The

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone A nuclear-weapon-free zone (NWFZ) is defined by the United Nations as an agreement that a group of states has freely established by treaty or convention that bans the development, manufacturing, control, possession, testing, stationing or transpo ...

(CANWFZ) treaty is a legally binding commitment by

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

, and

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

not to manufacture, acquire, test, or possess nuclear weapons. The treaty was signed on 8 September 2006 at

Semipalatinsk Test Site The Semipalatinsk Test Site or Semipalatinsk-21 (; ), also known as "The Polygon", was the primary testing venue for the Soviet Union's nuclear weapons. It is located in Zhanasemey District, Abai Region, Kazakhstan, south of the valley of the Ir ...

, Kazakhstan, and is also known as Treaty of Semipalatinsk, Treaty of Semei, or Treaty of Semey. The treaty was ratified by Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan Tajikistan and Kazakhstan, and entered into force 21 March 2009.

History

Steps towards the establishment of such a zone began with the Almaty Declaration in 1992. A resolution calling for the establishment of such a zone was adopted by consensus by the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

in 1997 and reaffirmed in 2000. Mindful of the lack of support by the nuclear powers for a similar Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty, the five permanent members of the Security Council were involved in the negotiations. While

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

approved of the treaty,

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

objected to a clause which stated that the Treaty would not affect the rights and obligations of the signatories under previous international agreements because of the already existent Tashkent Treaty which involved

. The United States also objected on principle to establishment of any zone disturbing "existing security arrangements to the detriment of regional and international security or otherwise abridg ngthe inherent right of individual or collective self-defense guaranteed in the UN charter". The United States also objected to possibility that

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

could apply to join the Treaty, so this provision was removed. The

, and

were finally concerned about the possibility that the Treaty could forbid the transit of nuclear weapons through the territory. In spite of attempts by

, and

to block the Treaty, it was finally signed in September 2006, although they voted against the General Assembly Resolution which welcomed the signing of the treaty in December 2006. All five Permanent Members of the Security Council (also the five NPT nuclear weapons states) signed the Protocol to the treaty on May 6, 2014, which provides legally binding assurances not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against CANWFZ Treaty parties. As of May 2016 all Permanent Members of the Security Council except the United States have ratified the protocols.

List of parties

Protocol

References

Sources

IAEA report

{{Nuclear weapons limitation treaty Central Asia Nuclear technology in Kazakhstan Treaties of Kazakhstan Treaties of Kyrgyzstan Treaties of Tajikistan Treaties of Turkmenistan Treaties of Uzbekistan Nuclear weapons policy Treaties concluded in 2006 Treaties entered into force in 2009 Treaties establishing nuclear-weapon-free zones Kazakhstan–Kyrgyzstan relations Kazakhstan–Tajikistan relations Kazakhstan–Turkmenistan relations Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan relations Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan relations Kyrgyzstan–Turkmenistan relations Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan relations Tajikistan–Turkmenistan relations Tajikistan–Uzbekistan relations Turkmenistan–Uzbekistan relations

History

List of parties

Protocol

See also

References

Sources