Arms Control & Non Proliferation

Documents & Texts from America.gov

19 March 2008
United States Seeks Negotiations on Weapons Treaty

By Jacquelyn S. Porth
Staff Writer

Washington -- The United States is seeking agreement in the Conference on Disarmament to negotiate a treaty that would ban production of fissile material used to make nuclear weapons and other explosive devices.

In 2006, the United States introduced a draft Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty (FMCT). Now, almost two years later, the U.S. ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva says it is time for those negotiations, and they should begin without preconditions.

Ambassador Christina Rocca, the U.S. permanent representative to the disarmament conference, says a treaty banning fissile material for nuclear weapons “is a nonproliferation and disarmament measure that enhances international security.” All but a handful of nations in the conference support the immediate beginning of negotiations.

Such a treaty would create a new obligation for states that have nuclear weapons, the ambassador said during a March 12 Ask America webchat, moderated by the State Department’s Bureau of International Information Programs. For starters, Rocca said, countries that still are producing fissile material for nuclear weapons should stop.

The United States halted such production in 1988. Once a new treaty is concluded, she said, “we believe that all states should adhere to such a moratorium.”

An FMCT, as it is referred to in shorthand, would serve to codify the existing voluntary moratorium observed by the United States, Russia, France and the United Kingdom, and, according to Rocca, “create a new norm for other states possessing nuclear weapons.” Nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons derive power through the splitting of uranium or plutonium atoms, a process that releases large amounts of energy. These fissile materials are used for a variety of civil and military purposes.

At the same time, Rocca said a new treaty would not place any new demands on non-nuclear states that have signed the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. “Those states are already obligated not to produce fissile material for nuclear weapons purposes,” she told her Internet audience.

U.S. OBSERVING A 20-YEAR MORATORIUM ON NUCLEAR TESTING

Rocca also was asked why the United States does not support the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. She pointed out that the U.S. Senate did not give its consent to the treaty because of verification concerns. The Bush administration opposes it for this and other reasons and will not pursue it further.

Nevertheless, Rocca said, the United States still observes a nuclear testing moratorium and encourages other nations to do the same. The United States has no plans to conduct a nuclear explosive test and relies on the Energy Department’s Stockpile Stewardship Program to ensure the safety and reliability of the nuclear stockpile.

Even though the United States has chosen to remain outside the treaty framework, it still supports the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization’s Preparatory Commission working groups as appropriate, as well as the Provisional Technical Secretariat for the International Monitoring System and related activities.

Rocca also drew attention to U.S. efforts to advance the overall disarmament agenda. In 2004, President Bush announced a dramatic phased reduction in the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, projecting it would drop by 2012 by half of what it was in 2001.

But by December 2007 that goal was achieved -- five years ahead of time. Consequently, Bush directed officials to cut the overall U.S. nuclear stockpile by another 15 percent by 2012.

Additionally, the United States has worked with other nations, including Russia, to reduce their nuclear stockpiles. For example, Rocca said, the United States “has given billions of dollars in assistance to Russia, not only to help it dismantle its nuclear weapons safely, but also to provide meaningful employment to thousands of employees in its nuclear complex.”

TRANSPARENCY IN OUTER SPACE

Asked about weapons in space, Rocca expressed U.S. support for four core space-related treaties: the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, the 1968 Rescue Agreement, the 1972 Liability Convention and the 1974 Registration Convention. Beyond this international legal framework, she said, the United States is opposed to any new, binding space arms control agreements.

The United States takes its existing treaty obligations relating to space seriously, and, Rocca said, “it is transparency of actions by space-faring nations that can make the single most important contribution to strengthening security and cooperation in outer space.”

See the transcript of Rocca’s webchat.

back to top ^