NPT conference wraps up in NYC

The month-long conference on the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) has ended by confirming the treaty’s importance to the use of nuclear energy and placing pressure on Israel and North Korea.

Every five years the signatories to the NPT meet to discuss progress towards the two ultimate goals of the treaty: the prevention of any new countries gaining nuclear weapons and the elimination of those already held.

A third aim is the provision of a framework for the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Its efficacy in that regard was noted by the 189 signatory nations, who wished for the first time in the consensus document for every one of their number to bring into force the NPT’s Additional Protocol, which allows the International Atomic Energy Agency important extra powers to check on their nuclear activities.  States able to do so were urged to contribute to a extra fund of $100 million for the IAEA to carry out this kind of safeguards work.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon addresses the NPT Review Conference in early May (Image: UN/Eskinder Debebe)

The commitment of the ‘weapons states’ (those recognised as holding nuclear weapons: China, France, Russia, the UK and the USA) to their side of the bargain was welcomed, especially the new agreement by Russia and the USA to further limit their forces. At the start of the conference, the USA formally gave 5113 as the number of warheads it had, and after the UK general election that country followed suit by with a declaration of holding 160 operational warheads among a stockpile of 225.

Naming names

Controversy came with the final document thanks to a section on the Middle East in which the parties committed to a process to achieve the full aims of a 1995 resolution, which remain valid. This means establishing a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East, beginning with discussion at UN conference in 2012. Present at such a meeting should be the nuclear weapons states as well as every nation in the region – including Israel, despite its status outside the treaty.

The document recognised “the importance of Israel’s accession to the NPT and the placement of all its nuclear facilities under comprehensive IAEA safeguards,” but this was immediately rejected by the country: “The real problem with weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East does not relate to Israel but to those countries that have signed the NPT but brazenly violated it – Iraq under Saddam Hussein, Libya, Syria and Iran.” It continued, “As a non-signatory to the NPT, Israel is not obligated by the decisions of this conference, which has no authority over Israel.”

Statements from the USA said it “deeply regrets” the specific mention of Israel, which it said had harmed America’s ability to help the cause.

In a similarly unrealistic vein, India and Pakistan were both urged to join the NPT as non-nuclear weapons states.

There was no controversy, however, over a paragraph condemning North Korea’s nuclear exploits. The conference affirmed that “the situation… constitutes a threat to the peace and security of northeast Asia and the entire international community, and poses a critical challenge to the global non-proliferation regime.”

Source: World Nuclear News

Malaysia enforces nuke law

MALAYSIA said on Wednesday it would strictly enforce a new law to curb trafficking of nuclear weapon components after being linked to illegal supply of sensitive technology to Iran and Libya.

‘Malaysia is committed towards ensuring that nuclear materials and technologies do not fall into the wrong hands,’ said Prime Minister Najib Razak, who was in Washington to attend a landmark nuclear security summit.

The Malaysian parliament about two weeks ago passed the Strategic Trade Bill, which provides for prison terms of at least five years and fines of millions of dollars for those illegally bringing in or exporting material that could be used to make weapons of mass destruction.

Mr Najib said that establishing the legal framework was ‘only the first step’. ‘The Malaysian government therefore intends to see to it that this legislation is strictly enforced and that our law-enforcement agencies are provided with the necessary resources to do so,’ he told a forum on US-Malaysia relations organised by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The new law follows the government’s denial late last year of involvement in the illegal 2008 export of nuclear weapons to Iran although it confirmed the involvement of one of its nationals.

In addition, a Sri Lankan businessman living in Malaysia was jailed in 2004 for allegedly supplying nuclear weapon components to Libya and linked to a nuclear black market run by Pakistan’s disgraced scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan. Khan had admitted passing nuclear secrets to Libya, Iran and North Korea in a confession in February 2004, placing him in the thick of a global atomic black market.

Source: Straits Times/AFP

Nuclear power deal signed by Libya and Ukraine

Libya and Ukraine on Tuesday signed deals to cooperate in both peaceful civilian nuclear energy and in defence during a visit by Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.They also signed agreements on protection of information and higher education, an AFP reporter said.

After arriving in the north African country on Monday, Tymoshenko said the former Soviet republic needed to diversify its energy sources to reduce its dependence on energy from Russia.

“Our independence would be greater if we were energy-independent and if we diversified our supply sources,” she said following talks with Libyan Prime Minister Baghdadi Mahmoudi.

Mahmoudi said on Monday that “Libya has several offers for civilian nuclear cooperation but we prefer to do it with Ukraine.”

Tripoli has already signed similar accords with both Moscow and Paris.

Ukraine currently has four nuclear power stations supplying the country with around half of its electricity needs.

Tymoshenko on Monday suggested that Libya build an oil refinery in the port of Odessa as well as petrol stations “to distribute its (oil) production in Ukraine and Europe.”

Both states have said they are also ready to waive visa requirements for their respective citizens in a bid to boost mutual investment.

On Tuesday Tymoshenko also met Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi and gave him a letter from Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, the official JANA news agency reported.

Source: Yahoo! News