Nuclear States Must Work to Meet Nonproliferation Standards, Report Says from GSN Daily News by By Martin Matishak

WASHINGTON -- Nations known or suspected to hold nuclear weapons must do more to live up to their obligations under the modern arms control regime, an independent nonproliferation organization said today (see GSN, Nov. 18, 2009).
(Oct. 27) - An Indian nuclear-capable Agni 3 ballistic missile, shown on display in a parade last January. The independent Arms Control Association today graded nuclear-armed nations for their compliance with nonproliferation obligations (Raveendran/Getty Images).
The Washington-based Arms Control Association today issued its first-ever report card assessing how a number of countries have lived up to their existing nonproliferation commitments. Unlike similar documents issued by other groups, it refrains from making concrete suggestions on how better adhere to those goals.
The organization "set out to document what constitutes the mainstream of nonproliferation and disarmament behavior expected of responsible states," Daryl Kimball, the association's executive director, said this morning during an event at the National Press Club.
"Mainstream" refers to the body of obligations, standards and rules of behavior concerning nuclear weapons that has emerged and grown since the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty entered into force in 1970, he explained.
The 79-page report gives grades to the five nuclear powers recognized by the treaty: China, France, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom.
The study also provides marks to nuclear-armed states India, Israel and Pakistan. It examines North Korea, which has a developing weapons capability, and Iran and Syria, which have come under international scrutiny for possible military atomic activities.
None of the states received an overall "A" grade. North Korea, which has violated various nonproliferation and disarmaments norms over the last two years, earned the only "F" mark. Iran and Syria, which the association labels as "states of concern," both earned "D" grades.
The report measures the performance of the 11 nations in 10 "universally recognized" nonproliferation, disarmament and nuclear security categories over the last 18 months, lead researcher Peter Crail told the audience this morning.
Those categories, which were given equal weight by researchers, measured states' movement toward:
* banning nuclear-weapon test explosions;
* ending the production of fissile material for weapons;
* lowering nuclear weapons alert levels;
* verifiably reducing nuclear force size;
* assuring non-nuclear weapons states they would not be subject to nuclear attack;
* establishing nuclear weapon-free zones;
* complying with international safeguards against the diversion of peaceful nuclear activities for weapons purposes;
* controlling sensitive exports;
* implementing measures to improve the security of nuclear material and facilities; and
* criminalizing and preventing illicit nuclear trafficking and nuclear terrorism.
Those initiatives are recognized by a majority of governments as essential elements to the global nonproliferation regime, Kimball said. More at:
http://gsn.nti.org/gsn/nw_20101027_2483.php

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