الحواشي
Second session Geneva, 28 April-9 May 2003 Working paper on preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons, submitted by China Preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons is an effective and essential step towards the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons. Nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament complement each other. The efforts made by the international community to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons form an indispensable part of the international nuclear disarmament process. All States should devote themselves to building a global security environment of cooperation and mutual trust and to ensuring common security for all members of the international community, thereby removing the incentives for certain States to acquire, develop and maintain nuclear weapons. This is a sine qua non for preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. All nuclear-weapon States should undertake not to be the first to use nuclear weapons and not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon States or nuclear-weapon-free zones at any time or under any circumstances and should conclude international legal instruments for that purpose. The application of double or multiple standards to the issue of the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons must be rejected. This is an important prerequisite for the success of non-proliferation efforts. All States should strengthen their dialogue on the basis of equality and international cooperation with a view to preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. All concerns about nuclear proliferation should be addressed in strict accordance with the obligations and procedures stipulated in the relevant international legal instruments. International disputes should be settled by political means rather than through recourse, at the least provocation, to the use or threat of force. This is the proper and effective way to deal with issues relating to preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The effectiveness and integrity of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) should be safeguarded. Each and every obligation of the NPT should be strictly complied with and fully implemented. Universal adherence to the NPT is a vital link in the process of preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. We welcome and appreciate the accession to the NPT by Cuba. Countries that have not yet acceded to the NPT are urged to do so unconditionally and at the earliest possible stage and to place all their nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards, in accordance with the Treaty. All countries should actively support the IAEA safeguards system, which provides an effective shield against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. To this end, they should give their support to the “integrated safeguards” systems being developed by the IAEA secretariat, which combine the traditional safeguards programme with strengthened safeguards measures. Those countries that have not yet signed an additional protocol to their safeguards agreement should speed up their negotations with IAEA to conclude such an additional protocol and ensure that it enters into force as soon as possible. On 28 March 2002, China notified IAEA that it had completed the required legal formalities for the Protocol Additional to the Safeguards Agreement and that the Protocol had now entered into force for China. China hopes that the other countries concerned can take positive steps in this direction. No restrictions should be placed on the legitimate rights of all countries to pursue the peaceful uses of nuclear energy or on international cooperation in this area in the name of preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The strengthening of nuclear export controls constitutes an important means of preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. In accordance with article 3, paragraph 2, of the NPT, all States parties should strengthen their controls on nuclear exports. Measures should be taken to prevent and counter nuclear terrorism. To this end, the physical protection of nuclear material and facilities should be strengthened. Every country should, in accordance with its own situation, enact and improve its domestic laws and regulations on such physical protection in order to prevent nuclear material from falling into terrorist hands and nuclear facilities from being targeted by terrorists. All countries should support the efforts of IAEA to prevent and counter nuclear terrorism.