NWFZs are considered a regional approach to encouraging nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament – an issue which the GA has been active on throughout its history. In 1975, the GA defined (3472 (XXX) B) NWFZs as “any zone recognized as such by the General Assembly of the United Nations, which any group of States, in the free exercises of their sovereignty, has established by virtue of a treaty or convention whereby:
(a) The statute of total absence of nuclear weapons to which the zone shall be subject, including the procedure for the delimitation of the zone, is defined;
(b) An international system of verification and control is established to guarantee compliance with the obligations deriving from that statute.”
Early movement toward NWFZs can be seen in several treaties related to the denuclearization of specific regions, notably the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 (which prohibited any nuclear testing, radioactive waste storage, or use of the territory of Antarctica for anything but peaceful purposes), and the Outer Space Treaty of 1967.
Throughout this period, the GA was active in encouraging disarmament measures and denuclearization of certain regions or areas, through declarations in its resolutions, by organizing conferences or other convenings, and by supporting the Secretary-General to exercise his good offices to support regions and Member States working toward these goals. In 1961, the GA called on Member States to refrain from using the territory of Africa for “testing, storing or transporting nuclear weapons,” and to consider the continent a “denuclearized zone” (A/RES/1652 (XVI)). In 1963 it passed another resolution (A/RES/1911(XVIII)) supporting steps taken for the “denuclearization of Latin America”, and requested the Secretary-General to extend support to the States of Latin America to achieve those aims, including any providing any “technical facilities” that might be required (A/RES/1911(XVIII), para. 4). Following this, in 1967, the landmark Treaty of Tlatelolco was signed. It created the first NWFZ, in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In 1975, the GA passed resolution 3476(XXX) (A/RES/3476(XXX)), urging States in South Asia to establish a NWFZ, and resolution 3477 (XXX) (A/RES/3477(XXX)) endorsing the idea of a NWFZ in the South Pacific. The latter resolution in particular highlighted the importance of using the Secretary-General’s good offices to facilitate discussions among the concerned States. In the 10th special session that followed a few years later, in 1978, the GA reiterated many of these calls, encouraging the establishment of NWFZs in many regions (the Middle East, South Asia, the Indian Ocean) and calling on Member States to fully implement the Treaty of Tlatelolco (A/RES/S-10/2).
The GA continued to encourage NWFZs in a number of regions throughout the 1980s, and indeed, the Treaty of Rarotonga, which established a NWFZ in the South Pacific, was signed in 1985. However, the end of the Cold War introduced new opportunities for realizing GA recommendations on denuclearization and saw a wave of activity on NWFZs. In 1991, the GA renewed (A/RES/48/86) its past calls for a denuclearized zone in Africa, requesting the Secretary-General to support the finalization of a draft treaty for an African NWFZ. This was realized in the Treaty of Pelindaba signed in 1996, which prohibits the development, possession and testing of nuclear weapons in Africa.1 In 1995, Member States in South-East Asia signed the Treaty of Bangkok, establishing a NWFZ in South-East Asia.
In 1996, the GA passed resolution 51/45, which called for a “nuclear-weapon-free” southern hemisphere and adjacent areas (A/RES/51/45[B]). It also called for ratification of existing treaties by all regional States (including those of Tlatelolco, Rarotonga, Bangkok and Pelindaba), and for States in the Middle East to consider proposals to establish NWFZs (ibid., para. 3). In 1998, the GA passed resolution 55/33 which reiterated many of the principles in the prior resolutions and invited all States in Central Asia to support a NWFZ in Central Asia, also requesting the Secretary-General to provide assistance to this end (A/RES/52/38[S], para. 1). Member States in Central Asia did conclude a treaty on this in 2006, establishing a NWFZ for Central Asia.
In addition to calling for regional NWFZ treaties, and supporting them through extension of good offices, the GA also supported the denuclearization of specific Member States in this period. In 1992, Mongolia declared itself an NWFZ. The GA endorsed this status with resolution 53/77D in 1998, recognizing Mongolia’s unique position and supporting its nuclear-weapon-free status (A/RES/53/77[D], paras. 1, 2). Subsequently, the five permanent members of the SC issued a joint statement, providing political and security assurances to Mongolia (A/55/530-S/2000/1052). In that statement, they declared that the commitments regarding positive and negative security assurances that they had made separately in 1995 (S/RES/984) applied to Mongolia, which proved a crucial move in establishing Mongolia’s international recognition as an NWFZ.2
Notes
- The Treaty of Pelindaba for Africa was ratified on 12 April 1996 and came into effect on 15 July 2009 (CM/Res.1529 (LX)). ↩︎
- In SC resolution 984 of 1995, the permanent members recognized, inter alia, “the legitimate interest of non-nuclear-weapon States Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to receive assurances that the Security Council, and above all its nuclear-weapon State permanent members, will act immediately in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, in the event that such States are the victim of an act of, or object of a threat of, aggression in which nuclear weapons are used” (S/RES/984(1995), para. 2). ↩︎