August 3, 2007
Brazil has a longstanding belief that the pursuit of nuclear disarmament should be kept as the highest priority issue on the international peace and security agenda. The possession by some states of weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons arsenals, has traditionally been a matter of grave concern for all humankind.
Long before its accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), Brazil had decided that its national security should not be predicated on the acquisition of nuclear armament. In the 1960s, Brazil was at the inception of the idea -- that would later come to life in the Tlatelolco Treaty -- to make the Latin American and the Caribbean Region a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone. The country’s stance on this issue has been crystallized in our 1988 Constitution, which states that all nuclear activities shall only be admitted for peaceful purposes. In the early 1990s, Brazil entered into a Quadripartite agreement with Argentina, the Brazil-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials and the International Atomic Energy Agency and placed all its nuclear facilities under comprehensive safeguards. In 1996, Brazil decided to adhere to the NPT to act more effectively in favor of nuclear disarmament, and to join other Parties in their efforts to correct the Treaty’s imbalances. In 1998, we joined five other like-minded states in founding the New Agenda Coalition, which has since played an important role in promoting nuclear disarmament in the main pertinent fora.
Over the past few years, the international community has noticed a striking -- and worrisome -- development as regards disarmament and non-proliferation affairs. While a renewed emphasis has been put on non-proliferation, less and less attention is paid to nuclear disarmament. Brazil understands that the disarmament and non-proliferation processes are necessarily interrelated and mutually reinforcing. From our point of view, the implementation of a sustainable and long-term strategy in the field of non-proliferation depends on the simultaneous adoption of irreversible and verifiable measures as far as nuclear disarmament is concerned and also on concrete steps regarding fissile material.
The shift towards favoring a discussion on non-proliferation, at the expense of the debate on disarmament has contributed in a decisive manner to the lack of progress in the debate surrounding these two issues on the international security agenda and also to create an atmosphere of discouragement that prevails in this debate. Balancing this agenda becomes of utmost importance, especially as we begin the new NPT review cycle.
The lack of tangible progress in the fields of disarmament and non-proliferation calls for urgent action on the revitalization and strengthening of the pertinent regimes. The fulfillment of the 13 steps towards nuclear disarmament agreed during the 2000 NPT Review Conference has been significantly challenged by action and omission, as well as various reservations and selective interpretation by nuclear weapon States. Disregard for the provisions of Article VI of the Treaty may ultimately affect the fundamental bargain on which its legitimacy rests.
The whole edifice of disarmament and non-proliferation has been undermined by the emergence of new strategic and military doctrines based on the development of new nuclear weapons and on the possibility of the use of such weapons on a pre-emptive basis, even against non-nuclear-weapon states. These strategic and military doctrines have the practical effect of giving nuclear weapons a lifespan well into any foreseeable future. In Brazil’s view, this is in stark contradiction with the letter and spirit of the NPT. Furthermore, the leading role still played by nuclear arms can become a paradigm for other States that could pursue the militarization of their nuclear programs in case they perceive themselves to be in the midst of a conflict scenario.
The occasion of the anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings is an important reminder of the devastating effects of weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear weapons, and of the absolute necessity for the international community to address decidedly the issue of nuclear disarmament. Not only must we seize this opportunity to express solidarity with the Japanese people but also to draw the attention of the international community to the undisputable fact that the only way to eliminate the risk of nuclear weapons being used again is to completely abolish those devices.
LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA
President of the Federative Republic of Brazil
Long before its accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), Brazil had decided that its national security should not be predicated on the acquisition of nuclear armament. In the 1960s, Brazil was at the inception of the idea -- that would later come to life in the Tlatelolco Treaty -- to make the Latin American and the Caribbean Region a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone. The country’s stance on this issue has been crystallized in our 1988 Constitution, which states that all nuclear activities shall only be admitted for peaceful purposes. In the early 1990s, Brazil entered into a Quadripartite agreement with Argentina, the Brazil-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials and the International Atomic Energy Agency and placed all its nuclear facilities under comprehensive safeguards. In 1996, Brazil decided to adhere to the NPT to act more effectively in favor of nuclear disarmament, and to join other Parties in their efforts to correct the Treaty’s imbalances. In 1998, we joined five other like-minded states in founding the New Agenda Coalition, which has since played an important role in promoting nuclear disarmament in the main pertinent fora.
Over the past few years, the international community has noticed a striking -- and worrisome -- development as regards disarmament and non-proliferation affairs. While a renewed emphasis has been put on non-proliferation, less and less attention is paid to nuclear disarmament. Brazil understands that the disarmament and non-proliferation processes are necessarily interrelated and mutually reinforcing. From our point of view, the implementation of a sustainable and long-term strategy in the field of non-proliferation depends on the simultaneous adoption of irreversible and verifiable measures as far as nuclear disarmament is concerned and also on concrete steps regarding fissile material.
The shift towards favoring a discussion on non-proliferation, at the expense of the debate on disarmament has contributed in a decisive manner to the lack of progress in the debate surrounding these two issues on the international security agenda and also to create an atmosphere of discouragement that prevails in this debate. Balancing this agenda becomes of utmost importance, especially as we begin the new NPT review cycle.
The lack of tangible progress in the fields of disarmament and non-proliferation calls for urgent action on the revitalization and strengthening of the pertinent regimes. The fulfillment of the 13 steps towards nuclear disarmament agreed during the 2000 NPT Review Conference has been significantly challenged by action and omission, as well as various reservations and selective interpretation by nuclear weapon States. Disregard for the provisions of Article VI of the Treaty may ultimately affect the fundamental bargain on which its legitimacy rests.
The whole edifice of disarmament and non-proliferation has been undermined by the emergence of new strategic and military doctrines based on the development of new nuclear weapons and on the possibility of the use of such weapons on a pre-emptive basis, even against non-nuclear-weapon states. These strategic and military doctrines have the practical effect of giving nuclear weapons a lifespan well into any foreseeable future. In Brazil’s view, this is in stark contradiction with the letter and spirit of the NPT. Furthermore, the leading role still played by nuclear arms can become a paradigm for other States that could pursue the militarization of their nuclear programs in case they perceive themselves to be in the midst of a conflict scenario.
The occasion of the anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings is an important reminder of the devastating effects of weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear weapons, and of the absolute necessity for the international community to address decidedly the issue of nuclear disarmament. Not only must we seize this opportunity to express solidarity with the Japanese people but also to draw the attention of the international community to the undisputable fact that the only way to eliminate the risk of nuclear weapons being used again is to completely abolish those devices.
LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA
President of the Federative Republic of Brazil
