Abstract

This analysis was presented on April 30, 2010 at the International Conference organized by the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and Université de Montreal on “L’Alliance atlantique et l’Europe face au défi de l’armement et du désarmement nucléaires”.

The right of a State or group of States to declare themselves “nuclear weapons free area” (NWFA) has been clearly recognized since Resolution 2028 was adopted at the UN General Assembly on November 19, 1965. Five NWFAs have been created since then, plus a few individual initiatives or multilateral treaties on the outer space or the oceans.

The creation of new NWFAs, including the Middle East and Europe, would be a concrete contribution to the strengthening of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and the nuclear disarmament.

Keywords : nuclear weapon free areas, NWFA, nuclear disarmament, non proliferation.