Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 February 2006
153 Mr. O’Dowd asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has had discussions with India with regard to its status as a non-signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6844/06]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland has a long-standing policy of support for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, NPT, with which we have had a close association since Frank Aiken's initiative almost 50 years ago. We attach the utmost importance to its universalisation. India, Pakistan and Israel are the only three countries that have not signed the NPT and Ireland will continue to avail of every opportunity to call for their adherence to the treaty as non-nuclear weapon states — nationally, within the EU, and within the New Agenda Coalition, NAC, and at the UN. Ireland strongly supports United Nations Security Council Resolution No.1172 passed in June 1998 which, inter alia, calls on India and Pakistan to become parties to the NPT and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, CTBT, and to immediately stop their nuclear weapons development programmes, including the development of ballistic missiles capable of nuclear weapons delivery.
Under an EU Common Position, agreed in November 2003, all EU member states are legally obliged to promote the universalisation of key multilateral disarmament and non-proliferation agreements, including the NPT. In February 2004, my predecessor, Deputy Cowen, led an EU ministerial troika to India and, in line with this Common Position, emphasised our desire that India adhere to the NPT. At the NPT review conference in New York last May, I stated that it was a matter of serious concern that India, Israel and Pakistan continue to remain outside the NPT regime and I urged them to accede to the treaty unconditionally and at an early date. Such a call has also been made in recent statements by the EU.
In addition, Ireland, together with its partners in the NAC, introduced a resolution on the NPT to the first committee of the United Nations General Assembly last October. A separate vote was called on the paragraph in the resolution that urged India, Israel and Pakistan to accede to the treaty. The paragraph was supported by 148 countries. Last December, when the issue was taken up in the plenary of the General Assembly, 158 UN member states endorsed this call .On both occasions, however, India voted against the resolution. Most recently, the issue of India's nuclear programme was also raised during the Taoiseach's visit there last month. We will continue to press for the universalisation of the NPT and for India to accede unconditionally to the treaty.
