UN Weapons Proliferation story

Clandestine proliferation networks must be rolled back.

“India is committed to maintaining the highest worldwide standards with reference to control of nuclear, chemical, biological and toxin weapons and their means of delivery and has strong and law-based national export controls consistent with the highest global standards”, he said.

Participating in a UN Security Council debate, she said Pakistan is acting on the laws relating to the nuclear non-proliferation and adhering to Security Council’s resolution 1540.

“As already expressed by many States, Sri Lanka is also of the view that, over the years, the nuclear disarmament pillar of the Non – Proliferation Treaty (NPT) has been consistently overlooked”, the Ambassador said.

He reiterated that as a responsible nuclear power, India’s nuclear doctrine continues to stress a policy of credible minimum deterrence with a posture of no-first-use and non-use against non-nuclear weapon states.

Sri Lankan envoy noting that with 191 State Parties, the NPT has largely fulfilled the non – proliferation objective of the treaty said although almost after a half a century (46 years), progress on the commitment towards the nuclear disarmament pillar of the treaty is yet to be seen. But for this to happen all nuclear-weapon states must hold “a meaningful dialogue to build trust and confidence by reducing the salience of nuclear weapons in worldwide affairs and security doctrines”, he said.

She said that disarmament and non-proliferation are linked to each other.

Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the UN, Ravinatha Ariyasinha, speaking at the General Assembly Mandated Open-Minded Working Group on Taking Forward Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament Negotiations in Geneva, has stressed that this is an opportunity for states to come up with concrete steps on multilateral disarmament and encouraged making forward-looking recommendations to the General Assembly.

“A challenge to non-proliferation norms was the granting of discriminatory waivers, special arrangements which denoted double standards and opened the possibility of diverting material intended for peaceful use to military purposes”, she said.

The differences in state capacities, such as legal and regulatory gaps and the lack of effective export control mechanisms, compounded challenges to addressing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, she said.

Earlier this year, India joined the Missile Technology Control Regime and the Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation.

“The goal of the complete elimination of nuclear weapons can be achieved by a step-by-step process, underwritten by a universal commitment and an agreed multilateral framework that is global and non-discriminatory”, Lal said.