1995 Review and Extension Conference
of the Parties to the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

NPT/CONF.1995/16
11 April 1995
ORIGINAL: FRENCH

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New York, 17 April-12 May 1995

NOTE VERBALE DATED 29 MARCH 1995 FROM THE PERMANENT MISSION OF
BENIN ADDRESSED TO THE SECRETARIAT OF THE 1995 REVIEW AND
EXTENSION CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES TO THE TREATY ON THE
NON-PROLIFERATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS

The Permanent Mission of Benin to the United Nations presents its compliments to the secretariat of the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and has the honour to attach a copy of the communiqué from the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Benin stating the views of the Government of Benin regarding the 1995 Conference of the Parties to the Treaty, which is to take place in New York from 17 April to 2 May 1995.

The Permanent Mission would be grateful if the secretariat would have the communiqué circulated as a document of the Conference.

ANNEX

Communiqué issued on 27 March 1995 by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Benin regarding the Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons which is to take place in April-May 1995

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which was signed in 1968, will expire in April, 25 years after its entry into force.

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, to which Benin is a party as a non-nuclear-weapon State, is the cornerstone of the international nuclear security system.

It has been able to save the world from the risks inherent in proliferation, both vertical and horizontal, of weapons of mass destruction, despite the imperfections that could be identified, particularly with regard to its discriminatory nature.

The April 1995 Review Conference on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons has as its mandate the review and extension of the Treaty.

Major differences of opinion exist regarding this mandate of the Conference, and the Preparatory Committee established by General Assembly resolution 47/52 A of 9 December 1992 held its fourth and final session without reaching consensus on the results to be expected of the Conference.

Nevertheless, the issues at stake are of vital importance to Benin, in that the very future of the world's nuclear security will depend on the outcome of the Conference.

Benin supports the indefinite extension of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and insists on the strengthening of its provisions, particularly with respect to the verification regime, in order to make the Treaty a genuine international instrument for effective nuclear disarmament and for laying the foundations for more fruitful international cooperation in relation to the use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

For this reason, it appeals to the nuclear Powers to speed up the conclusion of a comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty in order to help dissipate the legitimate fears that might be felt by some non-nuclear-weapon States.

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