The 1970 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is an agreement between the non-Nuclear Weapon States, which committed themselves to not acquiring nuclear weapons, and the Nuclear Weapons States which agreed to eliminate their nuclear stockpiles.

The end of the Cold War a decade ago should have led to rapid progress toward the global elimination of nuclear weapons. While most of the non-Nuclear Weapon countries have kept their side of the bargain, the nuclear weapon states are maintaining thousands of nuclear weapons, many on high alert, and are continuing to design, research, test and deploy new nuclear weapons systems.

The failure of the NWS to implement their obligations is stimulating other countries to move towards acquiring nuclear weapons, especially if they fail to obtain assurance from the NWS that nuclear weapons will not be used against them. Already in 1998 India and Pakistan openly tested nuclear weapons and declared that they were now nuclear weapons possesors. This was followed in 2003 by North Korea which withdrew from the NPT and declared it had a nuclear weapons program.

IALANA is actively promoting the full implementation of both the non-proliferation and the disarmament obligations of the NPT.

Nuclear Weapons Convention

Full text of the Model Nuclear Weapons Convention
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Biological weapons, chemical weapons and landmines have been prohibited by comprehensive international treaties. So too should nuclear weapons.

IALANA is leading an international campaign for the achievement of a Nuclear Weapons Convention, a negotiated treaty prohibiting the development, production, use and threat to use nuclear weapons and providing for their complete elimination.

To this end, IALANA has taken a number of initiatives including:

* Co-founding Abolition 2000, an international network of over 2000 organisations calling for a nuclear weapons convention

* Initiating the drafting of a Model Nuclear Weapons Convention which outlines the legal, technical and political elements required for the abolition and elimination of nuclear weapons

* Working with like-minded governments on the drafting and adopting of resolutions adopted by the United Nations and working papers submitted to the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conferences

* Producing, with the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Security and Survival: The Case for a Nuclear Weapons Convention, a book which explores the nature of a Nuclear Weapons Convention and how if could be achieved

* Providing expertise to governments involved in the Middle Powers Initiative’s Article VI Forum on progress like-minded States could make in exploring, developing and implementing nuclear disarmament steps

* Strategic advise to the Mayors for Peace on how to advance their Vision 2020 for the achievement and implementation of a nuclear weapons convention

National and International Resolutions supporting a Nuclear Weapons Convention

European Parliament:
Resolution on the Non-Proliferation Treaty, Adopted March 13, 1997

United Nations General Assembly

"Follow-up to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons"

Resolution 60/76, Adopted 8 December 2005 - Voting Result

(For more information and for resolutions adopted prior to 2005 see UN General Assembly Resolutions on Disarmament and International Security)

United States Congress
109th US Congress Resolution calling for the abolition of all Nuclear Weapons, 2006

H.R. Resolution 17 on Furthering Complete Nuclear Disarmament, proposed 2001

United Kingdom

House of Commons Early Day Motion on the Nuclear Weapons Convention, 2000

Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conferences

2005: Working paper on Follow-up to the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons: Legal, technical and political elements required for the establishment and maintenance of a nuclear weapon-free world

2000: Working Paper on Follow-up to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons

Resources

Full Draft of the Model Nuclear Weapons Convention
Invitation To A Signing: The Draft Nuclear Weapons Convention (1999 Peter Weiss)
The Model Nuclear Weapons Convention - Mapping the Way Forward (1998)
Model Nuclear Weapons Convention - Factsheet (1998)
NGO statements to the 1998 NPT Prep Comm on NWC (1998)
NWC: Why and How; US Congressional Briefing (June 1998, Merav Datan)
House of Representatives Resolution 479 on the Model Nuclear Weapons Convention (1998)
Recent support for the Nuclear Weapons Convention (1997)
Climbing A Mountain: The Nuclear Weapons Convention in Geneva (1997)
Costa Rica's letter to the United Nations Secretary-General on submission of the NWC (31 October 1997)
Statements to the United Nations on the NWC, 52nd session of the General Assembly (September-December 1997)
Catching the Flies, the Mosquitos and the Elephants: Arresting Nuclear Proliferation, Terrorism and Warfighting through a Nuclear Weapons Convention by Alyn Ware and Neha Naqvi
US Congress Resolution on Furthering Complete Nuclear Disarmament

European Parliament Resolution on the Non-Proliferation Treaty (March 1997)
1984 Revisited: Comments on Implementation of Article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (Prepared for the Second Session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2000 NPT Review Conference)
The Legal Case for De-Alerting Nuclear Weapons

NPT 2005 Working paper on the Nuclear Weapons

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Parliamentarians and a Nuclear Weapons Convention

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