The 108th Inter-Parliamentary Conference,

Convinced that nuclear non-proliferation and prohibition of the development, production and stockpiling of chemical and bacteriological (biological) weapons and their elimination, through effective measures, will facilitate general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control,

Concerned at recent developments in arms control, disarmament and the access to weapons of mass destruction, not least in consideration of the risk that such weapons may fall into the hands of terrorists,

Also concerned that certain States do not fulfil the commitments made with respect to weapons of mass destruction, and deeply concerned at recent serious incidents of non-compliance with international treaties and/or UN Security Council resolutions regarding the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,

Stressing the need for confidence-building measures (information sharing and inspections) as suggested by the United Nations Department of Disarmament Affairs,

Reaffirming the crucial importance of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as the cornerstone of the international régime for nuclear non-proliferation and as an essential foundation for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament,

Wishing to help achieve the purposes and enforce the principles of the United Nations Charter,

Recalling the various IPU resolutions adopted recently on this matter, in particular, "Parliamentary action to encourage all countries to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty prohibiting all nuclear testing, to encourage universal and non-discriminatory nuclear non-proliferation measures and to work towards the eventual elimination of all nuclear weapons" (101st Conference in Brussels, April 1999), "To comprehensively ban nuclear weapons testing and halt all present nuclear weapons tests" (94th Conference in Bucharest, October 1995) and "The importance of adhering to the obligations specified in the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons" (91st Conference in Paris, March 1994),

Determined to resolve these issues peacefully, and contribute, for the stability of the world, to international cooperation to strengthen non-proliferation mechanisms for nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, and missiles,

1. Reaffirms the importance of achieving universal accession to the NPT, and of States not party to the NPT acceding to it promptly and unconditionally as non-nuclear-weapon States, and of all States party to the NPT fulfilling their obligations under the Treaty;

2. Also reaffirms the importance of achieving the universal prohibition of chemical and biological weapons, and calls on States not party to the relevant international treaties to accede to them promptly and unconditionally;

3. Calls on all States to comply with international treaties on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation and the prohibition of biological and chemical weapons and to adopt stringent national legislation, where it does not already exist, for their implementation;

4. Also calls on all States to redouble their efforts to prevent and curb the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, confirming and strengthening their policies not to transfer equipment, materials or technology that could contribute to the proliferation of such weapons, not least in the hands of terrorists;

5. Reaffirms the importance for all States to fulfil their obligations under the relevant UN resolutions on the weapons of mass destruction;

   A. Nuclear weapons

6. Calls on States which have decided to withdraw or are contemplating withdrawing from the NPT to retract the decision and to comply with all their obligations to the international community regarding the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, under the NPT, the IAEA Safeguards Agreement and all other relevant international commitments;

7. Calls on all Member States not to hinder the activities of States party to the NPT relating to the use of nuclear energy and technology for peaceful purposes, in accordance with the provisions of the relevant disarmament instruments;

8. Urges States not party to the NPT to accede to it immediately and unconditionally;

9. Also urges all States to take effective action to achieve the total elimination of nuclear weapons;

10. Calls on the international community to facilitate the creation of zones free from weapons of mass destruction;

11. Agrees that further reductions of non-strategic nuclear weapons should be accorded priority and be included in the overall arms reduction negotiations;

12. Calls on all States which have not yet done so to conclude comprehensive safeguard agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and to conclude additional protocols to their safeguards agreements (on the basis of the Model Protocol);

13. Urges all States to accede to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty;

    B. Chemical weapons

14. Also urges States party to the Chemical Weapons Convention to implement its provisions fully and without delay;

15. Encourages all the parties concerned to consider the use of challenge inspections as a way of verifying compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention;

    C. Biological and toxin weapons

16. Urges all States which have not yet done so to accede to the 1925 Geneva Protocol;

17. Appeals to the States party to the 1925 Geneva Protocol that submitted reservations to withdraw them at their earliest convenience;

18. Urges parliamentarians to use all the mechanisms of parliamentary diplomacy to promote broader accession to the 1925 Geneva Protocol and to have any reservations attached to it withdrawn;

19. Urges all States which have not yet done so to accede to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction;

20. Urges all States signatories to the aforementioned Convention to ratify it as soon as possible;

21. Urges parliamentarians to use all the mechanisms of parliamentary and inter parliamentary diplomacy to promote broader accession to the Convention;

22. Urges the parties to the Convention on biological weapons to make efforts to establish a more effective control mechanism for the verification of the Convention;

23. Urges that measures be undertaken to ensure national implementation of the prohibitions provided for in the Convention;

24. Calls on parliaments and parliamentarians to identify the causes of failure to implement the Convention at the national level and the requirements for improving such implementation;

25. Urges national parliaments to exchange information on best practices for national implementation and parliamentary oversight of implementation through the interaction of parliamentarians dealing with such aspects of legislation and oversight on parliamentary committees;

26. Also urges parliaments to raise awareness of the need to strengthen national and international preparedness to fight the deliberate spread of disease, both man-made and naturally occurring;

27. Is convinced that such awareness-raising efforts should be undertaken in close cooperation with the relevant international organisations, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC);

28. Recommends that in specific areas and regions, parliaments and the IPU monitor the deliberate spread of disease;

    D. Missiles

29. Calls on all States to exercise maximum self-restraint when conducting their missile activities, for the sake of regional and global peace and stability;

30. Invites States to consider adherence to The Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation and endeavour to make it a legally binding instrument;

    E. Export control

31. Calls for the strengthening of export control and the multilateral export control régimes, not least in fighting terrorism;

32. Calls on the United Nations – even though depleted uranium is not a weapon of mass destruction, but in view of its long term effects – to establish an additional protocol to the Geneva Convention of October 1980 known as the "Convention on Inhuman Weapons" to prohibit the use of depleted uranium weapons and cluster bombs;

33. Reminds the international community of the importance of doing its utmost to resolve peacefully the issues mentioned in this resolution and of expressing its firm commitment to international cooperation on such issues and to contribute to the peace and stability of the world, through dialogue between parliamentarians and cooperation with the relevant international organisations;

34. Invites the Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union to contact on an annual basis the parliaments which have not ratified the international treaties mentioned in the present resolution with a view to encouraging them to do so.

---

Note: you can download a complete electronic version of the brochure "Results of the 108th Conference and related meetings of the Inter-Parliamentary Union" in PDF format (file size approximately 380K). This version requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download free of charge.

HOME PAGEIPU ASSEMBLYMAIN AREAS OF ACTIVITYIPU STRUCTURE AND DOCUMENTS