Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

Treaty intended to halt the spread of nuclear weapons that obliges nonnuclear weapons member-states to agree not to manufacture, control, or receive the transfer of nuclear weapons. Nonnuclear weapons states also agree to accept certain safeguards to verify that nuclear materials are not being diverted from peaceful uses to nuclear weapons. In exchange, nuclear weapons state signatories with advanced nuclear technology pledge to assist them in developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) entered into force on March 5, 1970, and as of 2005, it has been signed and ratified by 189 countries.

The testing of nuclear weapons by France in 1960 and China four years later gave impetus to the formation of a nuclear nonproliferation treaty regime. Both countries had independently developed their nuclear weapons, which raised concerns that other industrial countries might also attempt to develop nuclear weapons. Reasoning that nuclear proliferation increases the risk of nuclear war, a treaty regime intended to prevent the further spread of nuclear weapons was proposed at the United Nations. After a decade of intense negotiations, primarily between the Soviet Union and the United States, the UN endorsed the treaty and opened it for signature in 1968.

The most significant feature of the NPT is the separation of all potential parties into two groups—states that manufactured and detonated a nuclear weapon [Page 534]prior to January 1, 1967, and those that had not. Under the terms of the treaty, nuclear weapons states—namely the United States, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, France, and China—are permitted to keep their nuclear arsenals, provided that they do not transfer nuclear weapons to nonnuclear weapons states or assist them in developing nuclear weapons.

In addition, under Article VI of the treaty, the nuclear weapons states pledge to pursue negotiations in good faith to end the nuclear arms race and achieve complete nuclear disarmament. However, little progress has been made toward reducing nuclear arsenals, prompting controversy that the nuclear-weapons states are not meeting their obligations under Article VI. Nonnuclear weapons states argue that failure to meet these obligations is discriminatory because they bear the majority of the costs and responsibilities under the treaty, whereas the nuclear weapons states maintain a monopoly over the transfer and control of nuclear weapons.

A key element of honoring the NPT is the verification of compliance with its terms through the implementation of safeguards. The international organization responsible for verifying compliance is the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Founded in 1957 and headquartered in Vienna, Austria, the IAEA is an independent organization, not a UN agency. It conducts audits of declared nuclear materials and on-site inspections in nonnuclear weapons states. The IAEA cannot conduct inspections on undeclared or indigenously developed nuclear facilities, however.

The discovery of clandestine nuclear activities during the 1980s and 1990s in Iraq and North Korea revealed the ineffectiveness of the verification system. It demonstrated the IAEA's inability to provide credible assurances against prohibited nuclear activity occurring within a member-state. To resolve these shortcomings, the Additional Protocols, which would allow for more intrusive inspections of nuclear facilities, were proposed in 1997. However, NPT member-states remain reluctant to ratify the Additional Protocols, mainly because of concerns for the security of sensitive nuclear technology and increased discrimination against nonnuclear weapons states.

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