New Agenda Coalition

New Agenda Coalition

The New Agenda Coalition (NAC), composed of Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, and Sweden, is a geographically dispersed group of middle power countries seeking to build an international consensus to make progress on nuclear disarmament, as legally called for in the nuclear NPT.

Contents

Founding

The group was formed in response to the North-South divide that stymied talks on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation within the framework of the NPT. Non-nuclear weapon states believed that not enough progress was being made on disarmament to have warranted the Indefinite Extension of the treaty in 1995, and that the nuclear weapons states were not fulfilling their legal responsibilities towards disarmament, as outlined by Article VI of the NPT.

The NAC was officially launched in Dublin in June 1998, with a Joint Declaration [1] by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, and Slovenia, the latter of which subsequently left the Coalition.

On June 9, 1998, an 18-point declaration entitled "A Nuclear-Weapons-Free World: The Need for a New Agenda" was signed by the governments of the eight nations of Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Slovenia, South Africa, and Sweden to shape foreign policy around the goal of "the elimination of nuclear weapons and assurance that they will never be produced again." Of particular concern to the signatories are the states who have refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The Nuclear Free World Policy is considered by many and in the text of the agreement to be a "fundamental and requisite step" following from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. New Zealand's stand on nuclear issues was a step on the way towards the Nuclear Free World Policy.

The key reason for countries that signed the Nuclear Free World Policy:

1. We, the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Slovenia, South Africa and Sweden have considered the continued threat to humanity represented by the perspective of the indefinite possession of nuclear weapons by the nuclear-weapon states as well as by those three nuclear-weapons-capable states that have not acceded to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and the attendant possibility of use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. The seriousness of this predicament has been further underscored by the recent nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan.

The nuclear weapon deployment is the main fear of these countries.[1]

History

In 2000, the New Agenda Coalition was instrumental in crafting a breakthrough in the NPT Review Conference. While prospects at the outset of the conference initially seemed bleak, the New Agenda Coalition put together a historic agreement outlined in the 13 Steps, in which the nuclear weapons states affirmed, in accordance with Article VI of the NPT, that nuclear disarmament can and should proceed independently of general disarmament, that the nuclear powers have a responsibility to work together on "an unequivocal undertaking" to eliminate their arsenals, and that 13 relatively simple steps could help rid the world of nuclear weapons quickly, verifiably, and irreversibly.

Since the 2000 Review conference, the New Agenda Coalition has submitted annual resolutions to the UN First Committee on Disarmament and International Security. Each of the Coalition's resolutions has been approved by the committee with overwhelming support. They also continue to advance position papers at the NPT review meetings and their preparatory meetings.

Notes

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • New Democrat Coalition — The New Democrat Coalition is a Congressional Member Organization within the United States Congress made up of Democrats who support an agenda that the organization describes as moderate and pro growth. A July 2009 Press release described the… …   Wikipedia

  • New Jewish Agenda — (NJA) was a multi issue membership organization active in the United States between 1980 and 1992 and made up of about 50 local chapters. NJA s slogan was a Jewish voice among progressives and a progressive voice among Jews. New Jewish Agenda… …   Wikipedia

  • New Deal — This article is about the 1930s economic programs of the United States. For other uses, see New Deal (disambiguation). Top left: The Tennessee Valley Authority, part of the New Deal, being signed into law in 1933. Top right: Franklin Delano… …   Wikipedia

  • New Deal (disambiguation) — The New Deal was Franklin D. Roosevelt s legislative agenda for rescuing the United States from the Great Depression. New Deal may also refer to: New Deal (United Kingdom), a program of United Kingdom government policies focused on unemployment… …   Wikipedia

  • New South Wales state election, 1991 — 1988 ← 25 May 1991 (1991 05 25) …   Wikipedia

  • New Zealand–United States relations — New Zealand–American relations United States …   Wikipedia

  • New South Wales state election, 1995 — 1991 ← 25 March 1995 (1995 03 25) …   Wikipedia

  • Coalition of the Willing (Jericho episode) — Coalition of the Willing Jericho episode Episode no. Season 1 Episode 21 Directed by Guy Norman Bee Written by Frank MIl …   Wikipedia

  • New Zealand voting method referendum, 2011 — 2009  ← 26 November 2011 (with election) …   Wikipedia

  • COALITION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF JEWISH EDUCATION — (CAJE; formerly Coalition for Alternatives in Jewish Education). The Coalition for Alternatives in Jewish Education (CAJE) was conceived in Boston in 1975 by a group of graduate students from the North American Jewish Students Network, whose… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”