Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty |
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is a treaty, opened for signature on July 1, 1968, to which the majority of states (189) are parties, restricting the possession of nuclear
weapons to the US (signed 1968), UK (1968), France (1992), Russia (1968) and People's Republic of China (1992) (the five states
which possessed nuclear weapons when the treaty was adopted, which are also the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.) These 5 NWS
(Nuclear Weapons States) agree not to transfer nuclear weapons technology to other states, and the non-NWS state parties agree
not to seek to develop nuclear weapons.
The 5 NWS parties have made undertakings not to use their nuclear weapons against a non-NWS party except in response to a
nuclear attack, or a conventional attack in alliance with an Nuclear Weapons State. However, these undertakings have not been
incorporated formally into the treaty, and the exact detail of them has at times varied. (The United States, for instance, has
indicated that it may use nuclear weapons in response to an attack with non-nuclear "weapons of mass destruction", such as biological or chemical weapons, since the US
may not use either of these in retaliation. United Kingdom Defence Secretary Geoff
Hoon has also explicitly invoked the possibility of the use of the country's nuclear weapons in response to a
non-conventional attack by "rogue states".)
In New York City, on May 11,
1995, more than 170 countries decided to extend the Treaty indefinitely and without
conditions.
Several states refuse to sign the treaty. India, Pakistan, and Israel possess nuclear weapons, which would be prohibited
had any of them ratified the treaty. South Africa formerly undertook a
nuclear weapons program, with the assistance of Israel, and may have detonated a nuclear test over the Atlantic, but has since
renounced its nuclear program and signed the treaty in the early 1990s after destroying its small nuclear arsenal. India and
Pakistan have publicly announced possession of nuclear weapons, and have detonated nuclear tests. Israel has allegedly been
developing nuclear weapons at its Dimona site in the Negev since 1958, and is believed to have stockpiled hundreds of
warheads—claims the Israeli government refuses to confirm or deny. North
Korea signed, but revoked its signature after a dispute with inspectors over inspections of non-declared nuclear
facilities.
parties - (189) Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra,
Angola, Antigua and
Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia,
Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin,
Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei,
Bulgaria, Burkina Faso,
Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Djibouti,
Dominica, Dominican
Republic, East Timor, Ecuador,
Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea,
Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France,
Gabon, The Gambia, Georgia, Germany,
Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See,
Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia,
Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali,
Malta, Marshall Islands,
Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Federated States of Micronesia, Moldova,
Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand,
Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norway,
Oman, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania,
Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San
Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan,
Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo,
Tonga, Trinidad and
Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia,
Zimbabwe
See also
External link
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