Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)

• The NPT is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament.
• The Treaty represents the only binding commitment in a multilateral treaty to the goal of disarmament by the nuclear-weapon States.
• Treaty aimed at limiting the spread of nuclear weapons through the three pillars of non-proliferation, disarmament, and peaceful use of nuclear energy.
• It was designed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, to further the goals of nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament, and to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
• The Treaty promotes cooperation in the field of peaceful nuclear technology and equal access to this technology for all States parties, while safeguards prevent the diversion of fissile material for weapons use.

Signing and Ratification

• Opened for signature in 1968, the Treaty entered into force in 1970.
• On 11 May 1995, the Treaty was extended indefinitely. 
• A total of 191 States have joined the Treaty, including the five nuclear-weapon States.
• More countries have ratified the NPT than any other arms limitation and disarmament agreement, a testament to the Treaty’s significance.

What are Nuclear & Non-Nuclear Weapon States?

• Under Article IX, The Treaty defines nuclear weapon states (NWS) as those that had manufactured and detonated a nuclear explosive device prior to 1 January 1967. All the other states are therefore considered non-nuclear weapon states (NNWS).
• The five nuclear weapon states are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
• Four other states are known or believed to possess nuclear weapons: India, Pakistan, and North Korea have openly tested and declared that they possess nuclear weapons, while Israel is deliberately ambiguous regarding its nuclear weapon status.

Safeguards

• To further the goal of non-proliferation and as a confidence-building measure between States parties, the Treaty establishes a safeguards system under the responsibility of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which also plays a central role under the Treaty in areas of technology transfer for peaceful purposes.
• Safeguards are used to verify compliance with the Treaty through inspections conducted by the IAEA.
• The provisions of the Treaty, particularly article VIII, paragraph 3, envisage a review of the operation of the Treaty every five years, a provision which was reaffirmed by the States parties at the 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference.
• Non-nuclear weapons states are not to receive nuclear weapons from any transferor, and are not to manufacture or acquire them.

Peaceful use of nuclear energy

• Under Article IX, the Treaty does not affect the right of state parties to develop, produce, and use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, provided such activities are in conformity with Articles I and II.
• All state parties undertake to facilitate, and have a right to participate, in the exchange of equipment, materials, and scientific and technological information for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
• The IAEA BOG (Board of Governance) has found six states in non-compliance with their safeguards agreements: Iraq, Romania, North Korea, Libya, Iran, and Syria. There are no verification provisions for nuclear disarmament commitments under the NPT.

Criticism of the Treaty

• In 2018, many NNWS expressed concern that NWS saw the indefinite extension of the NPT as allowing for “the indefinite possession of nuclear weapons,” while NWS emphasized that the current international security climate prevents the immediate destruction of nuclear weapons.
• The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) appears minimally in the factual summary.
• States parties to the TPNW expressed the view that the TPNW complemented the NPT, while States opposed expressed the concern that the TPNW created an “alternative and contrary standard to the NPT” that would not contribute to disarmament.