Since 1970, the international community has created machinery to support nuclear controls and safeguards, to carry out the destruction of nuclear weapons and to ban nuclear testing. The number of parties to the Treaty has grown steadily. China and France adhered to the Treaty in 1992. Today the number of signatories stands at 178, the largest number of parties to any arms control and disarmament agreement. This is an indisputable sign of support for the Treaty.
Universality is within reach.
But in other ways, today's world is one of increasing danger. Some States, ignoring their ratification of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, are seeking to obtain materials and technology for the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons. This is a frightening prospect under any circumstances, but even more so in a world beset by ethnic tension. It would be tragic if the end of nuclear deterrence were to be followed by a proliferation of the nuclear threat. The smuggling of nuclear material is no longer only a fear, but also a frightening reality.