United Nations, April 13: UN chief Ban Ki-moon said he would use his attendance at Monday’s nuclear security summit in Washington to press anew for a ban on the production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons.
Calling nuclear terrorism “one of the greatest threats we face today,” the UN secretary general told reporters here ahead of his departure for the summit hosted by US President Barack Obama that he would call for a start to talks on a treaty banning such materials.
“I repeatedly urged the (UN-backed) Conference on Disarmament to immediately start negotiations on a treaty banning the production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons and other explosive devices,” Ban noted.
“That is why in Washington I will call on all world leaders to come together perhaps at the United Nations in September to further advance this essential” goal, which is a key step toward nuclear disarmament,” he added.
Last year, the 65-nation Conference on Disarmament in Geneva agreed to a work plan that included launching talks on a fissile material cutoff treaty that would ban the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons purposes.
But progress has stalled in part because of opposition from nuclear-armed Pakistan, which is reluctant to accept any measures that might alter its strategic balance with rival and nuclear-armed India.
Fissile materials, mainly highly enriched uranium (HEU) and plutonium, are the essential ingredients for building nuclear weapons and powering nuclear reactors.
India and Pakistan, along with possibly Israel and North Korea, are the only states that continue to produce fissile material for nuclear weapons.
The United States, Britain, Russia, and France have officially declared an end to their production for weapons. China has unofficially halted its output.
In Washington, Obama was later Monday to host a 47-nation summit aiming to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terror groups and warning of a grave and growing threat to the planet.
During the two-day meeting, Obama was to seek firm pledges on securing loose nuclear material in weapons, atomic reactors and stockpiles within four years.
–Agencies