Motion for a resolution - 2.3.2005

to wind up the debate on statements by the Council and Commission

pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure

by Tobias Pflüger, Willy Meyer, Vittorio Agnoletto, Umberto Guidoni

on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group

on the Non Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in 2005 – Nuclear weapons in North Korea and Iran

PE 356.338v01-00

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B6‑0182/2005

European Parliament resolution on Non Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in 2005/Nuclear Weapons in North Korea and Iran

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on nuclear disarmament, and in particular its resolution of 26 February 2004 on the Non-Proliferation Treaty Preparatory Committee meeting in May 2004,

– having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation are substantively interrelated and mutually reinforcing; whereas the two processes must go hand in hand and there is a genuine need for a systematic and progressive process of nuclear disarmament,

B. whereas Article VI of the NPT contains an obligation on all States Parties to the Treaty to 'pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control',

C. whereas the 2000 Conference of the States Parties to the Nuclear Non‑Proliferation Treaty (NPT) asked the Conference on Disarmament (CD) to establish an appropriate subsidiary body with a mandate to deal with nuclear disarmament, as contained in the fourth of the 13 points relating to Article VI of the NPT adopted by the 2000 NPT Conference,

D. whereas the Conference on Disarmament has not established the requested subsidiary body within three years of the review conference nor is it currently in the process of so doing,

E. whereas the process of multilateral disarmament was interrupted and needs to be revitalised; whereas UN Secretary‑General Kofi Annan proposed an international conference on disarmament, including all nuclear dangers,

F. concerned at the fact that the use of nuclear weapons is playing an enhanced role in the military strategy of states, in particular the United States and Russia,

G. whereas all EU Member States are parties to the NPT, and two EU Member States are nuclear weapon states as defined in the NPT,

H. whereas the NPT is the most widely accepted arms control agreement, with 187 States parties,

I. whereas the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea declared on 10 February that it possesses nuclear weapons; whereas the negotiations between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea and the United States were suspended; whereas the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea declared its intention to come back to the negotiation table and to sign an agreement before the end of the year,

J. whereas Iran’s nuclear program is a source of concern,

K. whereas the IAEA confirmed that Iran had voluntarily suspended all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities; having regard to the positive assessment of the Iran's cooperation with the IAEA expressed by Mohammed El Baradei, Director of the IAEA, on 28 February 2005,

L. having regard to the agreement reached with Iran on 15 November 2004 following talks with France, Germany and the UK, supported by the High Representative; having regard to the negotiations on a long-term arrangement, which will provide objective guarantees that Iran's nuclear programme is used exclusively for peaceful purposes,

M. having regard to the new EU Strategy against the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, adopted by the European Council in Brussels on 12 December 2003, and the Common Position on the universalisation and reinforcement of multilateral agreements in the field of non‑proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery; deploring the fact that these strategic documents of the EU neglect the need for nuclear disarmament,

N. having regard to the 'European Defence Paper' of the European Institute of Strategic Studies, in which the option of nuclear warfare to fight weapons of mass destruction is not excluded,

Strengthening the NPT

1. Reaffirms its position that the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is of vital importance for the prevention of the proliferation of nuclear weapons and that every effort should therefore be made to implement the Treaty in all its aspects;

2. Stresses its strong belief that nuclear disarmament activity will contribute significantly to international peace, security and stability; urges the EU to support the new ínternational initiative on disarmament and, in particular, new nuclear dangers, as proposed by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Mohammed El Baradei, Director of the IAEA, which points to the need to secure nuclear disarmament by Nuclear Weapon States both acknowledged and unacknowledged;

3. Reiterates its call on all the states concerned to definitively stop the development of new generations of battlefield nuclear weapons; calls on the USA to clarify the situation of the quantity and strategic objectives of its tactical nuclear arsenals stationed on European bases and to provide a timetable for further withdrawal of these arsenals; calls on the Council and the Commission to make the issue of nuclear disarmament a permanent item on the agenda of the Transatlantic Partnership Dialogue as well as of the dialogue with Russia;

4. Urges the Member States which possess nuclear weapons to stop the quantitative and qualitative improvement, development, production and stockpiling of nuclear warheads and their delivery systems; calls on theses states to undertake new initiatives with a view to starting negotiations between the nuclear power states with a view to further stimulating reductions in nuclear weapons;

5. Stresses the importance and urgency of signature and ratification, without delay and without conditions and in accordance with constitutional processes, to achieve the earliest entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty; calls on the Council and the Commission to insist in the dialogue with those partner states which have not yet done so that they ratify the CTBT, e.g. the United States, China, Pakistan and Israel;

6. Calls on all states to maintain the moratorium on nuclear weapon tests or any other nuclear explosions and to refrain from other steps that can jeopardise the treaty;

7. Calls on all states to accelerate the implementation of the practical steps for systematic efforts to achieve nuclear disarmament that where agreed upon at the 2000 review conference of the State Parties to the NPT;

8. Stresses the importance of reducing strategic nuclear arsenals and not developing new types of nuclear weapons, and of diminishing the role of nuclear weapons in the security policies of Nuclear Weapon States;

9, Calls on the Member States which have nuclear weapons to agree on a joint undertaking not to be the first to use nuclear weapons or to threaten to use them against non-nuclear weapon states,

10. Calls on the EU Member States and candidate countries which are members of the Conference on Disarmament to step up their efforts for the establishment of a subsidiary body on nuclear disarmament without further delay;

11. Welcomes the appeal signed by 25 Nobel Prize Winners, calling on the governments of the United States, Russia, China, France, and the UK, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea to support and implement steps to lower the operational status of their nuclear weapon systems in order to reduce the risk of nuclear catastrophe;

12. Reiterates its support for the international mayors' campaign - initiated by the Mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - on nuclear disarmament, and recommends that the international community carefully consider the Campaign's 'Project Vision 2020', urging a scheduled programme of elimination of all nuclear weapons by the year 2020;

13. Calls on the EU Member States to provide the Presidency with a mandate to propose in New York the convening of an international conference to discuss the procedures needed to realise this programme, and urges the inclusion in such a conference of as many Nuclear Weapon States as possible, both acknowledged and unacknowledged;

14. Calls on Israel, India and Pakistan to become States Parties to the NPT;

15. Calls on all states, and nuclear weapon states in particular, not to provide assistance to or encourage states which may seek to acquire nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, in particular those states which are not parties to the Non-Proliferation Treaty;

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Iran

16. Calls for all political and diplomatic avenues to be explored in order to secure a peaceful settlement to the conflicts linked to nuclear proliferation; is concerned about the threat that the US Government may also use military means for this purpose;

17. Expresses its opposition to any arbitrary use of force and recalls that, according to the UN Charter, the threat or use of violence in international relations represents a gross violation of international law;

18. Appeals strongly to the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to withdraw its decision to develop nuclear weapons, and asks the Government to come back to the Six-Party Talks;

19. Asks the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to dismantle its nuclear arsenals and to accept international control of its nuclear activities by the IAEA;

20. Expresses its support for the European Union's negotiating process with Iran, and asks the Government of Iran to accept international control of its nuclear activities by the IAEA;

NPT Review Conference

21. Calls on the Luxembourg Presidency and the Member States to add further substance to their common statement that 'the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) must be preserved in its integrity';

22. Calls on the Luxembourg Presidency and the Member States to clarify and step up their commitment to releasing financial resources to support specific projects conducted by multilateral institutions, such as the IAEA;

23. Calls on the Council to agree on a Common Position for the NPT review conference and to act in a coordinated and constructive manner; urges the Council to attach special importance to new initiatives on nuclear disarmament and the revitalisation of the Conference on Disarmament; recalls the common objective of the EU, expressed in its WMD Strategy, to 'foster the role of the UN Security Council and enhance expertise in meeting the challenge of proliferation'; calls on the Council to act at the NPT Review Conference accordingly;

24. Decides to establish an official delegation to attend the NPT Review conference;

25. Calls on both the Council and the Commission to present a progress report to Parliament on the outcome of the NPT PrepCom, no later than June 2004;

26. Stresses the need to combat the negative effects of violent conflict resolution and complacency in the face of dangers through long-term education and training programmes, especially for the younger generation;

27. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the governments and parliaments of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Iran, Israel, India, Pakistan and the USA, the Director of the IAEA and the UN Secretary‑General.