§ Linda PerhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to achieve multilateral decommissioning of nuclear weapons. [156076]
§ Mr. HoonAs a signatory to the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) the United Kingdom is committed to Article VI in which each State Party to the treaty
undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament…The UK anticipates that multilateral nuclear weapons decommissioning would take place within that context. Negotiations to implement Article VI have not yet commenced and are not scheduled. The way forward agreed by NPT States Parties at the 2000 NPT review conference is set out in the final document produced by that conference. The UK has made considerable progress on measures contained in the final document and will play a full role in the third session of the NPT Preparatory Committee in April this year.
519W