By Bernama,
New Delhi : Cautioning about “growing risk” of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists or extremists, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday said all countries must ensure that “dangerous hands” are denied atomic material and technology.
He advocated the need for “truly collective approaches” internationally to ensure universal nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation in a time-bound manner and expressed India’s readiness to contribute in this regard.
Underlining that India has “no intention” to engage in an arms race with anyone, the Prime Minister, who was quoted by the Press Trust of India (PTI) on Monday, said that New Delhi is “fully committed to nuclear disarmament that is global, universal and non-discriminatory in nature”, a goal which will enhance security of all countries.
“The painful reality is that the goal of global disarmament, based on the principles of universality, non-discrimination and effective compliance, still remains a distant one,” he said while inaugurating a conference ‘Towards a World Free of Nuclear Weapons’ here.
“Even more disturbing, however, is the emergence of new threats and challenges to global security,” Singh said and referred to the “growing risk that nuclear weapons may be acquired by terrorists or those driven by extreme ideologies.”
He also cautioned about the “increasing danger of non-state actors accessing nuclear materials and devices, development of new weapon systems based on emerging technologies which pose challenges to space security and provide new roles for nuclear weapons.
He also pointed at the weakening multilateralism even as bilateral arms control processes falter in shifting strategic landscapes.
The Prime Minister hoped that other countries would join India in committing to nuclear disarmament and agree to a dialogue on the proposals New Delhi has made to the UN on nuclear disarmament.
The proposals, which retain the “spirit and substance” of the Action Plan proposed by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1988, include reaffirmation of unequivocal commitment of all nuclear weapon states to the goal of complete elimination of atomic weapons and reduction of salience of nuclear weapons in security doctrines, he said.
The proposals also include negotiation of a global agreement on ‘no-first-use’ of nuclear weapons and a convention on complete prohibition of use or threat of use of nuclear weapons besides prohibition of production and stock-piling of nuclear weapons.
He said a “critical first step” was the commitment by all countries, “preferably a binding legal commitment through an international instrument, to eliminate nuclear weapons within a time-bound framework.”
Besides this “general commitment” to nuclear disarmament, “we need strengthened non-proliferation commitments such as on denying nuclear material, technology and equipment to terrorists,” Singh said.
“Pending global nuclear disarmament, all states must ensure that they do not allow proliferation of sensitive technologies into dangerous hands,” he said.
“We need a truly collective approach anchored in a universal partnership that is supported by non-governmental communities and public opinion,” the Prime Minister said.