Historic UN vision: a world 'free of nuclear weapons'

THE world's nuclear states pledged yesterday to scrap their deadly arsenals in a move which experts said could be the most significant attempt in decades to halt a new nuclear arms race.

Creating history as the first US president to chair a meeting of the 15-strong UN security council since its formation in 1946, President Barack Obama won the unanimous approval of fellow world leaders to rid the world of the nuclear threat.

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He also pledged to support global efforts to "lock down" all weapons grade nuclear material within the next four years, keeping it out of the hands of terrorist groups or rogue states.

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It was only the fifth time since the UN came into being that heads of state had met at the Security Council, in what was a choreographed attempt to bring renewed urgency to the issue.

Analysts said last night that the clear statement of intent would place fresh pressure on the two biggest proliferation threats – Iran and North Korea – to end their own nuclear programmes.

Non-nuclear states have complained for decades that the world's elite nuclear club have failed to live up to their own commitments to reduce their warheads, while seeking to prevent other countries from going nuclear.

The Obama initiative appears to have been designed to meet those complaints head on in the hope that rogue states and non-nuclear nations will now agree to ditch their own ambitions.

Earlier, a bilateral meeting between Obama and Russian president Dmitri Medvedev cleared the way for a summit this December where the two countries will agree to limit the number of warheads they hold to a maximum of 1,675.

At the same time, US diplomats were celebrating after it appeared they had persuaded Russia to back sanctions against Iran, if the Islamic Republic continues to refuse to scrap its controversial enrichment programme. Speaking after Mr Obama, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that the world should consider "far tougher sanctions" against Iran if it continues to seek a nuclear bomb.

The resolution approved yesterday affirmed the UN Security Council's commitment "to seek a safer world for all and to create the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons". It is understood that the inclusion of the word 'conditions' was inserted at the behest of French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Meanwhile China and Russia both insisted that neither Iran nor North Korea were mentioned by name. After the resolution had been passed, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon declared: "This is a historic moment, a moment offering a fresh start toward a new future."

The new Japanese prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, added: "Japan is the only country to have suffered atomic bombings. I cannot help feeling choked with emotion that just two atomic bombs claimed 200,000 lives.

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"The vision of a world without nuclear weapons has encouraged and inspired people around the world."

Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the UN's International Atomic Energy Authority, praised Obama for a "courageous initiative that rekindles its hope of a world at peace with itself."

For inspiration, Mr Obama reached back to a quote from former US president Ronald Reagan who initiated disarmament talks with Moscow in the 1980s with the words "a nuclear war can never be won and must never be fought".

After the resolution was passed, Mr Obama said: "The historic resolution we just adopted enshrines our shared commitment to a goal of a world without nuclear weapons."

The resolution comes at a time when the 40-year-old NPT, signed by 189 nations, is under intense pressure. The NPT has rested since its inception on a so-called "grand bargain" which sees the nuclear club agreeing to disarm in return for non-nuclear states pledging not to develop warheads.

However, non-nuclear states claim the countries with the bomb have failed to keep their side of the deal, while both nuclear-armed Pakistan and India have refused to sign up.

Mr Obama said yesterday that the next 12 months would be "critical" in deciding whether nuclear weapons could genuinely be taken out of commission. In April next year, the NPT will be reviewed at a conference in Vienna.

The former defence minister, Des Browne, who is now chair of the top level UK group on multilateral disarmament and non-proliferation, said last night: "This is a historic moment for those who believe in multi-lateral disarmament."

A treaty that slowed the nuclear uptake

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THE nuclear non-proliferation treaty was launched in 1958 by the then Irish minister for external affairs, Frank Aiken, and designed to limit the spread of nuclear weapons.

The three pillars of the treaty oblige signatories to commit to non-proliferation, disarmament and the right to use nuclear power peacefully.

Finland was the first nation to sign up in 1968, but it was not until 1992 that all five declared nuclear powers – the US, UK, France, China and Russia – had signed up.

The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty of 1996 added to the global restrictions, although the US has not ratified it.

While 189 countries are signatories, both nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have refused, saying it has led to a world of nuclear "haves" and "have-nots".

Israel, widely assumed to have a nuclear deterrent, has also refused to sign up. In 2003, North Korea became the first nation to withdraw from the treaty, two years before declaring it possessed nuclear weapons.

The treaty has long been criticised by the "have-nots", who claim the "haves" in the nuclear club have failed to keep their end of the bargain.

Egypt's General Nasser once declared the nuclear powers "devised it to prevent others from doing what they had themselves been doing before".

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Since it came into force, tens of thousands of warheads have been taken out of use.

Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has said that 35 to 40 states could have the knowledge to develop nuclear weapons.