Nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament at the crossroads – a Mongolian perspective

ABSTRACT

Adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in July 2017 was a major event in the history of seven decades of policies and campaigns for non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament. In this, the role of non-nuclear weapon states (NNWSs) should not be underestimated. However, the treaty’s adoption would require bringing it into force by making use of the political momentum thus far generated. This will not be easy to do due to the position of the nuclear-weapon states and their allies. Hence, continued mutual support and cooperation among the NNWSs is vital, and working with the states under 'nuclear umbrella' will need to be pursued. The article also underlines the continued role of the civil society, both national and international, of nuclear weapon-free zones (NWFZs), and even of individual states contributing to practical nuclear disarmament. As an example of the latter, it examines Mongolia’s role and the challenges it faced when promoting its nuclear weapon-free status policy. The experience underlines the importance of greater understanding of the legitimate interests of each other and willingness to jointly address the issues of common concern, of working patiently in a low-key manner rather than pursuing immediate gains or headline-grabbing effects. The P5 joint declaration of 2012 regarding Mongolia’s status rules out using the country in future regional geopolitical rivalries and as such contributes to greater predictability, stability and confidence. The article also suggests the need for a renewed look at NWFZs from the perspective of twenty-first century technical developments and requirements.

KEYWORDS:

• Mongolia
• nuclear non-proliferation
• NWFZ
• treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Dr J. Enkhsaikhan is Chairman of Blue Banner, a Mongolian NGO dedicated to promoting Mongolia’s nuclear-weapon-free policy, and is the former Permanent Representative of Mongolia to the United Nations.

Notes

1 The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

2 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action regarding Iran’s nuclear programme concluded in 2015 between Iran on the one hand and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the US – plus Germany), and the European Union on the other.

3 Michael Crowley, ‘Nuclear experts fall in behind Obama: The deal with Iran exceeds historical standards for arms control agreements, 75 experts say’, Politico (18 August 2015).

4 See United Nations General Assembly resolution 1 (I) of 24 January 1946.

5 International practice shows that in exceptional circumstances states can also play a negative, detrimental role.

6 At that time the Conference on Disarmament used to be called Conference of the Committee on Disarmament.

7 Thus in Article 4 of the Treaty on Friendly Relations and Cooperation between Mongolia and the Russian Federation of 20 January the latter has committed that the Russian Federation would respect Mongolia’s ‘policy of not admitting the deployment on and transit through its territory of foreign troops, nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction’.

8 See UNGA resolution A/RES/53/77 D adopted without a vote. For detailed examination of the negotiation of the first UNGA resolution on the issue see J. Enkhsaikhan,‘Converting a Political Goal to Reality: The First Steps to Materialize Mongolia’s Nuclear-Weapon-Free Status’, Mongolian Journal of International Affairs 17 (2012): 16–56.

9 See UN document A/55/56-S/2000/160 of February 29, 2000.

10 In its unilateral statement of 5 April 1995 providing security assurance China stated that it pledged not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapons States and nuclear-weapon-free zones at any time or under any circumstances.