The Delegation of the United States of America to the2010 Review Conference of theTreaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
3-28 May 2010

STATEMENT BY
SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY RODHAM CLINTONto the2010 REVIEW CONFERENCE OF THE
TREATY ON THE NON-PROLIFERATIONOF NUCLEAR WEAPONSGeneral Debate

New York
May 3, 2010

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I want to thank the Secretary General, Director General Amano, Ambassador
Cabactulan, for their outstanding leadership in pulling together this Review
Conference and addressing the challenges of nuclear proliferation.
As you know, President Obama has made reducing the threat posed by nuclear
weapons and materials a central mission of our foreign policy, and the NPT lies atthe core of that mission. I want to begin by reading a section of the message thatPresident Obama has sent to this conference:“For four decades, the NPT has been the cornerstone of our collective efforts toprevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. But today, this regime is underincreasing pressure. A year ago in Prague, I therefore made it a priority of theUnited States to strengthen each of the treaty’s key pillars as we work to stop thespread of nuclear weapons and to pursue the peace and security of a world withoutthem.
“Today, the eyes of the world are upon us. Over the coming weeks, each of ournations will have the opportunity to show where we stand. Will we meet ourresponsibilities or shirk them? Will we ensure the rights of nations or undermine
them? In short, do we seek a 21st century of more nuclear weapons or a world
without them? These are the questions we must answer and the challenges wemust meet. At this conference and beyond, let us come together in partnership topursue the peace and security that our people deserve.”
Now, President Obama and I know that there are many different perspectives andhistorical experiences represented in this room. We know there are doubts amongsome about whether nuclear weapons states, including my own country, areprepared to help lead this effort. I am here to tell you as clearly as I can: The
United States will do its part. I represent a President and a country committed to avision of a world without nuclear weapons and to taking the concrete steps
necessary that will help us get there. And along with my delegation, I come to thisconference with sincere and serious proposals to advance the fundamental aims ofthe NPT and strengthen the global nonproliferation regime.

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Now, President Obama and I have spoken often of rights and responsibilities, andfor us that’s not just a slogan; it is the guiding principles of our efforts. We
recognize the rights of all countries in compliance with the treaty to realize thebenefits of nuclear energy. And we recognize our responsibility to commit theresources that will help spread those benefits as widely as possible.
We also recognize our responsibility as a nuclear weapons state to move towarddisarmament, and that is exactly what we are doing. And as we work to uphold
our end of the basic bargain of the NPT, we are asking all signatories to do thesame, to work with us to strengthen global nonproliferation rules and holdaccountable those who violate them.
So as we begin this conference, let’s remember why we are here, because it is easy
to get lost in the jargon and the technical disputes. But there is a deeper mission
here to create a safer world where all of our children and grandchildren can realize
their God-given potential without the threat of nuclear proliferation.
This meeting comes 40 years after the NPT first entered into force. At that time,
the world was at a crossroads. President Kennedy had warned that by the year
1975, up to 20 countries might have nuclear weapons, and many said that nuclear
proliferation was inevitable. Well, today we can be grateful that this treaty helped
dispel the darkest predictions of that era and that a nuclear weapon has not beenused in those four decades.
Yet as we recognize the significance of the NPT, we must also acknowledge thatlike our predecessors 40 years ago, we stand at a crossroads too. Once again, weface the prospect of a new wave of proliferation. Once again, we hear claims thatthe spread of nuclear weapons is unavoidable. And once again, some say we must
learn to live with the fear and instability of a world with more and more nucleararmed states and networks.
Now, today, the vast majority of states are living up to their nonproliferation
obligations. But a few outliers have demonstrated a determination to violate therules and defy the international community. During the past decade, one state said
it was withdrawing from the NPT after being caught cheating and subsequently
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4announced two nuclear tests. Another has cynically claimed to be abiding by thetreaty while violating its safeguards, expanding its enrichment program, failing tocooperate with the IAEA, and ignoring the injunctions of the Security Council.
But amid these challenges, once again, most nations have the opportunity tochoose a different path. And the message that President Obama delivered in
Prague last year has a new urgency. Rules must be binding. Violations must bepunished. Words must mean something. And the world must stand together toprevent the spread of these weapons. Now, at this conference, it is time for astrong international response.
These Review Conferences have been held every five years for the last four
decades, but too often they have fractured along familiar lines: nuclear weapons
states versus non-nuclear-weapons states, or the Western Group versus the NonAligned Movement. Instead of working together to meet a common challenge, wehave retreated into predictable positions to protect our presumed interest. Thistime must be different. As one minister said to me, “We not only must think out ofthe box, we must think out of the blocs.”
We know there are some countries who will choose not to be constructive. This
morning, Iran’s president offered the same tired, false, and sometimes wild
accusations against the United States and other parties at this conference. But
that’s not surprising. As you all heard this morning, Iran will do whatever it can todivert attention away from its own record and to attempt to evade accountability.
Ultimately, however, we will all be judged not for our words but for our actions.
And we will all be measured not by how assertively we claim our rights but by
how faithfully we uphold our responsibilities. And as the Secretary General said,in this regard the onus is on Iran. So far, it has failed to meet its burden. Iran isthe only country represented in this hall that has been found by the IAEA Board ofGovernors to be currently in noncompliance with its nuclear safeguards obligations– the only one. It has defied the UN Security Council and the IAEA, and placed
the future of the nonproliferation regime in jeopardy. And that is why it is facing
increasing isolation and pressure from the international community.

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But Iran will not succeed in its efforts to divert and divide. The United States andthe great majority of the nations represented here come to this conference with amuch larger agenda: to strengthen a global nonproliferation regime that advances
the security of all nations, to advance both our rights and our responsibilities. So
now is the time to focus on promoting practical solutions, not pursuing unrealistic
agendas. Now is the time to build consensus, not to block it. And I call on Iran tojoin with all the other delegations represented at this meeting to go ahead andfulfill our international obligations and work toward the goal of a safer world.
The stakes are as high as they were at the dawn of the NPT. And we cannot fall
into the ruts left over from old divisions. So rather than allow a small minority tofocus attention on our differences, we must acknowledge we are all in this together
and set a course for 40 more years of progress to stem the tide of proliferation,
prevent the use of these weapons, and use nuclear power for the purpose of peace
and prosperity.
So to realize this goal, we must recommit ourselves to strengthening the threepillars of the nonproliferation regime. And with respect to those three pillars –nuclear disarmament, access to civilian nuclear energy, and nonproliferation – thisAdministration, the United States has led through deeds, not simply throughwords. Our commitment to the NPT begins with our efforts to reduce the role andnumber of nuclear weapons in our own arsenal. When President Obama came into
office, he recognized that the greatest potential danger facing the United Statescomes from a terrorist group like al-Qaida obtaining a crude nuclear device, notfrom a global nuclear war. And we know that the threats of the 21st century cannot
be addressed with a massive nuclear stockpile. So we are taking irreversible,transparent, verifiable steps to reduce the number of the nuclear weapons in ourarsenal. Our new START treaty with Russia will limit the number of strategic
nuclear weapons deployed by our countries to levels not seen since the 1950s.
This agreement is consistent with the Secretary General’s call to pursue nuclear
disarmament through agreement on a framework of separate, mutually reinforcing
instruments.
Our Nuclear Posture Review ruled out the development of new U.S. nuclear
weapons and new missions and capabilities for our existing weapons. It also stated5

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we will not use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapons states that areparties to the NPT and in compliance with their nuclear nonproliferation
obligations. We have made a commitment to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty, and we are ready – past ready – to start multilateral negotiations on averifiable Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty.
And today, I am announcing we will submit protocols to the United States Senate
to ratify our participation in the nuclear-weapon-free zones that have been
established in Africa and the South Pacific. Upon ratification, parties to thoseagreements will have a legally binding assurance that the United States will not use
or threaten to use nuclear weapons against them, and will fully respect the nuclearweapons-free status of the zones. And we are prepared to consult with the parties
to the nuclear-weapons-free zones in Central and Southeast Asia, in an effort toreach agreement that would allow us to sign those protocols as well.
We support efforts to realize the goal of a weapons of mass destruction-free zone
in the Middle East, in accordance with the 1995 Middle East Resolution. The
Middle East may present the greatest threat of nuclear proliferation in the world
today. Adherence to the NPT is not universal, and a few countries that are parties
to the NPT have violated their treaty obligations. But in spite of these difficulties,
we want to reaffirm our commitment to the objective of a Middle East free of theseweapons of mass destruction, and we are prepared to support practical measuresthat will move us toward achieving that objective.
President Obama has made clear the Unites States will retain a nuclear deterrent
for as long as nuclear weapons exist, one that can protect our country and ourallies. But we will continue to seek further reductions and we will pursue concrete
steps to improve the transparency of our nuclear arsenal. Beginning today, theUnited States will make public the number of nuclear weapons in our stockpile andthe number of weapons we have dismantled since 1991.
So for those who doubt that the United States will do its part on disarmament, thisis our record, these are our commitments, and they send a clear, unmistakablesignal. We are also committed to bolstering another pillar: access to civilian
nuclear energy. We unequivocally support the rights of states that are in67
compliance with the treaty to access nuclear technology and energy for peacefulpurposes. The IAEA’s high-end projection for new nuclear capacity has nearly
doubled since the last Review Conference five years ago. And the United States
wants to help expand the ability of all states to utilize peaceful nuclear energy.
Over the past decade, we’ve provided nearly $200 million to support the IAEA’s
Technical Cooperation Fund. We are the largest contributor to that effort. And it
has helped more than 100 countries develop or expand the peaceful use of nuclear
energy.
Today, the President has asked me to announce that the United States will make an
additional commitment of $50 million over the next five years for a new IAEA
Peaceful Uses Initiative. We hope other partners will match this contribution withan additional $50 million. We will use these resources to improve health care andnutrition, manage water resources, increase food security, and help countries
develop the infrastructure for the safe and secure use of nuclear power.
We are pleased that the IAEA’s director general has made expanding use of civil
nuclear energy for humanitarian purposes one of his signature initiatives. TheUnited States is also strengthening bilateral technical cooperation arrangementswith more than 40 states, particularly in the Middle East, North Africa, andSoutheast Asia.
But this treaty is weakened when a state flouts the rules and develops illicit nuclear
weapons capabilities. So as we pursue progress on these pillars, we must recommit
our nations to bolster the nonproliferation regime. When leaders of the IAEA ask
for more resources and authority to carry out their mission of verifying compliancewith nonproliferation obligations, we must respond. When the IAEA calls onstates to sign and ratify an additional protocol to ensure that parties to the NPT aremeeting their treaty obligations, we must act.
But improving the IAEA’s ability to detect safeguard violations is not enough.
Potential violators must know that they will pay a high price if they break the rules,
and that is certainly not the case today. The international community’s record ofenforcing compliance in recent years is unacceptable. So we need to consider
automatic penalties for the violation of safeguards agreements such as suspending7

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all international nuclear cooperation or IAEA technical cooperation projects until
compliance has been restored. And we must use all of the possible financial andlegal tools to disrupt illicit proliferation networks. That means tightening controls
on transshipment and enhancing restrictions on transfers of sensitive technology.
We should also find ways to dissuade states from utilizing the treaty’s withdrawal
provision to avoid accountability.
Now, I am not proposing to amend the treaty to limit the rights of states towithdraw. But we cannot stand by when a state committing treaty violations says
it will pull out of the NPT in an attempt to escape penalties and even pursue
nuclear weapons. Parties to the NPT have invested decades in building a global
nonproliferation regime, and that work will be rendered meaningless if theinternational community continues allowing nations to break the rules of the NPTwith impunity.
Our work at this conference must provide a foundation for future actions, including
strengthening IAEA safeguards, negotiating a fissile material cutoff treaty at theConference on Disarmament and toughening enforcement against proliferation
violations at the UN Security Council.
The last 40 years have proved that nuclear proliferation is not inevitable. We
believe it can be stopped, but it will take all of us here recognizing common
dangers and finding common ground, rolling up our sleeves and getting creative,
taking practical steps together in the next month.
A lot of skeptics out there say that when countries gather at the United Nations,nothing happens but a lot of words are used up. Well, it is up to us at thisconference to prove those doubters wrong. Forty years from now, our successors
will mark the 80th anniversary of the Nonproliferation Treaty. And the men andwomen, who gather on that occasion in the new building, once it is finallycompleted, will not remember the words we speak today unless those words arematched by actions. But our children and our grandchildren will live with theconsequences of what we decide this month. Whether the world is more or lesssecure depends on the path we take, and there is no greater reason than that to finda way to act together and to act decisively.
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