Author: Edwin J. Nazario**
Published: March 1999
| Jurisdiction: International |
Topics: Categories of Disputes |
Description: The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (“NPT”), adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on June 12, 1968, is one of the most widely joined treaties in existence, with 185 countries as signatories. Originally the product of negotiations between the US and the former USSR, its chief goal is to prevent states that possess nuclear weapons from assisting other states in developing their own nuclear weapons. It also prohibits independent development of those weapons by non-nuclear weapon states. In addition, the NPT requires states that possess nuclear technology to assist other states in developing their own peaceful nuclear technology under international supervision. Indeed, the right of every state to benefit from peaceful atomic energy is recognized in the NPT and by its members.
*Notes & Comments
**J.D., Columbia University School of Law, 1998; associate, Chadbourne & Parke, Washington, D.C..