IEER Conference: Nuclear Dangers and the State of Security Treaties United Nations, New York, April 9, 2002 Welcome and Introductions Michele Boyd Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Welcome to the opening session of Nuclear Dangers and the State of Security Treaties, hosted by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research. I would like to spend a few minutes telling you about IEER and why we are holding this conference during the first NPT Preparatory Committee meeting to the 2005 NPT Review Conference. IEER was founded in 1985 to further public involvement in the decision-making process on environmental and nuclear-related problems. Our aim is to democratize science by providing technical information and training to grassroots activists, policy-makers, journalists, and the public concerned about environmental and security issues related to nuclear weapons production and testing. We publish a quarterly newsletter in English called Science for Democratic Action, as well as an international version, called Energy & Security, in Russian, French, Chinese, and occasionally in Japanese, Taiwanese, and Spanish. Copies of our newsletters are posted on web site at www.ieer.org. Through our research reports, multilingual newsletters, training workshops, and media outreach, we provide our audience with the tools they need to address problems related to nuclear materials and technologies, as well as security issues. The objective of this conference is to examine the connection between the erosion of security treaties and the increase of nuclear threats. The basis for this examination is a report released last week by IEER and the Lawyer's Committee on Nuclear Policy, called Rule of Power or Rule of Law? An Assessment of U.S. Policies and Actions Regarding Security-Related Treaties. The full report is available on IEER's web site. This report developed from a dialogue over the last two years among several non-governmental organizations about the trend of powerful states to erode existing international legal regimes and to resist the development of new ones - to the detriment of global security, nuclear disarmament, international justice, human rights, and protection of the environment. The report focuses on U.S. policies, because it is a principal advocate of the concept of the rule of law, and because it played a leading role in the creation of many modern international legal institutions. At the 2000 NPT Review Conference, the states parties to the NPT - including the five nuclear weapons states - agreed to a 13-point plan for systematic and progressive actions for achieving nuclear disarmament. This plan includes such provisions as ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, U.S.-Russian reductions of strategic arms, and application of the principle of irreversibility to disarmament measures. Yet, since the Review Conference, the United States has announced its intention to abrogate the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty, despite the fact that Russia sees it as the cornerstone of arms control. The United States also published its Nuclear Posture Review, which includes plans for maintaining its large and modernized nuclear forces for the indefinite future. In other security-related areas, the United States has opposed the completion of negotiations on an international agreement to promote compliance with the Biological Weapons Convention, refused to seek ratification of the International Criminal Court, and withdrawn its support for the Kyoto Protocol. The fundamental approach of the report is that global problems should be solved through a rule-of-law approach that employs treaties as valuable instruments for the peaceful resolution of conflict, safeguarding of the long-term collective interests of societies and humanity, disarmament, protection of human rights, and protection of the environment. The rule of law means that all countries are equal before international law and all are accountable under it. It is crucial to the very idea of the rule of law that the most powerful should comply with the law even when it is difficult or costly or when a superiority of economic, military, and diplomatic power makes it seem unnecessary. In the nuclear arena, equality before international law requires that the nuclear weapons states honor their legal commitment to complete nuclear disarmament. Treaty regimes contribute to national and global security in many important ways. For example, treaties can articulate global norms, build monitoring and enforcement mechanisms, increase the likelihood of detecting violations and effectively addressing them, provide a benchmark for the measurement of progress, establish a foundation of trust and expertise, and provide criteria to guide states activities and legislation. In the first session of the conference, the principal co-editors of the report will discuss the findings and recommendations from the report. First, Nicole Deller will give an overview of the report and specifically discuss the Biological Weapons Convention Protocol, which the United States has rejected. Then Arjun Makhijani will talk about the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and Kyoto Protocol. According to IEER's research, the laser fusion facilities being undertaken by several nuclear weapons states, including the National Ignition Facility in the U.S., are illegal under the CTBT. The Kyoto Protocol is included in the list of security-related treaties, because climate change could have vast security implications. Finally, John Burroughs will address the United States' compliance with the NPT with regard to the Article VI commitment to disarmament, which was reaffirmed in the 13-point plan at the 2000 Review Conference. Non-proliferation is not possible without nuclear disarmament, as indicated by the NPT indefinite extension agreement made in 1995. Session II will address more generally the role of treaty compliance in preventing both state and non-state nuclear proliferation, including the function of treaties in international security, the role of the nonproliferation regime in preventing non-state nuclear proliferation and international law related to terrorism. The second part of Session II will examine technical issues related to nuclear proliferation, including nuclear materials, accounting and control and ending reprocessing, which are essential to a successful nonproliferation regime. The third session will be held this evening, starting with a reception at 6pm on the 2nd floor of the Church Center at 777 UN Plaza (on the corner of 44th St. and 1st Ave). We are very pleased to have UN Under-Secretary-General Jayantha Dhanapala give the keynote address on the Nonproliferation Treaty, nuclear disarmament, and terrorism. The second part of the evening session will focus on the recently released U.S. Nuclear Posture Review and the NPT. Alla Yaroshinskaya, a former Russian Duma member and currently president of the Ecological Center will speak on Russia's view of the NPR and nuclear proliferation. Admiral L. Ramdas, a former admiral of the Indian navy and currently chairperson of the Indian chapter of the India-Pak People's Forum on Peace and Democracy, will then address the South Asian view of the NPR. A portion of each session is dedicated to discussion. Schedules with the times and locations are available in the back of the room. Before turning this over to Nicole, I would like to take this opportunity to thank John Burroughs, the Executive Director of the Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy, for all of his help and advice in organizing this conference.