ID :
84943
Sat, 10/17/2009 - 19:42
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/84943
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Draft proposes cutting No. of warheads to less than 1,000 by 2025
+
TOKYO, Oct. 16 Kyodo -
An international panel on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament has compiled
a draft report calling for reducing the number of nuclear warheads in the world
to less than 1,000 by 2025 from the present more than 20,000, panel sources
said Friday.
The International Commission on Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament, which
was established at the initiative of Australia and Japan, worked out the draft
ahead of its final meeting scheduled to be held Sunday through Tuesday in
Hiroshima, the world's first atom-bombed city.
The draft report titled ''Eliminating Nuclear Threats,'' a copy of which was
obtained by Kyodo News, calls for achieving, as a medium-term action agenda
item to 2025, ''a world with no more than 1,000 nuclear warheads.''
However, some representatives to the panel have expressed doubts if the target
can be incorporated in the final report, the sources said.
The draft report tones down some key points from the previous draft which was
discussed in the previous session in Moscow in June. It extends the target year
for U.S. President Barack Obama to work out a new nuclear doctrine to 2012 from
the spring of 2010 in the previous draft.
The previous draft urged Obama to work out such a doctrine before the review
conference of parties to the nuclear nonproliferation treaty which is scheduled
to be held next May.
As part of a ''short-term action agenda to 2012 achieving initial benchmarks,''
the draft urges nuclear states to ''achieve early movement on nuclear doctrine,
with all nuclear-armed states declaring that the sole purpose of retaining the
nuclear weapons they have is to deter others from using such weapons against
them or their allies.''
It also postpones the adoption of ''every nuclear armed state committed to no
first use'' to the midterm action agenda through 2025.
Behind such setbacks is Japanese representative Yoriko Kawaguchi's reluctance
to accept a proposal that urges the United States to limit the role of nuclear
weapons to deterring only nuclear attacks and that seeks a no first-strike
commitment at an early stage, the sources said.
The Japanese representative has expressed reservations about the proposal due
to concerns over a weakening of the U.S. nuclear umbrella, the sources said.
The short-term action agenda also includes such calls for reducing the U.S. and
Russian nuclear arsenals, and bringing into force the Comprehensive Nuclear
Test Ban Treaty. It also proposes that ''all nuclear armed states give strong
negative security assurances to non-nuclear weapon states,'' and ''prepare the
ground for a multilateral disarmament process.''
As part of the ''medium-term action agenda -- to 2025: Getting to the
minimization point,'' the draft discusses a proposal to ''develop and build
support for a comprehensive nuclear weapons convention to legally underpin the
ultimate transition to a nuclear weapons-free world.''
In the ''longer-term action agenda beyond 2025: Getting to zero,'' the draft
proposes to ''create the military conditions in which conventional arms
imbalances, missile defense systems or any other national or intergovernmental
organization capability is not seen as so inherently destabilizing as to
justify the retention of a nuclear deterrent capability.''
It also proposes to ''create the international legal regime and enforcement
conditions that will ensure that any state breaching its prohibition
obligations not to retain, acquire or develop nuclear weapons will be
effectively penalized.''
Following discussions at the Hiroshima session, the commission will release the
final report in early January on a road map for a world free of nuclear weapons
as called for in April in Prague by U.S. President Obama.
Among other commission members are former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem
Brundtland, former U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry, Carnegie Moscow Center
director Alexei Arbatov and former Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations
Wang Yingfan.
Japanese representative Kawaguchi served as Japan's foreign minister under
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi between 2002 and 2004.
The International Commission on Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament held
its first meeting in Sydney in October 2008.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and then Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo
Fukuda agreed in July 2008 to establish the commission.
==Kyodo
2009-10-16 23:41:26
TOKYO, Oct. 16 Kyodo -
An international panel on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament has compiled
a draft report calling for reducing the number of nuclear warheads in the world
to less than 1,000 by 2025 from the present more than 20,000, panel sources
said Friday.
The International Commission on Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament, which
was established at the initiative of Australia and Japan, worked out the draft
ahead of its final meeting scheduled to be held Sunday through Tuesday in
Hiroshima, the world's first atom-bombed city.
The draft report titled ''Eliminating Nuclear Threats,'' a copy of which was
obtained by Kyodo News, calls for achieving, as a medium-term action agenda
item to 2025, ''a world with no more than 1,000 nuclear warheads.''
However, some representatives to the panel have expressed doubts if the target
can be incorporated in the final report, the sources said.
The draft report tones down some key points from the previous draft which was
discussed in the previous session in Moscow in June. It extends the target year
for U.S. President Barack Obama to work out a new nuclear doctrine to 2012 from
the spring of 2010 in the previous draft.
The previous draft urged Obama to work out such a doctrine before the review
conference of parties to the nuclear nonproliferation treaty which is scheduled
to be held next May.
As part of a ''short-term action agenda to 2012 achieving initial benchmarks,''
the draft urges nuclear states to ''achieve early movement on nuclear doctrine,
with all nuclear-armed states declaring that the sole purpose of retaining the
nuclear weapons they have is to deter others from using such weapons against
them or their allies.''
It also postpones the adoption of ''every nuclear armed state committed to no
first use'' to the midterm action agenda through 2025.
Behind such setbacks is Japanese representative Yoriko Kawaguchi's reluctance
to accept a proposal that urges the United States to limit the role of nuclear
weapons to deterring only nuclear attacks and that seeks a no first-strike
commitment at an early stage, the sources said.
The Japanese representative has expressed reservations about the proposal due
to concerns over a weakening of the U.S. nuclear umbrella, the sources said.
The short-term action agenda also includes such calls for reducing the U.S. and
Russian nuclear arsenals, and bringing into force the Comprehensive Nuclear
Test Ban Treaty. It also proposes that ''all nuclear armed states give strong
negative security assurances to non-nuclear weapon states,'' and ''prepare the
ground for a multilateral disarmament process.''
As part of the ''medium-term action agenda -- to 2025: Getting to the
minimization point,'' the draft discusses a proposal to ''develop and build
support for a comprehensive nuclear weapons convention to legally underpin the
ultimate transition to a nuclear weapons-free world.''
In the ''longer-term action agenda beyond 2025: Getting to zero,'' the draft
proposes to ''create the military conditions in which conventional arms
imbalances, missile defense systems or any other national or intergovernmental
organization capability is not seen as so inherently destabilizing as to
justify the retention of a nuclear deterrent capability.''
It also proposes to ''create the international legal regime and enforcement
conditions that will ensure that any state breaching its prohibition
obligations not to retain, acquire or develop nuclear weapons will be
effectively penalized.''
Following discussions at the Hiroshima session, the commission will release the
final report in early January on a road map for a world free of nuclear weapons
as called for in April in Prague by U.S. President Obama.
Among other commission members are former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem
Brundtland, former U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry, Carnegie Moscow Center
director Alexei Arbatov and former Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations
Wang Yingfan.
Japanese representative Kawaguchi served as Japan's foreign minister under
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi between 2002 and 2004.
The International Commission on Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament held
its first meeting in Sydney in October 2008.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and then Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo
Fukuda agreed in July 2008 to establish the commission.
==Kyodo
2009-10-16 23:41:26