Need to pay closer attention to illicit rise of nuclear weapons network — India at UN

Speaking at a UNSC briefing on Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla said India is committed to the goal of complete elimination of nuclear weapons.

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla speaks at a UNSC meeting in New York, on 30 August 2021 | ANI File Photo

United Nations: India on Monday underlined the need for the international community to pay closer attention to the illicit proliferation of networks of nuclear weapons, their delivery systems, components and relevant technologies.

Addressing the UN Security Council Briefing on Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, held under the Irish Presidency, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla told the Council that India has actively supported and contributed to the strengthening of the global nuclear security architecture.

India is committed to the goal of a nuclear weapons-free world and complete elimination of nuclear weapons, consistent with the highest priority accorded to nuclear disarmament by the Final Document of the First Special Session of the UN General Assembly on Disarmament (SSOD-I), he said.

Shringla said India believes this goal can be achieved through a step-by-step process underwritten by a universal commitment and an agreed global and non-discriminatory multilateral framework, as outlined in India’s Working Paper on Nuclear Disarmament submitted to the UN General Assembly in 2006.

India participated in the Nuclear Security Summit process and has regularly participated in the International Conferences on Nuclear Security organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). India is also a member of the Nuclear Security Contact Group.

“There is a need for the international community to pay closer attention to the illicit proliferation of networks of nuclear weapons, their delivery systems, components and relevant technologies, he said.

Without prejudice to the priority we attach to nuclear disarmament, India has expressed its readiness to support the commencement of negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) in the Conference on Disarmament on the basis of the mandate contained in CD/1299, he said, adding that in this context, India has also participated in the work of the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on FMCT and the High-level Expert Preparatory Group (HLEPG) on FMCT.

As per the CD/1299, the Conference on Disarmament decides to establish an ad hoc committee on a “ban on the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices .

The Conference directs the Ad Hoc Committee to negotiate a non-discriminatory, multilateral and internationally and effectively verifiable treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.

Shringla said India has played a leading role in global efforts towards nuclear disarmament and was the first country to call for a ban on nuclear testing in 1954 and a non-discriminatory treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, as distinct from non-dissemination, in 1965.