A nuclear weapons convention: framework for a nuclear weapon free world

T nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which has so far prevented the uncontrolled spread of nuclear weapons, is at a crossroads. We know that either the nuclear disarmament obligation contained in Article VI must be fulfi lled without further hedging and excuses, or the whole non-proliferation regime will be at risk. Th e threat of nuclear war itself must be ended by a comprehensive and universal agreement banning nuclear weapons. Th ose who draft ed the NPT in 1968 foresaw the need for complementary agreements both to curb proliferation and to bring about disarmament. In the fi nal speech of his term, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan reminded us that nuclear weapons “pose a unique threat to humanity as a whole.”1 UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has built upon the insights of his predecessor, calling the model Nuclear Weapons Convention draft ed by civil society2 “a good point of departure” for negotiations.3 In 1996, the International Court of Justice affi rmed a universal obligation to pursue and to conclude negotiations on nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and eff ective international control.4 Th e UN General Assembly has repeatedly called for the fulfi llment of that obligation through the commencement of negotiations that would culminate in a nuclear weapons convention (NWC). A proposal to begin deliberations on a NWC was advanced at the 2000