International Day against Nuclear Test

August 29

Abby Varghese

IIIrd B.Sc. Geography, Tourism & Travel Management

Madras Christian College, Tambaram

What is International Day against Nuclear Tests?

• The International Day against Nuclear Tests is observed on August 29. It was established on December 2, 2009 at the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly by the resolution 64/35, which was adopted unanimously.

• The resolution in particular calls for increasing awareness "about the effects of nuclear weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosions and the need for their cessation as one of the means of achieving the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world". The resolution was initiated by Kazakhstan together with several sponsors and cosponsors to commemorate the closure of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site on August 29, 1991.

Is it just Nuclear weapons or everything?

• Commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament.

• Opened for signature in 1968, the Treaty entered into force in 1970. On 11 May 1995, the Treaty was extended indefinitely. More countries have adhered to the NPT than any other arms limitation and disarmament agreement, a testament to the Treaty's significance. A total of 190 states have joined the Treaty, though North Korea, which acceded to the NPT in 1985 but never came into compliance, announced its withdrawal in 2003. Four UN member states have never joined the NPT: India, Israel, Pakistan and South Sudan.

Nuclear Arms Race

India’s stance on NPT

• The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty(NPT) itself requires only that internationally-traded nuclear material and technology be safeguarded - a condition that India has continually made clear it is willing to accept, even though it declines to disarm and join the NPT as a "non-weapon-state".

• The next step in bringing India into the fold was the consensus resolution of the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in September 2008 to exempt India from its rule of prohibiting trade with non-members of the NPT. A bilateral trade agreement then went to US Congress for final approval. Similar agreements will apply with Russia and France. The ultimate objective is to put India on the same footing as China in respect to responsibilities and trade opportunities, though it has had to accept much tighter international controls than other nuclear-armed countries.

This is exactly what we do

Increasing range of ICBM a worry for International Communities

• Like Internet bring the world closer for good ICBM bring the world closer for….

Who is there to monitor incase of violations?

The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) serves as an intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear technology and nuclear power worldwide. The programs of the IAEA encourage the development of the peaceful applications of nuclear technology, provide international safeguards against misuse of nuclear technology and nuclear materials, and promote nuclear safety (including radiation protection) and nuclear security standards and their implementation.

Failures of NPT

“Prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology”This part of the definition of NPT is the REASON FOR THE FAILURE.

Prevent spread of Nuclear Weapons doesn’t restrict the Nuclear Weapon Nations from having Nuclear Weapons.

Nuclear weapons sharing (B61 nuclear bomb) agreements within NATO

Status of India, Pakistan & Israel on NPT

Failure of Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

Failure of Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks)

Why is this Deterrence Theory is important?

Bernard Brodie wrote in 1959, must be always at the ready, yet never used.

Deterrence theory gained increased prominence as a military strategy during the Cold War with regard to the use of nuclear weapons. It took on a unique connotation during this time as an inferior nuclear force, by virtue of its extreme destructive power, could deter a more powerful adversary, provided that this force could be protected against destruction by a surprise attack.

No First Use

• No first use (NFU) refers to a pledge or a policy by a nuclear power not to use nuclear weapons as a means of warfare unless first attacked by an adversary using nuclear weapons. Earlier, the concept had also been applied to chemical and biological warfare.

• In 2003, India declared its commitment to no first use of nuclear weapons.

Rising Significance of ABM’s

• In this Deterrent world Defense is given more importance than Attacking strategies & thus rising the significance of Anti Ballistic Missiles.

• An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) is a missile designed to counter ballistic missiles. Ballistic missiles are used to deliver nuclear, chemical, biological or conventional warheads in a ballistic flight trajectory. The term "anti-ballistic missile" describes any antimissile system designed to counter ballistic missiles. However, the term is used more commonly for systems designed to counter Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles(ICBMs).

Conclusion

Unless Nuclear Weapons are banned universally & Monitoring agencies remain impartial no Agreements or Policies will become successful.