Global Policy Forum

John Burroughs, executive director of the Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy in New York joined Global Policy Forum to discuss current debates over nuclear weapons, disarmament, and non-proliferation, and the laws global leaders have developed to address these pressing matters. Enforceable global rules will likely be necessary to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons - political will can only go so far. However, what is perhaps more important than the rules themselves is their legitimacy. International law must be applied to all equally if complete nonproliferation and disarmament are to become a reality. (Global Policy Forum)

The Israeli nuclear chief, Shaul Chorev, has said that Israel will not accede to the Non-Proliferation Treaty due to national security considerations. Chorev stated that the resolution tabled by Arab states and Iran at the IAEA conference that urges Israel to join the NPT ignores the adverse reality of the Middle East region. Moreover, he stated that the most serious threat to the NPT is posed by other Middle Eastern states that pursue nuclear weapons under the cover of their NPT membership. However, currently Israel is the only Middle East power believed to possess nuclear weapons. (Agence France Presse)

The new Start Treaty is the first nuclear arms control agreement with the Russians in almost a decade. It calls for the US and Russia to reduce their deployed warheads from 2200 to 1500 and ensures transparency of each other's arsenals. After 21 Senate hearings and briefings, the Foreign Relations Committee is finally scheduled to vote on the new treaty on Thursday. While this seems to be a rather simple and small step towards nuclear disarmament, the treaty faces strong resistance by some Republican Senators. Moreover, President Obama has pledged $80 billion over the next ten years to sustain and modernize the US nuclear complex. (New York Times)

The United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee postponed their vote to ratify the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.  US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the agreement in April, but many speculate that it will be difficult to get the 67 Senate votes necessary to ratify the treaty.  Conservative opponents argue that the agreement would hamper US plans to build missile defense systems and to modernize the US nuclear arsenal.  Many saw the new treaty as a success in the movement towards nuclear disarmament, but if the US Senate cannot gather the necessary votes, the US and Russia will remain without a treaty to ensure cooperation..(NPR)

The escalating tension between the US and North Korea has masked an emerging dispute between the US and South Korea over its use of nuclear energy.  South Korea derives 40% of its electricity from nuclear reactors, yet the government is unable to reprocess the used material because it is bound by a 1974 agreement with the US.  South Korea insists that it would use the plutonium from reprocessing only to power its nuclear reactors, but the US is concerned because the material can also be used to make atomic weapons.  Would allowing South Korea to reprocess or enrich the fuel set a precedent for other nations and encourage North Korea's nuclear weapons programs?  (New York Times)

The United States made little effort to push Israel, Pakistan and India to sign the "Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty" at last week's nuclear security summit in Washington. Obama, when asked about Israel, stated: "I'm not going to comment on their nuclear weapons program." In contrast, the Obama administration was scathing of Iranian and North Korean nuclear projects. The discussions in Washington precede the month long UN debate on nuclear security starting May 3rd.  (IPS)