India opposes IPU resolution in NPT framework

New Delhi, Oct 17 (UNI) Dubbing the recent North Korean nuclear tests as 'unfortunate' and violative of the country's own international commitments, India today said it strongly believed that the best guarantee against nuclear proliferation of weapons of mass destruction lay in 'global disarmament'.

Making India's views clear at the the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU), leader of the Indian delegation and Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman K Rehman Khan said North Korean tests highlighted the dangers of clandestine proliferation and the threat posed by proliferation links across the regions. "Such proliferation links have affected our own security environment adversely and the world community needs to pay greater attention to this", Mr Khan told the IPU meeting at Geneva, Switzerland.

The Deputy Chairman, opposing a resolution calling for States not party to Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to accede to it, said India was consistent proponent of general and complete disarmament.

"The IPU resolution was cast in the NPT framework and detracted from the focus of resolution and the agenda," he said.

He said India was among those who advocated an international non-proliferation agreement under which nuclear weapon states would agree to stop production of fissile material for weapon purposes and move towards reducing and eliminating their nuclear weapons while other countries would refrain from developing or acquiring such weapons. In 1978, India proposed negotations for an interntional convention to prohibit the use or threat to use nuclear weapons. In 1988, the than PM Rajiv Gandhi, addressing the UN General Assembly, had put forward a comprehensive action plan based on principles of universality, non-discrimination and balance of obligations for the phased elimination of all nuclear weapons within a time bound framework.

He said India never assisted, encouraged or induced any country to manufacture nuclear weapons and it was firmly ensuring WMD usable materials, equipment and technologies do not fall into wrong hands -- States, non-State actors particularly terrorists. "India's record in this regard has been impeccable which has been recognised by the international community", he said.

Over the years, India has enacted a corpus of legislation dealing with activities of direct or indirect relevance to WMD, their means of delivery and related materials, equipment and technologies. It has an institutionalised administrative mechanisms to prevent unlawful access to such weapons and their delivery systems.

UNI MCN BST2120