to assess progress under its three pillars of disarmament, non-proliferation, and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The seventh NPT review conference took place on 2 to 27 May 2005 at the United Nations in New York. During the general debate, I delivered a statement on behalf of Ireland, the full text of which is available on the Department's website.

In my statement, I recalled Ireland's close association with the treaty, which was negotiated following an initiative taken by the then Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Frank Aiken, in 1958. I noted that the Government's highest priority in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation is support for efforts to strengthen the treaty. In the course of my remarks, I referred to the need to address serious challenges which have subjected the global non-proliferation regime to severe strain in recent years. I also emphasised the particular importance attached by Ireland to fulfilment of the nuclear disarmament obligations set out in Article VI of the treaty and reaffirmed and developed at previous NPT review conferences. Under this Article, the states parties, including the five nuclear weapon states, China, France, the Russian Federation, the UK and US, undertook to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures leading to nuclear disarmament.

I also drew attention to a number of important questions which the conference should address. These included consideration of the implications of states parties deciding to withdraw from the treaty. I also called for the strengthening of the IAEA safeguards system. I suggested that the current safeguards agreements, under which the agency verifies that nuclear materials and facilities in non-nuclear weapons states are used for peaceful purposes, should be reinforced by the IAEA additional protocol, which requires states parties to provide additional information and access to the agency inspectors.

I underlined my belief that the continued retention of nuclear weapons, or the unsatisfactory rate of progress in their elimination, can never serve as a justification for their development by other states. I also stressed the need to respect the current moratorium on testing pending the early entry into force of the comprehensive test ban treaty, CTBT, which prohibits states parties from carrying out any nuclear explosion. I called for the negotiation, without delay, of a fissile material cut-off treaty, FMCT, which would ban the further production of fissile materials for use in nuclear weapons.

The review conference ended last Friday without agreement on substantive conclusions and recommendations on how to strengthen the non-proliferation regime. While delegations were able to address substance in both the general debate and discussions in the three main committees, some two and a half weeks out of the four weeks were taken up by difficulties in respect of the agenda and organisation of work.

The Government is particularly disappointed that it did not prove possible to make further progress on the implementation of the nuclear disarmament obligation as set out in Article VI of the treaty. What we regard as the central bargain of the treaty, that the non-nuclear weapon states would not develop such weapons in return for which the nuclear weapon states would reduce and eliminate their nuclear weapons, was further developed at the NPT review conferences in 1995 and 2000. In 1995, states parties adopted a work programme on nuclear disarmament, which included the completion of negotiations of the CTBT, the immediate commencement of negotiations on the FMCT and the pursuit by nuclear weapons states of systematic and progressive efforts to reduce nuclear weapons globally. Ireland, as a member of the New Agenda Coalition, NAC, was actively involved in the negotiation of the 2000 final document, which includes the unequivocal undertaking by the nuclear weapons states to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals and which we believe provides a realistic blueprint for achieving nuclear disarmament. We had hoped that the most recent review conference would have enabled us to build on these earlier documents by agreeing to accelerate their implementation.

Ireland acknowledges the right of states parties to the NPT under Article IV of the treaty to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, in conformity with the safeguards obligations of the treaty. At the same time, we have made clear on various occasions that we do not, ourselves, wish to exercise that right.

The Government is deeply disappointed at the outcome of the conference which we feel is a missed opportunity for the international community to tackle, together, some key threats to global peace and security and to agree an effective collective response. Failure of NPT review conferences to reach a substantive result is not without precedent in the 35 year history of the treaty but it is all the more worrying given the scale of the challenges which have threatened to undermine the authority and credibility of the non-proliferation regime and risk its further erosion. The challenges remain to be tackled and we must work with our partners in the EU and other groups to find a way to make progress.

The United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, in addressing the current situation, has stressed the need for leadership and pointed to the forthcoming meeting of Heads of State and Government in New York in September as a crucial opportunity to show such leadership. He has called on them to break the deadlock on the most pressing challenges in the field of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament and to take concrete steps to revitalise the NPT. We believe that states parties to the NPT must respond to the Secretary General's call and seek to identify ways that the NPT regime can be further strengthened. We are firmly of the view that the NPT is now more than ever of tremendous importance to the achievement of international peace and security. As I noted in my address, our success in halting the erosion of the non-proliferation regime will be an acid test of the effectiveness of the entire multilateral system.