Sixty three nations to sign new UN nuclear terrorism treaty
UNITED NATIONS, Friday (Reuters) - Sixty-three nations have agreed to
sign a new treaty against nuclear terrorism next week during a world
summit in New York, U.N. Legal Counsel Nicolas Michel said on Thursday.
The treaty, which would oblige governments to punish those who
illegally possess atomic devices or radioactive materials, was approved
by the 191-nation U.N. General Assembly on April 13 after seven years of
drafting. The accord is first global anti-terrorism convention since the
Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
Called the “International Convention on the Suppression of Acts of
Nuclear Terrorism,” it is meant to stop clandestine networks from using
or possessing nuclear weapons.
Once it is opened for signature, it must then be ratified by at least
22 nations before it can become international law.
Russia called for such a treaty in 1998 to keep nuclear weapons from
falling into the hands of terrorist groups.
At the time, Alexander Lebed, then the Russian national security
chief, said Moscow could not account for about 100 suitcase-sized
nuclear arms.
It obligates governments to prosecute or extradite individuals who
possess radioactive materials or nuclear devices or those who threaten
others while possessing such materials. |