Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference:
The Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference which was held in New York ended without adopting a substantive outcome due to Russia’s objection.
- Nuclear Proliferation Treaty is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to foster the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of disarmament.
- The treaty was signed in 1968 and entered into force in 1970. Presently, it has 191 member states.
- India is not a member.
- It requires countries to give up any present or future plans to build nuclear weapons in return for access to peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
- It represents the only binding commitment in a multilateral treaty to the goal of disarmament by the nuclear-weapon States.
- Nuclear-weapon states parties under the NPT are defined as those that manufactured and exploded a nuclear weapon or other nuclear explosive devices before 1st January, 1967.
- India is one of the only five countries that either did not sign the NPT or signed but withdrew later, thus becoming part of a list that includes Pakistan, Israel, North Korea, and South Sudan.
- India always considered the NPT as discriminatory and had refused to sign it.
- India has opposed the international treaties aimed at non-proliferation since they were selectively applicable to the non-nuclear powers and legitimised the monopoly of the five nuclear weapons powers.
