The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
June 20, 2005 U.S.-EU DECLARATION ON ENHANCING COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF
NON PROLIFERATION AND THE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM Promoting international peace and security is of vital importance to the United States and the European Union. People all over the world should have freedom from fear and want and live in dignity. Societies have become more interconnected and more interdependent. And as the events of September 11, 2001 and March 11, 2004 show, the United States and the European Union have also become more vulnerable to threats which are more diverse, less visible, and less predictable. Fighting terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, coupled with the risk that such weapons could be acquired by terrorists, remain our greatest security challenges. In this context, we recall the 2004 Dromoland Castle Declarations on Combating Terrorism and on the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, which still provide the framework for our cooperation. We are fully committed to strengthen and support the important role of the United Nations in assisting member states in combating both challenges. We reaffirm our commitment to cooperate in our efforts to combat global terrorism in full respect of human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law, and to address the underlying conditions that terrorists can seize to recruit and exploit to their advantage. We pledge to intensify our efforts to strengthen international cooperation to encourage the global and effective implementation of UN conventions and protocols on terrorism. We also work together with a view to adopting the Comprehensive Convention Against Terrorism. We broadly support the principles of the comprehensive counter-terrorism strategy as proposed by UNSG Annan at the Madrid Conference in March 2005. Our bilateral cooperation extends to developing comprehensive and efficient border security processes, more secure travel documents, contacts between our law enforcement agencies and improved information-sharing abilities. We will reinforce and expand our cooperation in the fight against terrorist financing. We will continue to strengthen the abilities of our legal systems to prosecute terrorists and will enhance our judicial cooperation in criminal matters. We will also continue our work to enhance the capacities of other countries to combat terrorism. We will further strengthen measures against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by state and non-state actors. In this context, we reaffirm our support for the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty and will continue to work together to strengthen it. We pledge to intensify our collaboration and coordination in promoting strict implementation of and compliance with relevant treaties, agreements and commitments on non proliferation. We will enhance the security of weapons-usable materials, facilities, and technology. We reaffirm also our willingness to work together to strengthen and universalise the disarmament and non-proliferation treaties and regimes that ban the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems. We will assist other states around the world to build stronger legal, regulatory, enforcement and other institutional capacity against proliferation. And we will work for more effective responses to address proliferation threats and prevent or remedy non-compliance. Our shared commitment to address proliferation threats is reflected in the "US-EU Joint Programme of Work on the Non-proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction. We remain united in our determination to see the proliferation implications of Iran's advanced nuclear program resolved. Towards that end, we reconfirm our full support for the ongoing European efforts to secure Iran's agreement to provide objective guarantees that its nuclear program is intended for exclusively peaceful purposes. As those discussions proceed, we urge Iran to abide fully by the terms of the November 2004 Paris Agreement and by the November 2004 IAEA Board of Governors resolution, including the need to suspend fully and verifiably all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities. We reiterate the need for Iran to cooperate fully with IAEA requests for information and access, to comply fully with all IAEA Board requirements and resolve all outstanding issues related to its nuclear programme. Finally we call on Iran to ratify without delay the Additional Protocol and, pending its ratification, to act in accordance with its provisions. We note with deep concern the DPRK's nuclear weapons program and its 10 February statement that it has manufactured nuclear weapons. The DPRK has clearly violated its commitments under the NPT and its IAEA safeguards agreement and other international non-proliferation agreements. The DPRK must comply fully with its non-proliferation obligations, and dismantle its nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons programs in a permanent, transparent, thorough, and verifiable manner. We stress that the Korean Peninsula should be free from nuclear weapons, the security and stability on the Peninsula be maintained and the nuclear issue be peacefully resolved through dialogue and negotiations. We fully reaffirm our support for the Six-Party Talks and believe this represents an important opportunity to achieve a comprehensive solution to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. (end declaration) (begin The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
June 20, 2005 JOINT STATEMENT BY THE
EUROPEAN UNION AND UNITED STATES ON THE JOINT PROGRAM OF WORK
ON THE NONPROLIFERATION OF WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION Proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their delivery systems continue to be a preeminent threat to international peace and security. This global challenge needs to be tackled individually and collectively, and requires an effective global response. We are fully committed to support in that respect the important role of the United Nations Security Council and other key UN institutions. The United States and the European Union are steadfast partners in the fight against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and will undertake several new initiatives to strengthen our cooperation and coordination in this important arena, even as we enhance our ongoing efforts. Building Global Support for Nonproliferation: The European Union and the United States will enhance information sharing, discuss assessments of proliferation risks, and work together to broaden global support for and participation in nonproliferation endeavors. We will increase transparency about our nonproliferation dialogues with other countries to ensure, to the extent possible consistency in our nonproliferation messages. We reaffirm our willingness to work together to implement and strengthen key arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation treaties, agreements and commitments that ban the proliferation of WMD and their delivery systems. In particular we underline the importance of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention and the Chemical Weapons Convention. We will increase our effort to promote, individually or, where appropriate, jointly, the universalisation of these Treaties and Conventions and the adherence to the Hague Code of Conduct against the proliferation of ballistic missiles. Reinforcing the NPT: The EU and the US reaffirm that the NPT is central to preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. The EU and the US stress the urgency to maintain the authority and the integrity of the Treaty. To that end, the EU and the U.S. recommit to fulfill our obligations under the Treaty while working together in order to strengthen it. We will evaluate lessons learned from the 2005 Review Conference and continue to stress the importance of compliance with and universal adherence to the NPT. Recognizing the Importance of the Biological Threat: The EU and the US will work together in advance of the upcoming BTWC- Review Conference in 2006, in order to strengthen the Biological Weapons and Toxin Weapons Convention. Promoting Full Implementation of UNSCR 1540: We will coordinate efforts to assist and enhance the work being done by the UNSCR 1540 Committee, and compliance with the resolution. We will work together to respond, where possible, to assistance requests from States seeking to implement the requirements set by the UNSC Resolution 1540 and in particular, to put in place national legal regulatory, and enforcement measures against proliferation. Establishing a Dialogue on Compliance and Verification: The European Union and the United States renew their call on all States to comply with their arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation agreements and commitments. We will seek to ensure, through regular exchanges, strict implementation of compliance with these agreements and commitments. We will continue to support the multilateral institutions charged with verifying activities under relevant treaties and agreements. We will ask our experts to discuss issues of compliance and verification in order to identify areas of possible cooperation and joint undertaking. Strengthening the IAEA: The U.S. and the EU welcome the steps taken earlier this month by the Board of Governors of the IAEA that created a new Committee on Safeguards and Verification, which will enhance the IAEA's effectiveness and strengthen its ability to ensure that nations comply with their NPT safeguards obligations. We will work together to ensure all States conclude a comprehensive safeguards agreement and an Additional Protocol with the IAEA. We agree that the Additional Protocol should become a standard for nuclear cooperation and non-proliferation. Advancing the Proliferation Security Initiative: As we enhance our own capabilities, laws and regulations to improve our readiness for interdiction actions, we pledge to strengthen the Proliferation Security Initiative and encourage PSI countries to support enhanced cooperation against proliferation networks, including tracking and halting financial transactions related to proliferation. Global Partnership: The U.S. and the EU reaffirm our commitment to the Global Partnership Initiative Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction. We will assess ongoing and emerging threats and coordinate our nonproliferation cooperation, including with other participating states, to focus resources on priority concerns and to make the most effective use of our resources. Enhancing Nuclear Security: We intend to expand and deepen cooperation to enhance the security of nuclear and radiological materials. We welcome the establishment of the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) and will cooperate closely to implement this important new initiative, including by exploring opportunities under the GTRI to reduce the threat posed by radiological dispersal devices and by identifying specific radiological threat reduction projects that could be implemented. Ensuring Radioactive Source Security: We remain concerned by the risks posed by the potential use of radioactive sources for terrorist purposes. We will work towards having effective controls applied by the end of 2005 in accordance with the IAEA Guidance on the Import and Export of Radioactive Sources. We will support IAEA efforts to assist countries that need such assistance to establish effective and sustainable controls. Rationalizing Multilateral Disarmament Work: We will continue to cooperate in order to overcome the stalemate in the Conference on Disarmament and pursue reforming of the UN General Assembly's First Committee on disarmament and international security. These initiatives are part of our broader efforts to streamline and make the multilateral disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation machinery more responsive. The U.S. and the EU take special note of the Conference to Consider and Adopt Amendments to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) that will take place at the IAEA, July 4-8 2005, and we urge all States Parties to the CPPNM to attend and fully support adoption of an amended Convention. |
