New Delhi: In a clear message to the five
nuclear power nations, IAEA chief Mohammad ElBaradei on Wednesday
said they can have "moral authority" to ask others to curb
proliferation if they demonstrate their own "irreversible
commitment" to free the world from such arsenal.
ElBaradei, while receiving the Indira Gandhi Prize for
Peace, Disarmament and Development here, warned about the
danger facing the world from atomic weapons as he pointed out
that 27,000 nuclear warheads still existed on earth.
"By demonstrating their irreversible commitment to
achieving a world free from nuclear weapons, the weapon states
can greatly contribute to the legitimacy of the
non-proliferation regime and gain the moral authority to call
on the rest of the world to curb the proliferation of these
inhumane weapons," he said.
The statement assumes significance as the UN Security
Council (UNSC), pushed by the US, last week passed a
resolution asking all non-NPT countries to sign the pact.
India has refused to sign the NPT and argued that nuclear
arsenal should be destroyed completely by all the countries in
a verifiable manner.
ElBaradei said nuclear disarmament was, after a long
hiatus, finally back on the international agenda as US
President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry
Medvedev have made a commitment to cut their nuclear arsenals
by as much as a third.
"There is a real prospect of the Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty coming into force. And the Conference on Disarmament in
Geneva has agreed to negotiate a treaty that would outlaw the
production of fissile material for use in nuclear weapons,"
ElBaradei said at Rashtrapati Bhavan in presence of Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
The IAEA chief hoped that India, which called for
elimination of nuclear weapons as far back as in 1948, would
remain a powerful voice campaigning for a world free from
nuclear weapons.
Referring to the Nuclear Suppliers Group waiver granted
to India last year, ElBaradei said he was "delighted" that the
restrictions on its nuclear trade has ended.
This, he said, has already "opened the door for India to
accelerate its use of nuclear power to help meet its energy
needs, combat climate change and secure energy independence."
ElBaradei, who played a key role in ensuring NSG waiver,
said he trusted that "India will spare no effort in practising
and advocating the highest standards of nuclear safety and
security."
Hailing India`s "impressive" indigenous nuclear energy
programme, he said, "I also trust that she (India) will
continue to share her technological expertise and economic
know-how with developing countries in need."
He said that India`s economic metamorphosis has been
"dazzling" and that New Delhi has "become a beacon of
hope to the developing world".
Bureau Report
