Q: Why are some countries allowed nuclear weapons, but other countries are not?
—Rick Callaway, Snellville
A: Considering the devastation a nuclear war would have on all mankind and believing the proliferation of nuclear weapons would greatly increase the danger of such a war, the international Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons was adopted in 1968. The treaty went into force in 1970, and was reviewed every five years until 1995, when it was decided that it should continue in force indefinitely. According to the U.S. State Department, 190 countries have subscribed to the treaty.
In short, the treaty “aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to foster the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of disarmament” according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Under the treaty, countries that already had nuclear weapons at the time “will move toward disarmament; countries without nuclear weapons will not acquire them; and all countries can access peaceful nuclear technology,” the State Department website states.
However, not every country signed the treaty, or has remained a signatory in the treaty’s nearly 50-year history. North Korea, for example, was once a part of the treaty, but withdrew in 2003. Of the nine nations thought to currently possess nuclear weapons, five – the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and China – had nuclear weapons prior to 1970 and are treaty members. The other four – India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea – are believed to have attained nuclear weapons later and are not signatories.
In addition to the non-proliferation treaty, other efforts have been made to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and reduce the worldwide nuclear arsenal, including the Sept. 20, 2017, signing by 50 countries of a nuclear weapons ban treaty. However, none of the world’s nuclear nations have signed onto that treaty.
Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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