1. NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT AND NUCLEAR-WEAPON-FREE ZONES
The Seventh United Nations – Republic of Korea Joint Conference on Disarmament
and Non-proliferation Issues
Jeju Island, Republic of Korea
24-26 November 2008 by
ANDY RACHMIANTO
Deputy Director for International Security and Disarmament
Department of Foreign Affairs
Republic of Indonesia

2. HISTORY OF NUCLEAR WEAPON-FREE-ZONES (NWFZs)
→ The concept of NWFZ originated during the Cold War when the Soviet Union first introduced the idea of a NWFZ in Central Europe at the United Nations General Assembly in In 1958, the Polish government proposed a NWFZ covering Poland, Czechoslovakia, and both German states. Due to the Cold War deadlock, neither the Soviet suggestion, nor the "Rapacki plan" (named after the then-Polish foreign minister, Adam Rapacki) were realized.
→ In 1950s and 1960s, new initiatives for the establishment of a NWFZ were proposed in Europe, among others by Sweden, Finland, and Romania. These initiatives often stemmed from the desire to maintain a certain degree of sovereignty and independence from the Cold War super powers. However, none of these proposals were successful.
→ NWFZ means a zone completely without nuclear weapons. The role of NWFZs in strengthening the security of the states that belong to such zones was recognized when the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was negotiated.

3. → The UN General Assembly Resolution 3472 B (XXX), adopted on November 11, 1975, established a definition of NWFZs :
" A nuclear-weapon-free zone shall, as a general rule, be deemed to be any zone, recognized as such by the United Nations General Assembly, which any groups of states, in the free exercise of their sovereignty, have established by virtue of a treaty or convention whereby:
a. The statute of a total absence of nuclear weapons to which the zone shall be subject, including the procedure for the delimitation of the zone is defined;
b. An international system of verification and control is established to guarantee compliance with obligations derived from that statute."

4. EXISTING NUCLEAR WEAPON-FREE-ZONES (NWFZs)
→ Within the framework of NPT and the United Nations, there are now 5 (five) recognized NWFZs that are established by Treaties and recognized, namely:
The "Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean" (Treaty of Tlatelolco);
The "African Nuclear Weapon-Free-Zone Treaty" (Treaty of Pelindaba);
The “South East Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free-Zone” (Treaty of Bangkok);
The “South Pacific Nuclear Weapon-Free-Zone” (Treaty of Rarotonga);
The “Central Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone” (Treaty of Semipalatinsk)

5. OBJECTIVES AND PURPOSES OF NWFZs
The 1999 UN Disarmament Commission report which describes the charecteristics on the establishment of NWFZs, spelled out the objectives and purposes of NWFZs, as follows:
→ To enhance the security of member states within the zone.
→ To contribute to the strengthening of the international nuclear nonproliferation regime, and the total elimination of nuclear weapons as well as aims at general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.

6. PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINES OF NWFZs
→ The principles and guidelines for establishing a NWFZ have evolved over the years with experience and changes in the global political environment.
→ The 1999 Report of the UN Disarmament Commission on the "Establishment of nuclear weapon free zones on the basis of arrangements freely arrived at among the States of the region concerned" proposed the following principles and guidelines, which have since been endorsed by the UN General Assembly.

7. POSSIBLE FUTURE NWFZs → South Asia → The Middle East → Northeast Asia
Apart from the existing NWFZs, a number of new zones have been discussed and proposed, among others:
→ South Asia
→ The Middle East
→ Northeast Asia
→ Europe
→ North America

8. CONFERENCE OF STATES PARTIES TO NWFZs
→ Prior to the 2005 NPT Review Conference, the Conference was held in April 2005 in Tlatelolco, Mexico, and attended by over 100 states that are parties and signatories to the existing NWFZs;
The purpose of the Conference was to strengthen the NWFZ regime and contributing to the disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation processes, and in particular to analyze ways of cooperating that can contribute to achieving the universal goal of a nuclear-weapon-free-world.
The Conference issued a “Declaration for the Conference of NWFZs”.

9. NWFZs, NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT AND THE NPT
How is the relationship between NWFZs, Nuclear Disarmament and the NPT? → Nuclear disarmament as a “goal” and as a “process”. → Scope of application → Deployment of nuclear weapons → IAEA Safeguards → Security Assurances Does the existing NWFZs effective? → The Treaty of Pelindaba has not yet entered into force → The Bangkok Treaty has not been supported yet by any of NWS

10. CONCLUSION AND THE WAY FORWARD
→ Nuclear disarmament and NWFZs are mutually reinforcing and complementary as part of strengthening non-proliferation regime as well as global and regional security;
→ Encourage NWS and States parties to the existing NWFZs to continue to work constructively with a view to ensuring their early accession to the Protocols and the entry-into-force of such NWFZs;
→ NWFZs is a useful mechanism in addressing contemporary non-proliferation challenges. There is a merit to organize another Conference of States parties and signatories to the NWFZs and to issue a Joint Declaration;

11. References:
Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zones, Center for Non-proliferation Studies, Monterey Institute for International Studies;
2. Declaration for the Conference of Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zones, Tlatelolco, April 2005;
3. Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zones: Still a Useful Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Tool?, WMD Commission, 2005;
UNGA Resolution 62/31 – Treaty on the South-East Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone (Bangkok Treaty;
5. Dr. Lewis A. Dunn, “The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty: Toward a New Assesment”, prepared for Naval Postgraduate School, October, 2008