US asks all countries to join NPT

PITTSBURGH: With the US President Barack Obama presiding over a key session of UN Security Council on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament tomorrow, the Americans have asked all countries to join the NPT and hoped that the powerful body of the UN would endorse its call for world without nuclear weapons.

"The US position is that all countries should join the NPT, and so the resolution will address that issue," a top US Disarmament official Gary Samore told newsmen.

Obama will be the first US President to chair a summit-level meeting of the Council in which 14 heads of state will join him. The Council is expected to vote unanimously to adopt the draft resolution on this circulated by the US.

The tone for the crucial meeting was set by Obama, who in his maiden address to the General Assembly yesterday told nations who refuse to live up to their obligations on nuclear non-proliferation must "face consequences."

Samore, the National Security Council Coordinator for Arms Control and Non Proliferation, reminded other countries of their responsibility to secure atomic material on their territory so that not even a single nuclear device falls into the hands of terrorists.

The US official said the NPT is something that "we would hope that the Council would endorse". Samore said as of now, it is not illegal not to join NPT.

This would for the first time in a more than a decade that the US has rejoined a bi-annual conference designed to win more support for the NPT.

Samore said the Security Council has a unique and distinctive role in the international regime, because it is the only body that has the authority and the responsibility to address issues of non-compliance.

"We looked to the Security Council, given its broad mandate, to act in cases of threats to peace and security to carry out that role. To the extent that this resolution can enforce and strengthen that role, that's a major accomplishment," said Samore, the US National Security Council Coordinator for Arms Control and Non Proliferation.

Obama's strategy, he said, has three elements - the first being nuclear disarmament, meaning the countries that have nuclear weapons taking steps to eliminate them - including a new arms control agreement between the US and Russia; the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty being ratified and eventually being brought into force; and a treaty to end the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons.

The second element of Obama's strategy, Samore said, is the non-proliferation element, preventing additional countries from acquiring nuclear weapons.

This involves strengthening the NPT, the inspections, making sure that the International Atomic Energy Agency has the resources and authority to carry out its mission; making sure that the UN Security Council plays its role in terms of taking actions in the cases of noncompliance, he stressed.

And the third element of the US strategy is encouraging peaceful uses of nuclear energy in a safe manner. That includes careful controls on sensitive nuclear materials and technology, said the top US Disarmament official.

It includes efforts to try to develop a new architecture for international nuclear cooperation, such as multilateral fuel banks. It aims to make sure that nuclear materials are secure and they're not vulnerable to theft by criminal groups or terrorists, Samore underlined.