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NAMUNC II
“Nuclear
Proliferation”
Nuclear proliferation, the spread of nuclear technology and weapons to other countries, is an issue stemming from the creation of the atomic bomb, but it has recently become the focus of many issues concerning national security and terrorism. Most authorities affirm the lingering need to secure and disarm nuclear weapons while continuing to use nuclear technology for peaceful practices. Joseph Ciricone, director for Non-Proliferation Carnegie Endowment for International Peace states, "perhaps today's greatest threat stems from the wide availability of highly enriched uranium and plutonium, the fissile materials that are fuel of nuclear bombs." Some, however, argue that the presence of nuclear weapons deters other countries from starting nuclear war. Countries like North Korea have withdrawn signatures from non-proliferation treaties in order to become nuclear powers. After the nuclear arms race during the Cold War, countries like the United States and Russia had big stockpiles of nuclear weapons. In 1957 the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was founded and charged with developing atomic energy for peaceful purposes as well as placing safeguards preventing countries from using the energy for the purpose of making nuclear weapons. With the intent of preventing future nuclear weapons buildups and disarming all nuclear weapons, the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was ratified in 1968. This treaty not only forbid countries from creating nuclear weapons, but also served as a lasting commitment by the five nuclear weapon states to disarm all their nuclear weapons. This treaty has proved invaluable in preventing future weapons buildups, but today it has become less effective in resolving nuclear weapons issues. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan stated in a UN report released 21 March that the 35-year-old treaty "has proved indispensable: it has not only diminished nuclear peril but has also demonstrated the value of multilateral agreements in safeguarding international peace and security. But today, the Treaty has suffered the first withdrawal of a party to the Treaty and faces a crisis of confidence and compliance born of a growing strain on verification and enforcement." Other more recent treaties have placed further restrictions regarding the use of nuclear weapons. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (NTBT), ratified in 1996, bans all nuclear explosions. Today it is evident that by means of nuclear proliferation and underground arms dealing, countries which have not officially declared nuclear weapons do in fact have them. The five nations which have declared nuclear weapons (People's Republic of China, United States of America, Russian Federation, France, and United Kingdom) with the promise of eventual disarmament as described in the NPT. Threshold states, those nations which officially do not have nuclear weapons but have the capability of quickly making nuclear weapons, include Israel, India and Pakistan. These nations are restricted from trading nuclear materials. There still other countries which are known to have previously had and in all likelihood still have nuclear weapons. These countries include Iran and North Korea. Today more than ever there is fear that nuclear weapons might get into the hands of terrorists. After multiple terrorist attacks in recent years, the UN still has yet to take any tangible action against the threat of nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists. Many former Soviet nuclear weapons are scantily protected and those protecting it for low wages can be easily bribed. Howard Baker, and Lloyd Cutler, former Congressmen during the Clinton and Bush administrations, found that "the most urgent unmet national security threat to the United States today is the danger that weapons of mass destruction or weapons-usable material in Russia could be stolen and sold to terrorists or hostile nation states and used against American troops abroad and citizens at home." These insecure nuclear weapons not only risk being discovered in the hands of terrorists, but also risk being sold on underground or black markets for other countries that may otherwise have no nuclear technology whatsoever. Matthew Bunn, STPP Assistant Director of Harvard University writes, "There is significant evidence that both proliferating states and terrorist groups are actively seeking to acquire stolen fissile material for nuclear weapons. Iran, Iraq, Libya, and North Korea, among others, have all been reported to be seeking to acquire such material, as have the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult in Japan (recently renamed Aleph), and Osama bin Laden's terrorist organization, Al Qaida." Tensions between nations can also lead to an increase in production of nuclear weapons. Pakistan and India, two countries disputing over the Kashmir area, are on the verge starting a nuclear arms race. It is essential that a solution to nuclear proliferation supplement the NPT and CTBT treaties while also assuring that the production of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is safeguarded. New solutions need to effectively enforce the security of nuclear weapons and ensure that no nuclear weapons reach terrorists, black markets, or other countries. Non-nuclear weapons states must remain free of nuclear weapons, while nuclear weapons states disarm their arsenal of nuclear weapons. In order to solve this issue, today's recent security problems regarding nuclear weapons must be taken into account in order to effectively modernize methods of non-proliferation.
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