DYB2011-Part-II-web

Regional disarmament
now cover the regions of Latin America and the Caribbean, South Pacific,
South-East Asia, Africa and Central Asia. In addition, Mongolia has gained
international recognition of its nuclear-weapon-free status. 5 In terms of land
area, NWFZs comprise 84 million square kilometres of territory. In 2011, the
concept of NWFZs continued to enjoy wide support in the United Nations;
the General Assembly adopted without a vote three resolutions on NWFZs
relating to Africa, 6 the Middle East7 and South-East Asia. 8 Other significant
developments also took place during the year towards the strengthening of
existing zones and the creation of additional NWFZs.
On 11 March, following the initiative by the Government of the Russian
Federation in August 2010, the Russian State Duma approved the ratification
of the Protocols to the Pelindaba Treaty. 9 After ratification, the Russian
Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Ryabkov, clarified that several reservations
were attached to the endorsement of the Treaty, including its non-application
to the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia. 10
On 3 May, United States President Barack Obama submitted the protocols
of the Pelindaba and Rarotonga treaties to the Senate for ratification. This
action came a year after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced at the
2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation
of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) 11 that the Administration would move forward on
the ratification of these protocols, and it came 15 years after the initial signing
of those protocols. The White House also declared its intention to work with
the States parties to the Central Asian and South-East Asian NWFZs with a
view to signing the protocols to those treaties as soon as possible. 12
On 4 May, the First Ordinary Session of the African Commission on
Nuclear Energy convened in Addis Ababa. The purpose of the meeting was
5 The “Law of Mongolia on its nuclear-weapon-free status” was adopted by the parliament
of Mongolia on 3 February 2000 and entered into force on the same day (available from
http://www.embassyofmongolia.be/node/39 (accessed 13 June 2012)). On 12 January
2009, the General Assembly, at its sixty-third session, adopted resolution 63/56, entitled
“Mongolia’s international security and nuclear-weapon-free status”.
6 General Assembly resolution 66/23 of 2 December 2011.
7 General Assembly resolution 66/25 of 2 December 2011.
8 General Assembly resolution 66/43 of 2 December 2011.
9 The full title is African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty. The text and adherence status
are available from http://disarmament.un.org/treaties/.
10 Noël Stott, “The Treaty of Pelindaba: towards the full implementation of the African
NWFZ Treaty”. Available from http://unidir.org/pdf/articles/pdf-art3083.pdf (accessed
13 June 2012).
11 Treaty text and adherence status are available from http://disarmament.un.org/treaties/.
12 See the White House Office of the Press Secretary, press release, 2 May 2011 (available
from http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/2011african_msg_rel.pdf (accessed 13 June
2012)). See also the White House Office of the Press Secretary, “Statement on Nuclear Free
Zones in Asia and Africa”, 2 May 2011 (available from http://www.whitehouse.gov/
the-press-office/2011/05/02/statement-nuclear-free-zones-asia-and-africa (accessed
13 June 2012)).
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