Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty is ending in failure

A United Nations review of the &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/world/2003/01/11/41891.html ' target=_blank>Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty is ending in failure today, according to a Japanese delegate who said there is no agreement on new steps toward disarmament or measures to block nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea.

``We lost an opportunity to send out important messages on issues such as &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/printed.html?news_id=10578 ' target=_blank>North Korea, Iran and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty,'' Japanese envoy Mine Yoshiki told reporters at the UN. ``Some countries put the emphasis on nonproliferation, some on disarmament, and we could not get any agreement.''

None of the three committees created to deal with the issues of disarmament, proliferation, peaceful uses of nuclear energy and terms of withdrawal from the treaty presented a substantive report. Brazilian diplomat Sergio Duarte, president of the conference, began the last meeting by telling delegates there would be no comprehensive outcome document, informs Bloomberg.

According to ABC News, the conference approved the key sections of the final report Friday morning but deferred overall adoption until later in the day, when it would approve a financial section.

The members of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty convene only once every five years to assess the workings of the 1970 treaty and find ways to make it work better political commitments that give a boost to nonproliferation initiatives.

Under the nuclear pact, states without atomic arms pledged not to develop them, and five with the weapons the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China undertook to eventually eliminate their arsenals. The nonweapons states, meanwhile, were guaranteed access to peaceful nuclear technology.