People's Democracy

Impediments To The Abolition Of Nuclear Weapons - II

N D Jayaprakash

INDIA’s INITIATIVES

CONCURRENTLY, at the UN and other fora efforts were being made by non-aligned nations to advance the cause of peace. India, for example, has taken several initiatives on disarmament at the UN from 1947 onwards, at the Bandung Asian-African Conference in 1955, and at the various conferences of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1961 onwards. It was India, which took the initiative in 1964 to place the item “Non-proliferation of nuclear weapons” on the agenda of the UN.  In 1965, India along with seven other nations submitted a joint memorandum towards achieving a solution to the problem of proliferation of nuclear weapons. The memorandum called for negotiation of an international treaty based, among others, on the principles that: (i) the treaty should be void of any loopholes, which might permit nuclear or non-nuclear powers to proliferate, directly or indirectly nuclear weapons in any form; (ii) the treaty should embody an acceptable balance of mutual responsibilities and obligations of nuclear and non-nuclear powers; and (iii) the treaty should be a step towards the achievement of general and complete disarmament and, more particularly, nuclear disarmament. These principles constituted the basis of the Resolution 2028 (XX) adopted on November 19, 1965 by the UN General Assembly by a great majority, which included the UK, the US, and the USSR.

After having been parties to the above Resolution 2028 (XX), the US and the USSR carried out bilateral negotiations and tabled identical draft treaties on “Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons” (NPT) in the Disarmament Committee in August 1967. The draft treaty was commended in a resolution overwhelmingly adopted by the UN General Assembly in June 1968. India had good reasons to oppose the said resolution since the three principle clauses (quoted in the para above), which were the crux of Resolution 2028 (XX), had been omitted from the same. Despite India’s vehement protests against non-inclusion of the said clauses, the NPT was formally signed on July 1, 1968 by the US, the UK and the USSR and it came into force on March 1, 1970. In the absence of those three principal clauses, the worthlessness of the NPT stands thoroughly exposed today as is evident from the outcome of the 2005 Review Conference held in New York. The fundamental problem with the NPT, as has already been mentioned above, is that it does not address the question of the CLEAR and PRESENT nuclear danger but in fact recognises the “legitimate” right of the permanent members of the UN Security Council to attack the very signatories to the NPT with nuclear weapons.

Despite conducting a totally unwarranted underground nuclear-test on May 18, 1974, which the government of India described as a “peaceful nuclear explosion”, there was no let up on the part of India in pursuing the goal of disarmament. In 1982, prime minister Indira Gandhi, in a special message to the Second Special Session of the General Assembly devoted to Disarmament, proposed a five-point programme of action:

(i) negotiation of binding convention on the non-use of nuclear weapons; (ii) a freeze on nuclear weapons; (iii) an immediate suspension of all nuclear weapon tests; (iv) a treaty on general and complete disarmament within an agreed time-frame; and (v) that the United Nations take the lead in educating the public on the dangers of nuclear war, on the harmful effects of the arms race on the economy, as well as on the positive aspects of disarmament and its links with development. At that session, India also tabled the draft text of an international treaty prohibiting the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons.

Furthermore, at the Third Special Session of the UN General Assembly devoted to Disarmament held in 1988, prime minister Rajiv Gandhi proposed an ‘Action Plan for Ushering in a Nuclear-Weapon-Free and Non-Violent World Order.’ The major proposals of the Action Plan were: (1) Cessation of the production of nuclear weapons by all nuclear-weapon states; (2) Cessation of production of weapon-grade fissionable material; (3) Conclusion of a comprehensive test-ban treaty; (4) Conclusion of a convention to outlaw the use and threat of use of nuclear weapons pending their elimination; (5) Non-nuclear weapon Powers to undertake not to cross the threshold into the acquisition of nuclear weapons; (6) A time-bound treaty to eliminate nuclear weapons; and (7) Institution of a proper verification system. In addition, the Action Plan called for drastic reduction of ‘conventional’ arms; removal of all military forces and bases from foreign countries; a ban on development of new weapon systems, such as space weapons, and other means of warfare; and institutionalisation of a global common security system. The Rajiv Gandhi Action Plan is certainly the most comprehensive proposal for general and complete disarmament in a phased manner that has been submitted by any government before the United Nations till date. It is, indeed, very unfortunate that the Rajiv Gandhi Action Plan has not been duly considered either by the United Nations or by the major peace movements yet. Sadly, even the government of India has since failed to pursue the Action Plan seriously.

It is highly condemnable that a right-wing government in India had mindlessly carried out a series of nuclear tests in 1998 and had decided to equip the armed forces with nuclear weapons (thankfully with a unilateral commitment, for whatever it is worth, not to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states and not to use nuclear weapons first against nuclear weapon states). Now, the glimmer of hope is that in the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) of the UPA it is clearly stated that UPA would “take a leadership role in promoting universal, nuclear disarmament and working for a nuclear weapons-free world.” Therefore, it is vital that the global peace movement exerts as much pressure as possible to prevail upon the Indian government to convene an International Conference for Global Nuclear Disarmament and to initiate steps for implementing the Rajiv Gandhi ‘Action Plan for Ushering in a Nuclear Weapon Free and Non-Violent World Order’ through the UN at the earliest. 

A DISCORDANT NOTE

While the World Conference Against Atomic & Hydrogen Bombs have been regularly held from 1955 onwards and is organised by the most active peace movement in the world for the last fifty years, the 2005 World Conference failed to take a clear cut stand on the ongoing crisis in the Korean Peninsula and West Asia. The conference chose to remain a prisoner to the NPT and the illusory concept of NWFZs with a benign call for ensuring that the said areas remained free of nuclear weapons rather than demanding from the nuclear weapon powers a categorical undertaking that the nuclear weapon powers should immediately guarantee negative security assurance in the form of a No Use Pledge to the non-nuclear weapon states. 

The problem of abolition of nuclear weapons would continue to remain where it has been for the last sixty years as long as the nuclear weapon powers are allowed to retain the unbridled “right” (under the unwritten provisions of the NPT) to use nuclear weapons against any nation as they wish. There is an urgent need for the peace movement to garner momentum so that progress could be made towards the goal of abolition of nuclear weapons and in the direction of general and complete disarmament.

No More Hiroshimas! No More Nagasakis!

No More Hibakushas!

(Concluded)