§ Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent initiatives have been taken by the United Kingdom to strengthen the provisions of the nuclear nonproliferation treaty; and what actions have been taken by the United Kingdom pursuant to obligations under Article 6 of the NPT. [133308]
§ Mr. MacShaneThe United Kingdom believes that the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is the cornerstone of the nuclear non-proliferation regime. We welcome the increased emphasis on the crucial nonproliferation aspects of the NPT that was in evidence at the Second Session of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) earlier this year and intend to work with other NPT members to strengthen the effectiveness of measures against nuclear proliferation.
We continue to stress the utmost importance of compliance with the Treaty. For example, we urge the DPRK to dismantle its nuclear weapons programme and return to compliance with the NPT. We strongly believe in the need for the universalisation of the treaty, and we regularly call on those states that have not yet acceded to do so whenever we have the opportunity.
The UK also continues to play a full part in the NPT Review process, including most recently in the PrepCom in April and May this year. The UK issued a working paper at the PrepCom on its research into verification of nuclear disarmament and presented the conclusions of this interim study at a seminar during the PrepCom. We anticipate publishing a further paper for the 2004 session of the PrepCom and a consolidated paper at the Review Conference in 2005.