Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (NWFZ)

Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (NWFZ) is an agreement between a group of states to freely establish by treaty or convention that bans the use, development, or deployment of nuclear weapons in a given area.

• A NWFZ has to be recognized as such by General Assembly of the United Nations. Still, they are not entities of United Nations.
• It should have mechanisms of verification and control to enforce its obligations.

NWFZ is an area which has banned both nuclear power and nuclear weapons, and sometimes nuclear waste and nuclear propulsion also. There are 5 zones in the world. One of them governs only one country i.e. Mongolia. Three others are not part of any state and these are Antarctica, the seabed ^{(Not seas, please note),} and outer space. Most of the Earth’s oceans above the seabed are not covered by NWFZs since freedom of the seas restricts restrictions in international waters.

• Antarctic is a NWFZ by virtue of the Antarctic Treaty System. Article 5 of the Antarctic Treaty System prohibits nuclear explosions or disposal of radioactive wastes.
• Space is NWFZ by virtue of the Outer Space Treaty which prohibits the parties for placing nuclear weapons or any other weapons of mass destruction in orbit of Earth, installing them on the Moon or any other celestial body, or to otherwise station them in outer space.
• Seabed is a NWFZ by virtue of the Seabed Arms Control Treaty which bans the emplacement of nuclear weapons or “weapons of mass destruction” on the ocean floor beyond a 12-mile (22.2 km) coastal zone. It allows signatories to observe all seabed “activities” of any other signatory beyond the 12-mile zone in order to ensure compliance.
• The Treaty of Tlatelolco has established the Latin America and the Caribbean NFWP. The driving force behind this teray was Mexican diplomat Alfonso García Robles, who = received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1982 for his efforts in promoting the treaty.
• The Bangkok Treaty or Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty establishes the Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone which covers 10 Southeast Asian member-states under the auspices of the ASEAN: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam.
• The Treaty of Rarotonga, which entered into force in 1986, establishes a Nuclear-Free-Zone in the South Pacific,. It was signed by South Pacific nations of Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Western Samoa on the island of Rarotonga. Please note Rarotonga is capital of Crooks Island.  As per the Treaty of Rarotonga, “nuclear goods would not be sold to countries that refuse to open all their facilities to international inspections”.
• Treaty of Pelindaba establishes the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone. This treaty prohibits research on, development, manufacture, stockpiling, possession or control of any nuclear explosive devices, along with nuclear testing and stationing of nuclear weapons on the territory of the zone. The treaty entered into force in July 2009 and currently has 31 member states.