Nuclear News.net & Kyodo News International – 2009-04-07 22:43:29
Nonproliferation panel urges U.S. to adopt no first use of nuke arms
Disarmament Committee Urges US to Adopt No First Use Policy
Nuclear News.net
TOKYO (March 15, 2009) —The International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, a commission established by the governments of Australia and Japan, is urging the United States to develop a policy of “no first use” and to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
The commission has three stages for achieving a nuclear-free world. Its first step is the five-point recommendations for the United States, which also includes restoring the US-Russia strategic nuclear arms control process.
Under the three-stage structure, tactical nuclear weapons will be dramatically reduced and fissile material will be abolished in the second stage. In the third stage, an international committee will be established that will be able to determine if any country is secretly developing weapons, and will impose punishments.
Nonproliferation Panel urges US to Adopt ‘No-First-Use’ of Nuke Arms
Kyodo News International
TOKYO, Mar. 15, 2009 () — A panel promoting nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation will urge the United States to take a leadership role in nuclear disarmament by developing a nuclear policy of ”no first use,” according to a draft of policy recommendations made available on Sunday.
The International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament will also urge the United States to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and restore the US-Russia strategic nuclear arms control process as part of its five-point proposals, according to the draft.
The commission seeks to achieve total abolition of nuclear weapons in three stages, with the five-point recommendations for Washington serving as its initial step, said Nobuyasu Abe, former U.N. undersecretary general for disarmament affairs, who is a member of the panel’s advisory board.
The commission, a joint initiative established by the Australian and Japanese governments, will complete the report by the end of this year as the panel seeks to promote nuclear disarmament ahead of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in spring 2010.
US President Barack Obama has set a world without nuclear weapons as one of his policy goals.
No-first-use is a pledge not to use nuclear arms by a nuclear power unless the country or its allies are first attacked by an enemy with a nuclear weapon.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and then Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda agreed to establish the commission in July last year, and its members have met last October and February this year since its launch.
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