Written question asked by Mark Lazarowicz (Labour) on Tuesday, 17 April 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 19 April 2007. It was answered by Ian McCartney (Labour) on Monday, 23 April 2007 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress her Department has made on negotiations towards a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty; and what the key obstacles are to such negotiations.

Answer: The UK continues to push for the early start of negotiations, without preconditions, on a Fissile Material Cut off Treaty (FMCT) in the Conference on Disarmament (CD). The UK’s, and the wider EU’s, support for such a Treaty is well known. In the Common Position negotiated in advance of the 2005 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference (7768/05), the EU appealed to the CD for the immediate commencement and early conclusion of a non-discriminatory, universally applicable Treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. The UK welcomes the US initiative made in Geneva in May 2006 to table a draft treaty text and draft mandate for negotiations. We hope that all CD member states are able to accept the very broad mandate proposed and agree to open negotiations towards a treaty without delay.Progress has been blocked by some nations linking the start of FMCT negotiations to progress on other unrelated CD agenda items.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 132720; 459 c919-20W
Session: 2006-07
Related items: Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
Monday, 14 May 2007
Written questions
House of Commons
Subjects: Conference on Disarmament
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk