Summary Report of Outreach Event on "Nuclear Non-proliferation: Dream or Reality?" in Budapest, Hungary

VIENNA, 7 March: UNIS Vienna, in cooperation with the Hungarian Europe Society, a Budapest-based NGO and a new UNIS partner, organized an outreach event in the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary, on 6 March.

The lecture was part of UNIS Vienna's Phase II activities as the follow-up to the 2005 World Summit, and was based on feedback from participants at a UNIS Vienna Round Table held in Budapest in December 2005. The participants had expressed a desire for more information on United Nations work in the field of nuclear non-proliferation.

In line with that request, Tibor Tóth, Executive Secretary, Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), Erzsébet N. Rózsa, Senior Research Fellow at the Teleki László Institute (Centre for Foreign Policy Studies) and Tamás Lattman, Assistant Professor, Zrínyi Miklós University of National Defence (Department of Legal Studies) and Eötvös Loránd University (International Law Department) spoke on the subject: "Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament: Dream or Reality?" UNIS Director Nasra Hassan chaired and moderated the lecture. Prior to his current assignment, Mr. Tóth was serving as Permanent Representative of Hungary to the United Nations (Geneva).

In her opening remarks, Ms. Hassan introduced UNIS Vienna and its work. She pointed out that the issue of nuclear non-proliferation was more relevant today than ever before, and highlighted that the Secretary-General, in his report In Larger Freedom: Towards Security, Development and Human Rights for All, had said "the moratorium on nuclear test explosions must be upheld until we can achieve the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)."

In his presentation, Mr. Tóth briefly described the status of the CTBT and its main verification provisions. He introduced the verification work being done by the Preparatory Commission and its Secretariat in Vienna, and touched on the spin-off benefits of verification data, mentioning that the Secretariat was currently forwarding data on a test basis to tsunami warning centres. In his conclusion, he highlighted the significance of the CTBT in the wider non-proliferation context, saying that against the background of the ambiguity of dual-use goods and technologies and the right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy, the CTBT was an unambiguous instrument. "Nuclear weapons test explosions have only one purpose. Thus, the CTBT represents the point of no return before a nuclear weapons capability and it must be upheld," he added.

Ms. N. Rózsa, in her statement said that nuclear non-proliferation depended on the political will whether or not to have nuclear weapons. She felt that the success of the international regime that guided nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament issues (like the NPT, CTBT and other treaties) was demonstrated by the fact that the world had not witnessed any nuclear attacks since Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Ms. N. Rózsa said that with 187 parties, the NPT was the only international controls agreement in the arena that had almost reached universality.

Mr. Lattman spoke on "local proliferation" and elaborated on the principle of "mutually assured destruction", saying that relations between India and Pakistan had improved since they acquired nuclear weapons. He also said that it was largely political and not legal factors that guided countries when it came to nuclear issues.

The lecture was followed by an interaction between the participants and the audience. The issue of terrorists acquiring nuclear weapons was brought up by many in the audience, to which the panelists replied saying that it was not that easy to make or acquire a nuclear weapon, and that the events of 11 September had proved that terrorists could and would use other means.

Participants were also keen to know what the panelists thought of North Korea and its nuclear ambitions: Ms. N. Rózsa said it was definitely a critical issue, as very little was known about their programme.

The speakers and participants expressed their appreciation to UNIS Vienna for holding an event such as this one in Budapest, and also the timeliness and relevance of the theme. Approximately 40 participants, representing civil society, the diplomatic community, academia and media were present at the event.

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