May 27 (5:25 p.m. EDT)
No. 96

MINISTER PETTIGREW CALLS FOR RENEWED EFFORTS ON DISARMAMENT AND NON-PROLIFERATION FOLLOWING NPT REVIEW CONFERENCE

Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew today expressed regret at the failure of the 2005 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) to deliver concrete commitments on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. He called on the international community to address these issues with renewed vigour in other forums.

The conference was held in New York from May 3 to 27. Due to sustained procedural delays and an inability to find common ground for negotiation, NPT states parties were unable to agree on an outcome that would advance work on the core pillars of the treaty: non-proliferation, disarmament and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

“Canada’s objective remains to strengthen the authority and integrity of the treaty,” said Minister Pettigrew. “Canada will redouble its efforts with partners from all regions to address the non-proliferation and disarmament challenges that confront the international community. The solutions to these challenges are known. What is needed is concerted political will at the highest level to implement them. In this respect, the United Nations summit to be held in September provides a unique opportunity.”

Key measures that should be taken to enhance the disarmament and non-proliferation norms and peaceful use goals embodied in the NPT include:

•         resolving the impasse in the Conference on Disarmament in order to allow negotiation of a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons and consideration of other key disarmament issues;

•         achieving the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty;

•         promoting universal acceptance of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s comprehensive safeguards and its additional safeguards protocol as the standard for ensuring that the peaceful uses of nuclear energy do not contribute to the development of nuclear weapons; and

•         strengthening national export controls on nuclear technologies and international cooperation on new approaches to the nuclear fuel cycle that reduce proliferation risks.

Canada will continue to call on all NPT states parties to support and implement the commitments agreed to at the 1995 and 2000 review conferences. It will also work to promote institutional reforms that will empower NPT states parties to address crucial non-proliferation and disarmament matters in a timely and focused manner.

Canada’s statement to the closing session of the Review Conference can be found at http://www.disarmament.gc.ca/2005nptclosing-en.asp.

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For further information, media representatives may contact:

Sébastien Théberge
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
(613) 995-1851

Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs Canada
(613) 995-1874
http://www.international.gc.ca