Disarmament body takes a step toward negotiations on new nuclear arms treaty

September 24th, 2009 NEW YORK - UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon demanded Thursday that the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) be implemented as quickly as possible. At the opening of a two-day conference of around 100 foreign ministers in New York, Ban called for all of the nine states which had not yet ratified the treaty to begin negotiations immediately.

September 24th, 2009 Key elements in UN nuclear resolutionKey elements in the resolution adopted unanimously Thursday by the U.N. Security Council: NUCLEAR-FREE Resolved "to create the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons." COMPREHENSIVE TEST BAN TREATY Urged all states to ratify the treaty, which outlaws all nuclear tests everywhere.

September 24th, 2009 NEW YORK - The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Thursday a resolution that allows the body to apply measures on violators of nuclear obligations if their actions are determined threats to the world's peace and security. The 15-nation council began a meeting on nuclear disarmament by adopting the resolution pushed forward by the United States.

September 9th, 2009 MEXICO CITY - Noting that disarmament is back on the global agenda, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon cautioned Wednesday that the "world is over-armed and peace is under-funded". Ban opened a disarmament conference at the former convent of San Hipolito in central Mexico City, and said that there are more than 20,000 nuclear weapons around the world, and that many of them may even be activated any time.

August 12th, 2009 China warns of 'arms race in outer space'GENEVA — China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi called Wednesday for international diplomacy to avert an "arms race in outer space." Space should be reserved for peaceful purposes, Yang told the 65-nation Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. "Outer space is now facing the looming danger of weaponization," he said.

July 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India and Germany Thursday held talks on non-proliferation issues and underlined their commitment to nuclear disarmament, officials said here. Germanys Commissioner for Disarmament and Arms Control Peter Gottwald met Vivek Katju, Special Secretary (Political and International Organisations) in the external affairs ministry, and held talks on a range of nuclear issues.

July 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India and Germany are set to step up dialogue on nuclear issues when the German pointsperson on arms control holds two-day talks with Indian officials beginning Wednesday. Germany's Commissioner for Disarmament and Arms Control Peter Gottwald will meet his counterpart Special Secretary Vivek Katju as well as Deputy National Security Advisor Shekhar Dutt and hold talks with them on a range of nuclear issues.

July 7th, 2009 NEW YORK - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Tuesday praised the new pact by the US and Russia to reduce by as much as a third of their nuclear arsenals, which was reached in Moscow between the leaders of the two countries. US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed Monday a Joint Understanding for a follow-on agreement to the Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty (START), committing themselves to reduce strategic warheads to a range of 1,500-1,675, and their strategic delivery vehicles to a range of 500-1,000.

June 11th, 2009 NEW YORK - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Thursday criticised North Korea for pursuing its nuclear ambitions and hampering the global campaign for nuclear disarmament. Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister, said the nuclear test conducted by North Korea in May and subsequent launches of ballistic missiles ran counter to disarmament.

May 30th, 2009 Obama cheers step toward new nuclear arms pactWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is welcoming an agreement by the 65-nation Conference on Disarmament to open the way to negotiate a new nuclear arms control treaty. He says the decision signals a commitment to work together on what he calls a fundamental challenge.

May 29th, 2009 Arms body breaks 12 years of deadlock on nukesGENEVA — The 65-nation Conference on Disarmament broke a dozen years of deadlock Friday and opened the way to negotiate a new nuclear arms control treaty. Diplomats welcomed the adoption of a "program of work" as a breakthrough for the conference, which has been stalemated since it wrote the nuclear test ban treaty in 1996.

May 8th, 2009 Delegates take key step in nuclear treaty reviewUNITED NATIONS — Delegates preparing for a major conference next year to review the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty have agreed on an agenda, and some said the change in President Barack Obama's tone and emphasis was a key factor. Obama's pledge last month to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons — a major reversal from former President George W.

May 6th, 2009 Obama: Tougher treaty to halt nuke weapons neededUNITED NATIONS — President Barack Obama urged delegates at a U.N. meeting to strengthen the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty so it can deal with the threats of nuclear terrorism and the spread of nuclear weapons.

May 6th, 2009 TEHRAN - Iran has said that the US, Britain and France have been violating the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) by facilitating Israel's nuclear weapons programme. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said Monday that the three countries have been helping Israel with its nuclear programme, MehrNews reported Wednesday.

May 5th, 2009 Obama pledge on nuclear weapons wins praise at UNUNITED NATIONS — President Barack Obama's pledge to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons won praise Monday from China and key developing countries, and spurred hope that Washington's policy shift and new U.S.-Russian cooperation will end a long deadlock on global disarmament efforts. But at the start of a U.N.