Il rapporto tra il Trattato sul divieto di armi nucleari e gli altri accordi in materia di non-proliferazione e disarmo

Whereas States supporting the adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in July 2017 considered it as a step towards the implementation of disarmament obligations under Article VI of the Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT), critics have argued that, on the contrary, the TPNW undermines the NPT. One of the most contentious issues at the diplomatic conference was the content of the saving clause on the relationship with other international agreements, including the NPT. When the first draft provided that the Treaty did not affect “the rights and obligations of the States Parties” under the NPT, it was argued that this would have allowed nuclear-weapon States to ratify the new Treaty while retaining nuclear weapons. The final wording of Article 18 TPNW is framed as a harmonisation clause with regard to obligations under existing international agreements. The key element is the last phrase: “where those obligations are consistent with the Treaty”. Conflict between the TPNW and the NPT cannot be excluded: for instance, with regard to the stationing of nuclear weapons in the territory of a Party. At a closer analysis, instead, there seems to be no conflict between the TPNW and the NPT with respect to safeguards of nuclear materials and facilities and the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency.