GOBIERNO DECHILE

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STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR ALFREDO LABBEDIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL AND HUMAN SECURITY
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF CHILE
ON BEHALF OF THE STATES PARTIES AND SIGNATORIES THAT ESTABLISH
NUCLEAR-WEAPON-FREE ZONES AND MONGOLIA2010 Review Conference of the Parties to theTreaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)

United Nations, New York
5 May 2010

Permanent Mission of Chile to the United Nations
885 Second Avenue, 40 th Floor, New York, NY 10017
Tel: (917) 322-6800 • Fax: (917) 322-6891
E-mail: chile@un.int • Website: http.Z/chileabroad.gov.cl/onu/en

Mr. President:
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the 116 States Parties and Signatories to Treaties that
Establish Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones and Mongolia.
As you know, last Friday, 30 April, the States members of nuclear-weapon-free zones andMongolia - which are also parties to the NPT - held our Second Conference with the aim ofsending a constructive message to this Eighth Review Conference.
The message, contained in the Final Document, which I shall summarize shortly, is sent from aposition of political and moral force: it comes from the members of the international communitythat have succeeded in making nuclear disarmament, which is the ultimate and most lofty goal of
the NPT, a reality.
Thus our States not only salute the vision of a world without nuclear weapons but also arepleased to point out from this rostrum that, when we consider the geographical coverage of
nuclear-weapon-free zones, we see that this vision is already more than 50 per cent materialized.
Nuclear-weapon-free zones - including Antarctica - occupy almost all the southern hemisphereand are moving steadily towards the northern hemisphere. As we had occasion to note at ourConference, really good things come from the South and we only hope that new nuclear-weaponfree zones can be established - particularly in the Middle East - and that other States will follow
the example of Mongolia.
Mr. President:
The Final Document of our Conference is transcribed in the written version of thisintervention. We ask it to be included as an official document of this Review Conference.
Following your instructions concerning the length of statements, I will now read out
some paragraphs of our Final Document:
1. We reaffirm the validity of the Declaration of the First Conference of States parties andSignatories to Treaties that establish Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones adopted in Mexico on
28 April 2005;
2. We are firmly convinced that the mere existence of nuclear weapons constitutes a threat
to the survival of mankind, that their use would have catastrophic consequences for lifeon Earth, and that the only guarantee against their use or threat of use is their totalelimination;
3. We reiterate that the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is a violation of internationallaw and of the Charter of the United Nations, and a crime against humanity.
4.

We reaffirm the urgent need to advance towards the priority goal of nuclear
disarmament and the achievement of the total elimination and legally binding prohibition

-2-of nuclear weapons. In this regard, we stress that the establishment of Nuclear-WeaponFree Zones is a major contribution to the non-proliferation efforts;
5. We reiterate our conviction that the achievement of the goal of a nuclear weapon-freeworld requires the firm political will of all States, and particularly NUclear-Weapon
States;6. We strongly support the International Court of Justice advisory opinion on the legalityof the threat or use of nuclear weapons that there exists an obligation to pursue in goodfaith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all
its aspects, under strict and effective international control;
7. Wc express our opposition to the improvement in existing nuclear weapons
development of new types of nuclear weapons;

andthe8. We reaffirm the inalienable right of States to develop, research, produce and use nuclear
energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination in accordance with the NonProliferation Treaty;
9. We reaffirm that the Non Proliferation Treaty remains the cornerstone of the nuclear
disarmament and non-proliferation regime which includes peaceful uses of nuclear
energy, and reiterate the validity of all its principles, obligations and rights;
IO.We reaffirm the importance of achieving the universality of the Non Proliferation Treaty
and a balanced and non-discriminatory implementation of its three pillars - nucleardisarmament, nuclear non-proliferation and the inalienable right to peaceful uses ofnuclear energy - and urge those States that are not parties thereto to accede to the Treaty
without delay and conditions as non-NWS;
11. Whereas we welcome some recent positive signs by some nuclear-weapon States in thedisarmament field, we express our view that further concrete measures, to implement
Article 6 of the Non Proliferation Treaty, including the 13 practical steps enshrined in theFinal Document of the 2000 Non Proliferation Treaty Review Conference are necessary
in order to set in motion an effective and irreversible process of nuclear disarmament thatleads to a nuclear-weapon-free world. In this regard, we urge States to seize theopportunities opened by the 2010 Non Proliferation Treaty Review Conference to adopt
further decisions to progress towards nuclear disarmament;
12. We underline the importance of nuclear-weapons States reducing their nuclear
arsenals with a view to their total elimination. In this connection we recognize therecent signature by the President of the Russian Federation and the President of theUnited States of America of a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty as an important
step in reducing the number of their deployed nuclear arsenals and look forward to its
early entry into force. This agreement constitutes an important step forward, but only

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one of many necessary steps needed to achieve nuclear disarmament. We call for further
deep cuts, including in the area of non-deployed and non-strategic nuclear weapons;
13. We stress that all nuclear disarmament initiatives should be irreversible, transparent andverifiable;
14. We strongly reaffirm that nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation are mutually
reinforcing processes;
15. We consider that the possession of nuclear weapons neither brings about peace norinternational security. While stressing the need to eliminate the role of nuclear
weapons in strategic doctrines and security policies we call on all nuclear weapon States
to review such doctrines and policies.
We take note of the United States ofAmerica's Nuclear Posture Review. We also underline that further significant
doctrinal shifts by all nuclear weapon States are urgently needed to bring us closer to anuclear weapon free world;
16. We urge the nuclear weapon States to provide the non-nuclear weapon States witheffective security assurances not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against
them, pending the elimination of all nuclear weapons. Furthermore, we urge the nuclear
weapon States to negotiate and conclude a treaty on universal, unconditional, andlegally-binding security assurances to the non-nuclear weapon States;
17. We arc convinced that the establishment of internationally recognised NuclearWeapon-Free Zones on the basis of agreements entered into freely among the States ofthe zone concerned, strengthens world and regional peace and security, reinforces thenuclear non-proliferation regime, and contributes to the achievement of nuclear
disarmament;
18. We urge the nuclear weapon States and any other State mentioned in the relevant
Protocols of the Treaties that established Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones that have notyet signed or ratified such Protocols, to do so as a matter of priority;
19. We also urge the nuclear weapon States that, having signed or ratified any of therelevant Protocols to Treaties that established Nuclear- Weapon-Free Zones, have done sowith reservations and unilateral interpretative declarations, to withdraw suchreservations and/or declarations;
20. We are very pleased to note that forty-three years after the signing of the Treaty of
Tlatelolco, which established the first zone free of nuclear weapons, in a densely
populated area, the number of states covered by such zones has increased;
21. We welcome the entry into force of the Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty
on 21 March 2009, the first such zone solely in the northernhemisphereandcovering an area where nuclear weapons were previously based and tested, and urge theStates concerned to address any outstanding issues that may affect its operation. We

- 4-support the aspirations of the region to intensify efforts to address the problems
associated with the safety of radioactive waste;
22. We welcome the entry into force of the African NUclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty(Pelindaba Treaty) on 15 July 2009, and the steps being taken towards the establishmentof the African Commission on Nuclear Energy, which would mark an important steptowards attaining the objective of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation;
23. We express full support for Mongolia's policy of institutionalising its nuclear weaponfree-status and welcome the talks being held by this country with its two neighbours tothis effect;
24. We welcome the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) heightenedcommitment to preserve Southeast Asia as a zone free of nuclear weapons and otherweapons of mass destruction as reaffirmed in theAssociation of Southeast AsianNations Charter. We recognize the Association of Southeast Asian Nation's efforts inpromoting and strengthening the implementation of the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon
Free Zone Treaty as the region's contribution to achieving a nuclear weapon free world.
We also note the progress made by the Treaty's Plan of Action (2007-2012) insharpening the focus of regional collaboration against nuclear weapons and widening
Association of Southeast Asian Nation's opportunities for participation in international
efforts against nuclear weapons;
25. We strongly advocate for a Denuclearized Korean Peninsula;
26. We also reiterate our support for the establishment - as a matter of urgency - of a
Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Europe;
27. We reiterate our support for the establishment -as a matter of urgency- of a
Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in the Middle East, in conformity with the Resolution onthe Middle East adopted at the 1995 Non Proliferation Treaty Review and Extension
Conference, with a view to achieving the universality of the Non Proliferation Treaty
in the Middle East, and in accordance with relevant United Nations General AssemblyResolutions;
28. We recognise the key importance of multilateralism and in particular the role played by
the United Nations in the area of nuclear disarmamentand non-proliferation andpeaceful uses of nuclear energy and we reiterate our commitment to strengthen that role;
29. We support the United Nations Secretary-General's call in his five point proposal
onnuclear disarmament for all Non-Proliferation Treaty Parties, in particular thenuclear-weapon States, to fulfil their obligation under the Treaty to undertakenegotiations on effective measures leading to nuclear disarmament;
30. We recognise the fundamental role of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inthe application and verification of compliance with the international safeguards regime

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provided for in the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the relevant Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone
treaties as well as efforts to strengthen the effectiveness of the IAEA safeguards system.
We urge all States that have not yet concluded comprehensive safeguards agreements to
do so as soon as possible;
31. We urge all Member States of the Conference on Disarmament (CD) to adopt andimplement a balanced and comprehensive Programme of work, bearing in mind theprimary role of the Conference as the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum;
reaching
32. We reiterate our demand for the total ban of all nuclear tests and the need foruniversal adherence to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT),
particularly by all nuclear weapon States and Annex 2 States, and in that regard we callfor the upholding and maintenance of the moratorium on such tests or any other nuclear
explosions pending the entry into force of the Treaty;
33. We reiterate our deep concern over the potential serious ecological and security risksof transporting radioactive material and other dangerous wastes by sea or othernavigable waters and urge all States, particularly those that transport such materials, tostrengthen the international legal code as regards security and responsibility measuresapplicable to this mode of transportation, through the effective application of thecommitments adopted within the International Atomic Energy Agency and theInternational Maritime Organization, and other international fora. We also urge all
States to exchange information at the government level on the transport of radioactive
material and urge all States shipping radioactive materials to work withpotentiallyaffected States to address their concerns in this regard;
34. We are convinced of the benefit that the use of the resources devoted to nuclearweapon programmes could have for humanity if they were utilized for supporting socialand economic development;
35. We express our interest in promoting initiatives aiming to strengthen nationalcapacities and education in order to increase public understanding of the dangers posedby nuclear weapons and to promote their total elimination;
36. We will continue to pursue international efforts to achieve a nuciear-weapon-free world.
In this regard, we intend to foster cooperation among the Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones tofully implement the principles and objectives of the treaties and to exchange relevant
ideas and best practices in areas of mutual interest. To maintain continuity in theenhanced interaction among the Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones generated at thisConference, we will explore, through diplomatic channels, the appropriate modalities formaintaining contact anddisseminating
relevant
information
among
theNuclear-Weapon-Free Zones during the inter-sessional period.

-6-Mr. President:
I am glad to inform this assembly that the Second Conference of States Parties to Treaties that
Establish Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones was preceded by a meeting organized by civil society, atwhich important concepts and opinions were expressed that strongly support our efforts toachieve nuclear disarmament. The conclusions of this meeting of civil society have been
included as an annex to the Final Document.
As I had the opportunity to point out at the opening of the Second Conference, the States
Members of the Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones wish to play an active and positive role at thisReview Conference and we all hope to act as genuinefriends ofthe President.
We hope that this message will serve the lofty goal to which it aspires.
Thank you.