UN Head Pushes Ban On Nuke Components

Secretary General Ban Ki Moon will call on world leaders to begin working on a treaty banning the production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons and other explosive devices during this week’s nuclear summit in Washington DC.

The Secretary General welcomed Obama’s initiative in holding the summit and stated it showed positive momentum and commitment towards preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons, especially in light of the new START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) treaty signed by the Russian Federation and the United States last week as well as the upcoming NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) review conference at the UN in May.

President Obama has himself expressed support for a treaty on fissile materials, even if important American allies such as Pakistan and Israel have spoken out against it.

Ban seemed less hopeful about the world leaders coming to any significant consensus on Iran's and North Korea’s nuclear programs, stating that these specific issues would likely require much more discussion among member states.

The refusal of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to attend the summit, viewed by many as a reflection of the difficult diplomatic relations between the Obama administration and the Netanyahu government, is also likely to impede any serious discussions about creating a nuclear weapon free zone in the Middle East.

“I'm sure leaders will discuss this matter,” said the secretary general “but I'm not quite sure how much progress they will be able to make during this summit.”

Reports late last week suggested Egypt and Turkey would raise the issue of Israel’s nuclear arsenal. Israel still has not signed NPT and details about the extent of its weapons stockpile and nuclear program remain unclear. Although Ban did not directly address Israel, he did say that all member states of the UN had an obligation to sign the NPT and that he would again urge all states to do so.