P5 and IAEA’s global role

The leaders of France, the UK, and the United States remained firmly committed to the objectives contained in the statement of January 3, 2022, on preventing nuclear war and avoiding an arms race. This was observed by the British, French, and American representatives during a Ministerial meeting on Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in London on Monday. The three nations said that they recognize and act with a deep understanding that nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. The three allies further reaffirmed their aspirations and high stakes in preserving the record of nonuse of nuclear weapons since 1945. According to them, as nuclear weapons exist, they should serve defensive purposes, deter aggression and prevent war. The troika condemned those elements who would use or threaten to use nuclear weapons for military coercion, intimidation, and blackmail. According to western allies, such provocations are extremely dangerous and contrary to the purposes of NPT and the UN Charter. The western allies called on Russia to cease its irresponsible and dangerous nuclear rhetoric and behavior, uphold its international commitments, and commit in words and deeds, to the principle enshrined in the recent preventing nuclear war and avoiding arms race convention.

The Tenth NPT Review Conference has been kicked off in New York on August 1 and will continue until the 26th of this month. The NPT member states, international organizations, and the global community have gathered to discuss the achievements of the regimes, their failures, challenges, and weaknesses, along with the future course of action to make the world free from Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), to promote the peaceful use including generation of nuclear energy, nuclear treatment, pharmaceutical and agricultural use of nuclear technology under global regulations and monitoring.

As the international gathering began in New York, the troika of western nations, which enjoys dominance over the competing Russian Federation and the Peoples Republic of China within the privileged P5 bloc of nuclear powers in the global forum. Earlier, the group of five enjoyed complete dominance over the entire international community at all forums, and in all global treaties including the NPT, CTBT, FMCT, and others.

However, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the start of US-China rivalry in the Indo-Pacific waters, the group of five had split into two factions and western allies parted their ways with Russia and China. Recently, the western P3 vowed to defend NPT regimes and urged the Russian Federation to cease its nuclear intimidation of other nations and fulfill its commitments to the NPT regime and global peace.

Currently, the international community and the IAEA have several challenges relating to global peace and nuclear Non-Proliferation such as the revival of Iran’s nuclear deal, nuclear intimidation of North Korea, safety and protection of nuclear installations in war-hit Ukraine, tackling challenges of climate change and Global pandemics including COVID-19, Ebola, and monkeypox, etc. While enabling non-nuclear member states for Peaceful use of nuclear technology under IAEA’s Peaceful Uses Initiative (PUI) has become more urgent and decisive due to the disastrous effects of climate change. But the P5 has initiated a quandary among themselves which will surely interrupt the functioning of the IAEA. Hence, the Influential must not politicize the global body and should settle their differences in some other avenues in the larger interest of the world.