§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; and if he will make a statement. [136700]
§ Mr. MacShaneThe Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) remains the cornerstone of the nuclear non-proliferation regime and receives the wholehearted support of the UK and the vast majority of the international community— indeed it has the greatest membership of any arms control treaty.
The NPT currently faces a number of challenges. It is not yet universal, and the UK continues to urge Israel, India and Pakistan to accede to the Treaty as non-nuclear weapon states. We are also concerned about North Korea's admission of a uranium enrichment programme and its announced intention to withdraw from the Treaty. This issue can only be resolved by DPRK's strict compliance with the NPT and full implementation of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.
The NPT has survived many challenges in its 33-year history and it remains a strong Treaty. The UK looks forward to participating fully in the 2004 NPT Preparatory Committee and the Review Conference in 2005.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to affirm negative security assurances given at the 1995 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference; and if he will make a statement. [136701]
§ Mr. MacShaneThe UK remains fully committed to the negative security assurance we gave in 1995. This negative security assurance was noted by the UN Security Council in its Resolution 984.