Secretary-General Pledges to Continue His Disarmament Efforts, in Statement

on Fortieth Anniversary of Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

The following statement by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the fortieth anniversary of the entry into force of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was issued today:

Forty years ago today, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) entered into force.  Since then, the NPT has remained the cornerstone of the nuclear non-proliferation regime, the foundation for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament and a framework for promoting the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) comprehensive safeguards agreements are in force for 163 non-nuclear-weapon States parties to the Treaty.  Ninety-four States parties have also brought into force the IAEA Additional Protocol, which contributes to increased transparency and serves a confidence-building role in regional and international security.

The NPT also commits the nuclear-weapon States to nuclear disarmament.  Today there is growing support from Governments and civil society for achieving this goal.  A number of nuclear-weapon States have undertaken important measures, and I welcome the efforts of the Russian Federation and the United States to conclude a successor agreement to the Treaty on the Limitation and Reduction of Strategic Offensive Arms (START).  The NPT also fosters the development of peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

In less than two months, the parties to the NPT will gather to review the operation of the Treaty and to consider how to promote its full implementation, as well as its universality.  I would like to underscore the importance of a successful Review Conference.  Towards that end, I will continue my efforts, including through my five-point proposal and Action Plan for Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, to achieve the long-held and widely shared goal of a world free of nuclear weapons.

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*     Reissued for technical reasons.

For information media • not an official record