[06/March/2010]

New York, March. 6 (Saba) Secretary General Ban Ki moon marked the 40th anniversary of the entry into force of the United Nations backed Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which forms the foundation of the world’s nuclear non proliferation regime, according to Bahrain News Agency (BNA).

The pact opened for signature in 1968 and went into force 40 years ago today. Since then, Ban said in a statement, the NPT has remained the cornerstone "for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament," as well as "a framework for promoting the peaceful uses of nuclear energy." Comprehensive safeguards agreements with the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are in place for 163 of the 190 non-nuclear-weapon States which have signed onto the Treaty.

Under these agreements, the IAEA can verify that a State is fulfilling its international commitments not to use nuclear programmes to develop nuclear weapons. In addition, 94 States parties have brought the IAEA Additional Protocol – which boosts the agency’s ability to ensure that a State does not have undeclared nuclear material – into force. That Protocol, the Secretary-General said, "contributes to increased transparency and serves a confidence-building role in regional and international security."

Saba