Towards a nuclear weapon-free Southern Hemisphere: Jorge Alvarez suggests that the possibility of establishing a nuclear weapon-free zone in the southern hemisphere has good prospects.

• Author: Alvarez, Jorge
• Position: Statistical Data Included

It was only in 1995 that Brazil introduced for the first time a draft resolution at the United Nations to establish a nuclear weapon-free zone in the southern hemisphere and adjacent areas. Since then, its sponsors have maintained their efforts hoping that it would continue to enjoy and gain broad support. Interestingly, in 2000 New Zealand joined Brazil together with more than 70 states, and the draft resolution brought some important changes. It included a call for the total elimination of nuclear weapons, which as we all know is at the core of nuclear disarmament and the nuclear weapon-free zones initiative.

The sponsors, including Mexico and several of the Asia-Pacific nations participating in this regional conference, were convinced that that should not cause concern to any states parties of the Non-proliferation Treaty, due to the significant developments of recent years, where in fact, in several parts of the world, the nuclear option had already been ruled out.

The initiative contained in the draft resolution was aimed at achieving the recognition of the General Assembly, for the fifth consecutive year, of the progressive emergence of a southern hemisphere nuclear-free zone. Such recognition has to be considered as a confirmation of the commitment of the international community towards nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament.

The draft resolution does not seek to create new legal obligations, nor does it contradict any norm of international law applicable to navigation, such as those contained in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The changes introduced did not touch on the language of the law of the sea. The resolution called on states that had not done so to move towards ratifications of the nuclear weapon-free zones treaties and their protocols.

These efforts attempt to strengthen the concept of a nuclear weapon-free southern hemisphere, a concept that is based on the Antarctic Treaty and the current Tlatelolco, Pelindaba, Bangkok and Rarotonga nuclear-free zones. The resolution aims to lay down concrete measures for promoting nuclear non-proliferation and the strengthening of a universal nuclear weapon-free regime. The establishment of those nuclear-free zones in different areas of the world has generated not only trust and confidence among countries but also, even more so, an understanding that the geographical space covered by such zones could lead to a demonstration of the readiness of countries to proclaim the whole of the southern hemisphere a nuclear weapon-free zone.

Fundamental assumption

These recent efforts were built on the fundamental assumption that there had been some significant successes in nuclear disarmament, although not enough progress had been made. The NPT had not been extended unconditionally; but such an outcome would be inconceivable without some essential agreements being reached between the nuclear weapon states and the non-nuclear weapon states. Those agreements covered the NPT's universality and had put in place some useful commitments that gave space for entering into negotiations...