Nuclear states pledge total elimination of nuclear weapons -- eventually

May 20, 2000
Web posted at: 8:30 p.m. EDT (0030 GMT)

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- The world's five main nuclear powers Saturday pledged "an unequivocal undertaking" to eventually eliminate atomic weapons.

The key provision was part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty revision signed by 187 countries and issued at the conclusion of a monthlong conference at U.N. headquarters.

Negotiations were held up for hours Friday when Iraq insisted that it not be accused of noncompliance with the treaty during the past five years. The United States had wanted the Iraq reference in the final document.

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Nuclear threat

The five-year conference to review the global treaty on nuclear weapons operates on the principle of consensus -- and the U.S.-Iraq dispute threatened to sabotage approval of a final document. But eventually compromise language was worked out.

The nuclear powers -- United States, Russia, France, Britain and China -- have never before undertaken to eliminate nuclear weapons.

But the agreement gave no timetable for the elimination of atomic weapons, and delegates said it would take many years to achieve a nuclear-free world.

Additionally, the United States, Russia, France and Britain did not agree to any provision that would prohibit the first use of nuclear weapons. Only China agreed to abandon the first-use option.

Reaction mixed

Reaction to the pledge was mixed among disarmament activists. In a statement, the British American Security Information Council noted that "the paper is full of 'shoulds,' 'urges' and 'oughts.' Still, even baby-steps toward a more secure planet are something to be smiled at."

Jean McSorley of Greenpeace International said the document represented "another face-off between countries who want the weapons states to abide by legally binding commitments and those who want to maintain their nuclear arsenals."

Other provisions in the text include a call to reduce tactical as well as strategic arms, and an accounting of how many weapons the nuclear states have.

The document also calls on Washington and Moscow to implement as soon as possible the START II treaty that would reduce long-range nuclear warheads from 6,000 to 3,500 on each side.

The conference of the 187 signatories to the 30-year-old NPT was the first since the nuclear powers convinced the international community in 1995 to extend the treaty indefinitely in exchange for commitments toward disarmament.

Non-nuclear states have criticized the United States and Russia for moving too slowly in cutting their arsenals during the past five years.

In the final document, Israel -- which along with India, Pakistan and Cuba, has not signed the NPT -- was called on to sign it and open up its nuclear sites to international inspection.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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