Recent Efforts for Nuclear Non-Proliferation
When the topic of nuclear nonproliferation comes up, one is often drawn to think of the Cold War era – a time in which the threat of worldwide destruction and death was ever-looming, and the time in which many of the most well-known nonproliferation and disarmament treaties were signed (e.g. the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Partial Nuclear Test Ban) to prevent such terrible events from happening.
While it is good to look back on these treaties and their effects on the world, one must not also overlook the efforts towards nonproliferation and disarmament taking place today. In recent years, several talks have taken place between nuclear weapons states and non-nuclear weapons states wishing to obtain such weapons, and several treaties have been signed to further prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and to prevent nuclear weapons testing.
Some of these treaties are listed below:
- The Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, comprised of 86 nations and five international organizations and formed in 2006, seeks to increase international monitoring of, preventative measures for, and responsiveness to nuclear terrorism.
- The Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia, signed by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, and entered into force on March 21, 2009, establishes the signatory countries as being nuclear-weapons free and as active agents against nuclear testing and proliferation.
- The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, signed by the U.S. and Russia on April 8, 2010, sought to limit the amount of arms allowed to be in use between the two countries.
- The U.N. Security Council Resolution 1887: Non-Proliferation, put into place on September 24, called for stricter adherence to the NPT and for more states to accede to it, a refrain from nuclear testing, and the ratification of the CTBT.
- The Six Party Talks, carried out intermittently since 2003 and comprising of China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea, and the United States, seeks to bring an end to North Korea’s nuclear program.
Current Challenges Facing Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament
While many labors have been successfully undertaken to end nuclear weapons testing and proliferation, there are still many challenges that the the world faces in these efforts. Some of these challenges include:
- Inability to enforce the treaties
- Can’t get every country to accede to the treaties or to nuclear nonproliferation
- Hard to legislate against non-state actors
- Countries like the U.S. and Russia still feel they need nuclear weapons as a means of deterrence