United States

Statement to the NPT Review Conference, 3 May 2010

SECRETARY CLINTON: I want to thank the Secretary General, Director General Amano,
Ambassador Cabactulan, for their outstanding leadership in pulling together this Review Conference
and addressing the challenges of nuclear proliferation.
As you know, President Obama has made reducing the threat posed by nuclear weapons and materials a
central mission of our foreign policy, and the NPT lies at the core of that mission. I want to begin by
reading a section of the message that President Obama has sent to this conference:
“For four decades, the NPT has been the cornerstone of our collective efforts to prevent the
proliferation of nuclear weapons. But today, this regime is under increasing pressure. A year ago in
Prague, I therefore made it a priority of the United States to strengthen each of the treaty’s key pillars
as we work to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and to pursue the peace and security of a world
without them.
“Today, the eyes of the world are upon us. Over the coming weeks, each of our nations will have the
opportunity to show where we stand. Will we meet our responsibilities or shirk them? Will we ensure
the rights of nations or undermine them? In short, do we seek a 21st century of more nuclear weapons
or a world without them? These are the questions we must answer and the challenges we must meet. At
this conference and beyond, let us come together in partnership to pursue the peace and security that
our people deserve.”
Now, President Obama and I know that there are many different perspectives and historical experiences
represented in this room. We know there are doubts among some about whether nuclear weapons states,
including my own country, are prepared to help lead this effort. I am here to tell you as clearly as I can:
The United States will do its part. I represent a President and a country committed to a vision of a
world without nuclear weapons and to taking the concrete steps necessary that will help us get there.
And along with my delegation, I come to this conference with sincere and serious proposals to advance
the fundamental aims of the NPT and strengthen the global nonproliferation regime.
Now, President Obama and I have spoken often of rights and responsibilities, and for us that’s not just a
slogan; it is the guiding principles of our efforts. We recognize the rights of all countries in compliance
with the treaty to realize the benefits of nuclear energy. And we recognize our responsibility to commit
the resources that will help spread those benefits as widely as possible.
We also recognize our responsibility as a nuclear weapons state to move toward disarmament, and that
is exactly what we are doing. And as we work to uphold our end of the basic bargain of the NPT, we
are asking all signatories to do the same, to work with us to strengthen global nonproliferation rules and
hold accountable those who violate them.
So as we begin this conference, let’s remember why we are here, because it is easy to get lost in the
jargon and the technical disputes. But there is a deeper mission here to create a safer world where all of
our children and grandchildren can realize their God-given potential without the threat of nuclear
proliferation.
This meeting comes 40 years after the NPT first entered into force. At that time, the world was at a
crossroads. President Kennedy had warned that by the year 1975, up to 20 countries might have nuclear
weapons, and many said that nuclear proliferation was inevitable. Well, today we can be grateful that
this treaty helped dispel the darkest predictions of that era and that a nuclear weapon has not been used
in those four decades.
Yet as we recognize the significance of the NPT, we must also acknowledge that like our predecessors
40 years ago, we stand at a crossroads too. Once again, we face the prospect of a new wave of
proliferation. Once again, we hear claims that the spread of nuclear weapons is unavoidable. And once
again, some say we must learn to live with the fear and instability of a world with more and more
nuclear-armed states and networks.
Now, today, the vast majority of states are living up to their nonproliferation obligations. But a few
outliers have demonstrated a determination to violate the rules and defy the international community.
During the past decade, one state said it was withdrawing from the NPT after being caught cheating
and subsequently announced two nuclear tests. Another has cynically claimed to be abiding by the
treaty while violating its safeguards, expanding its enrichment program, failing to cooperate with the
IAEA, and ignoring the injunctions of the Security Council.
But amid these challenges, once again, most nations have the opportunity to choose a different path.
And the message that President Obama delivered in Prague last year has a new urgency. Rules must be
binding. Violations must be punished. Words must mean something. And the world must stand together
to prevent the spread of these weapons. Now, at this conference, it is time for a strong international
response.
These Review Conferences have been held every five years for the last four decades, but too often they
have fractured along familiar lines: nuclear weapons states versus non-nuclear-weapons states, or the
Western Group versus the Non-Aligned Movement. Instead of working together to meet a common
challenge, we have retreated into predictable positions to protect our presumed interest. This time must
be different. As one minister said to me, “We not only must think out of the box, we must think out of
the blocs.”
We know there are some countries who will choose not to be constructive. This morning, Iran’s
president offered the same tired, false, and sometimes wild accusations against the United States and
other parties at this conference. But that’s not surprising. As you all heard this morning, Iran will do
whatever it can to divert attention away from its own record and to attempt to evade accountability.
Ultimately, however, we will all be judged not for our words but for our actions. And we will all be
measured not by how assertively we claim our rights but by how faithfully we uphold our
responsibilities. And as the Secretary General said, in this regard the onus is on Iran. So far, it has failed
to meet its burden. Iran is the only country represented in this hall that has been found by the IAEA
Board of Governors to be currently in noncompliance with its nuclear safeguards obligations – the only
one. It has defied the UN Security Council and the IAEA, and placed the future of the nonproliferation
regime in jeopardy. And that is why it is facing increasing isolation and pressure from the international
community.
But Iran will not succeed in its efforts to divert and divide. The United States and the great majority of
the nations represented here come to this conference with a much larger agenda: to strengthen a global
nonproliferation regime that advances the security of all nations, to advance both our rights and our
responsibilities. So now is the time to focus on promoting practical solutions, not pursuing unrealistic
agendas. Now is the time to build consensus, not to block it. And I call on Iran to join with all the other
delegations represented at this meeting to go ahead and fulfill our international obligations and work
toward the goal of a safer world.
The stakes are as high as they were at the dawn of the NPT. And we cannot fall into the ruts left over
from old divisions. So rather than allow a small minority to focus attention on our differences, we must
acknowledge we are all in this together and set a course for 40 more years of progress to stem the tide
of proliferation, prevent the use of these weapons, and use nuclear power for the purpose of peace and
prosperity.
So to realize this goal, we must recommit ourselves to strengthening the three pillars of the
nonproliferation regime. And with respect to those three pillars – nuclear disarmament, access to
civilian nuclear energy, and nonproliferation – this Administration, the United States has led through
deeds, not simply through words. Our commitment to the NPT begins with our efforts to reduce the
role and number of nuclear weapons in our own arsenal. When President Obama came into office, he
recognized that the greatest potential danger facing the United States comes from a terrorist group like
al-Qaida obtaining a crude nuclear device, not from a global nuclear war. And we know that the threats
of the 21st century cannot be addressed with a massive nuclear stockpile. So we are taking irreversible,
transparent, verifiable steps to reduce the number of the nuclear weapons in our arsenal. Our new
START treaty with Russia will limit the number of strategic nuclear weapons deployed by our countries
to levels not seen since the 1950s. This agreement is consistent with the Secretary General’s call to
pursue nuclear disarmament through agreement on a framework of separate, mutually reinforcing
instruments.
Our Nuclear Posture Review ruled out the development of new U.S. nuclear weapons and new
missions and capabilities for our existing weapons. It also stated we will not use nuclear weapons
against non-nuclear-weapons states that are parties to the NPT and in compliance with their nuclear
nonproliferation obligations. We have made a commitment to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty, and we are ready – past ready – to start multilateral negotiations on a verifiable Fissile Material
Cutoff Treaty.
And today, I am announcing we will submit protocols to the United States Senate to ratify our
participation in the nuclear-weapon-free zones that have been established in Africa and the South
Pacific. Upon ratification, parties to those agreements will have a legally binding assurance that the
United States will not use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against them, and will fully respect the
nuclear-weapons-free status of the zones. And we are prepared to consult with the parties to the
nuclear-weapons-free zones in Central and Southeast Asia, in an effort to reach agreement that would
allow us to sign those protocols as well.
We support efforts to realize the goal of a weapons of mass destruction-free zone in the Middle East, in
accordance with the 1995 Middle East Resolution. The Middle East may present the greatest threat of
nuclear proliferation in the world today. Adherence to the NPT is not universal, and a few countries that
are parties to the NPT have violated their treaty obligations. But in spite of these difficulties, we want
to reaffirm our commitment to the objective of a Middle East free of these weapons of mass
destruction, and we are prepared to support practical measures that will move us toward achieving that
objective.
President Obama has made clear the Unites States will retain a nuclear deterrent for as long as nuclear
weapons exist, one that can protect our country and our allies. But we will continue to seek further
reductions and we will pursue concrete steps to improve the transparency of our nuclear arsenal.
Beginning today, the United States will make public the number of nuclear weapons in our stockpile
and the number of weapons we have dismantled since 1991.
So for those who doubt that the United States will do its part on disarmament, this is our record, these
are our commitments, and they send a clear, unmistakable signal. We are also committed to bolstering
another pillar: access to civilian nuclear energy. We unequivocally support the rights of states that are
in compliance with the treaty to access nuclear technology and energy for peaceful purposes. The
IAEA’s high-end projection for new nuclear capacity has nearly doubled since the last Review
Conference five years ago. And the United States wants to help expand the ability of all states to utilize
peaceful nuclear energy. Over the past decade, we’ve provided nearly $200 million to support the
IAEA’s Technical Cooperation Fund. We are the largest contributor to that effort. And it has helped
more than 100 countries develop or expand the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Today, the President has asked me to announce that the United States will make an additional
commitment of $50 million over the next five years for a new IAEA Peaceful Uses Initiative. We hope
other partners will match this contribution with an additional $50 million. We will use these resources
to improve health care and nutrition, manage water resources, increase food security, and help countries
develop the infrastructure for the safe and secure use of nuclear power.
We are pleased that the IAEA’s director general has made expanding use of civil nuclear energy for
humanitarian purposes one of his signature initiatives. The United States is also strengthening bilateral
technical cooperation arrangements with more than 40 states, particularly in the Middle East, North
Africa, and Southeast Asia.
But this treaty is weakened when a state flouts the rules and develops illicit nuclear weapons
capabilities. So as we pursue progress on these pillars, we must recommit our nations to bolster the
nonproliferation regime. When leaders of the IAEA ask for more resources and authority to carry out
their mission of verifying compliance with nonproliferation obligations, we must respond. When the
IAEA calls on states to sign and ratify an additional protocol to ensure that parties to the NPT are
meeting their treaty obligations, we must act.
But improving the IAEA’s ability to detect safeguard violations is not enough. Potential violators must
know that they will pay a high price if they break the rules, and that is certainly not the case today. The
international community’s record of enforcing compliance in recent years is unacceptable. So we need
to consider automatic penalties for the violation of safeguards agreements such as suspending all
international nuclear cooperation or IAEA technical cooperation projects until compliance has been
restored. And we must use all of the possible financial and legal tools to disrupt illicit proliferation
networks. That means tightening controls on transshipment and enhancing restrictions on transfers of
sensitive technology. We should also find ways to dissuade states from utilizing the treaty’s withdrawal
provision to avoid accountability.
Now, I am not proposing to amend the treaty to limit the rights of states to withdraw. But we cannot
stand by when a state committing treaty violations says it will pull out of the NPT in an attempt to
escape penalties and even pursue nuclear weapons. Parties to the NPT have invested decades in
building a global nonproliferation regime, and that work will be rendered meaningless if the
international community continues allowing nations to break the rules of the NPT with impunity.
Our work at this conference must provide a foundation for future actions, including strengthening
IAEA safeguards, negotiating a fissile material cutoff treaty at the Conference on Disarmament and
toughening enforcement against proliferation violations at the UN Security Council.
The last 40 years have proved that nuclear proliferation is not inevitable. We believe it can be stopped,
but it will take all of us here recognizing common dangers and finding common ground, rolling up our
sleeves and getting creative, taking practical steps together in the next month.
A lot of skeptics out there say that when countries gather at the United Nations, nothing happens but a
lot of words are used up. Well, it is up to us at this conference to prove those doubters wrong. Forty
years from now, our successors will mark the 80th anniversary of the Nonproliferation Treaty. And the
men and women, who gather on that occasion in the new building, once it is finally completed, will not
remember the words we speak today unless those words are matched by actions. But our children and
our grandchildren will live with the consequences of what we decide this month. Whether the world is
more or less secure depends on the path we take, and there is no greater reason than that to find a way
to act together and to act decisively.
Thank you very much. (Applause.)