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Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons
Opened for signature at London,
Moscow and Washington: 1 July 1968
Entered into force: 5 March 1970
Depositary Governments: Russian
Federation, United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland and
United States of America
The States concluding this Treaty,
hereinafter referred to as the
"Parties to the Treaty",
Considering the devastation that
would be visited upon all mankind by a
nuclear war and the consequent need to
make every effort to avert the danger of
such a war and to take measures to
safeguard the security of peoples,
Believing that the proliferation of
nuclear weapons would seriously enhance
the danger of nuclear war,
In conformity with resolutions of the
United Nations General Assembly calling
for the conclusion of an agreement on
the prevention of wider dissemination of
nuclear weapons,
Undertaking to co-operate in
facilitating the application of
International Atomic Energy Agency
safeguards on peaceful nuclear
activities,
Expressing their support for
research, development and other efforts
to further the application, within the
framework of the International Atomic
Energy Agency safeguards system, of the
principle of safeguarding effectively
the flow of source and special
fissionable materials by use of
instruments and other techniques at
certain strategic points,
Affirming the principle that the
benefits of peaceful applications of
nuclear technology, including any
technological by-products which may be
derived by nuclear-weapon States from
the development of nuclear explosive
devices, should be available for
peaceful purposes to all Parties to the
Treaty, whether nuclear-weapon or
non-nuclear-weapon States,
Convinced that, in furtherance of
this principle, all Parties to the
Treaty are entitled to participate in
the fullest possible exchange of
scientific information for, and to
contribute alone or in co-operation with
other States to, the further development
of the applications of atomic energy for
peaceful purposes,
Declaring their intention to achieve
at the earliest possible date the
cessation of the nuclear arms race and
to undertake effective measures in the
direction of nuclear disarmament,
Urging the co-operation of all States
in the attainment of this objective,
Recalling the determination expressed
by the Parties to the 1963 Treaty
banning nuclear weapons tests in the
atmosphere, in outer space and under
water in its Preamble to seek to achieve
the discontinuance of all test
explosions of nuclear weapons for all
time and to continue negotiations to
this end,
Desiring to further the easing of
international tension and the
strengthening of trust between States in
order to facilitate the cessation of the
manufacture of nuclear weapons, the
liquidation of all their existing
stockpiles, and the elimination from
national arsenals of nuclear weapons and
the means of their delivery pursuant to
a Treaty on general and complete
disarmament under strict and effective
international control,
Recalling that, in accordance with
the Charter of the United Nations,
States must refrain in their
international relations from the threat
or use of force against the territorial
integrity or political independence of
any State, or in any other manner
inconsistent with the Purposes of the
United Nations, and that the
establishment and maintenance of
international peace and security are to
be promoted with the least diversion for
armaments of the world's human and
economic resources,
Have agreed as follows:
Article I
Each nuclear-weapon State Party to
the Treaty undertakes not to transfer to
any recipient whatsoever nuclear weapons
or other nuclear explosive devices or
control over such weapons or explosive
devices directly, or indirectly; and not
in any way to assist, encourage, or
induce any non-nuclear-weapon State to
manufacture or otherwise acquire nuclear
weapons or other nuclear explosive
devices, or control over such weapons or
explosive devices.
Article II
Each non-nuclear-weapon State Party
to the Treaty undertakes not to receive
the transfer from any transferor
whatsoever of nuclear weapons or other
nuclear explosive devices or of control
over such weapons or explosive devices
directly, or indirectly; not to
manufacture or otherwise acquire nuclear
weapons or other nuclear explosive
devices; and not to seek or receive any
assistance in the manufacture of nuclear
weapons or other nuclear explosive
devices.
Article III
1. Each non-nuclear-weapon State
Party to the Treaty undertakes to accept
safeguards, as set forth in an agreement
to be negotiated and concluded with the
International Atomic Energy Agency in
accordance with the Statute of the
International Atomic Energy Agency and
the Agency's safeguards system, for the
exclusive purpose of verification of the
fulfilment of its obligations assumed
under this Treaty with a view to
preventing diversion of nuclear energy
from peaceful uses to nuclear weapons or
other nuclear explosive devices.
Procedures for the safeguards required
by this Article shall be followed with
respect to source or special fissionable
material whether it is being produced,
processed or used in any principal
nuclear facility or is outside any such
facility. The safeguards required by
this Article shall be applied on all
source or special fissionable material
in all peaceful nuclear activities
within the territory of such State,
under its jurisdiction, or carried out
under its control anywhere.
2. Each State Party to the Treaty
undertakes not to provide: (a) source or
special fissionable material, or (b)
equipment or material especially
designed or prepared for the processing,
use or production of special fissionable
material, to any non-nuclear-weapon
State for peaceful purposes, unless the
source or special fissionable material
shall be subject to the safeguards
required by this Article.
3. The safeguards required by this
Article shall be implemented in a manner
designed to comply with Article IV of
this Treaty, and to avoid hampering the
economic or technological development of
the Parties or international
co-operation in the field of peaceful
nuclear activities, including the
international exchange of nuclear
material and equipment for the
processing, use or production of nuclear
material for peaceful purposes in
accordance with the provisions of this
Article and the principle of
safeguarding set forth in the Preamble
of the Treaty.
4. Non-nuclear-weapon States Party to
the Treaty shall conclude agreements
with the International Atomic Energy
Agency to meet the requirements of this
Article either individually or together
with other States in accordance with the
Statute of the International Atomic
Energy Agency. Negotiation of such
agreements shall commence within 180
days from the original entry into force
of this Treaty. For States depositing
their instruments of ratification or
accession after the 180-day period,
negotiation of such agreements shall
commence not later than the date of such
deposit. Such agreements shall enter
into force not later than eighteen
months after the date of initiation of
negotiations.
Article IV
1. Nothing in this Treaty shall be
interpreted as affecting the inalienable
right of all the Parties to the Treaty
to develop research, production and use
of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes
without discrimination and in conformity
with Articles I and II of this Treaty.
2. All the Parties to the Treaty
undertake to facilitate, and have the
right to participate in, the fullest
possible exchange of equipment,
materials and scientific and
technological information for the
peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Parties
to the Treaty in a position to do so
shall also co-operate in contributing
alone or together with other States or
international organizations to the
further development of the applications
of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes,
especially in the territories of
non-nuclear-weapon States Party to the
Treaty, with due consideration for the
needs of the developing areas of the
world.
Article V
Each Party to the Treaty undertakes
to take appropriate measures to ensure
that, in accordance with this Treaty,
under appropriate international
observation and through appropriate
international procedures, potential
benefits from any peaceful applications
of nuclear explosions will be made
available to non-nuclear-weapon States
Party to the Treaty on a
non-discriminatory basis and that the
charge to such Parties for the explosive
devices used will be as low as possible
and exclude any charge for research and
development. Non-nuclear-weapon States
Party to the Treaty shall be able to
obtain such benefits, pursuant to a
special international agreement or
agreements, through an appropriate
international body with adequate
representation of non-nuclear-weapon
States. Negotiations on this subject
shall commence as soon as possible after
the Treaty enters into force.
Non-nuclear-weapon States Party to the
Treaty so desiring may also obtain such
benefits pursuant to bilateral
agreements.
Article VI
Each of the Parties to the Treaty
undertakes to pursue negotiations in
good faith on effective measures
relating to cessation of the nuclear
arms race at an early date and to
nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on
general and complete disarmament under
strict and effective international
control.
Article VII
Nothing in this Treaty affects the
right of any group of States to conclude
regional treaties in order to assure the
total absence of nuclear weapons in
their respective territories.
Article VIII
1. Any Party to the Treaty may
propose amendments to this Treaty. The
text of any proposed amendment shall be
submitted to the Depositary Governments
which shall circulate it to all Parties
to the Treaty. Thereupon, if requested
to do so by one-third or more of the
Parties to the Treaty, the Depositary
Governments shall convene a conference,
to which they shall invite all the
Parties to the Treaty, to consider such
an amendment.
2. Any amendment to this Treaty must
be approved by a majority of the votes
of all the Parties to the Treaty,
including the votes of all
nuclear-weapon States Party to the
Treaty and all other Parties which, on
the date the amendment is circulated,
are members of the Board of Governors of
the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The amendment shall enter into force for
each Party that deposits its instrument
of ratification of the amendment upon
the deposit of such instruments of
ratification by a majority of all the
Parties, including the instruments of
ratification of all nuclear-weapon
States Party to the Treaty and all other
Parties which, on the date the amendment
is circulated, are members of the Board
of Governors of the International Atomic
Energy Agency. Thereafter, it shall
enter into force for any other Party
upon the deposit of its instrument of
ratification of the amendment.
3. Five years after the entry into
force of this Treaty, a conference of
Parties to the Treaty shall be held in
Geneva, Switzerland, in order to review
the operation of this Treaty with a view
to assuring that the purposes of the
Preamble and the provisions of the
Treaty are being realised. At intervals
of five years thereafter, a majority of
the Parties to the Treaty may obtain, by
submitting a proposal to this effect to
the Depositary Governments, the
convening of further conferences with
the same objective of reviewing the
operation of the Treaty.
Article IX
1. This Treaty shall be open to all
States for signature. Any State which
does not sign the Treaty before its
entry into force in accordance with
paragraph 3 of this Article may accede
to it at any time.
2. This Treaty shall be subject to
ratification by signatory States.
Instruments of ratification and
instruments of accession shall be
deposited with the Governments of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland, the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics and the United
States of America, which are hereby
designated the Depositary Governments.
3. This Treaty shall enter into force
after its ratification by the States,
the Governments of which are designated
Depositaries of the Treaty, and forty
other States signatory to this Treaty
and the deposit of their instruments of
ratification. For the purposes of this
Treaty, a nuclear-weapon State is one
which has manufactured and exploded a
nuclear weapon or other nuclear
explosive device prior to 1 January
1967.
4. For States whose instruments of
ratification or accession are deposited
subsequent to the entry into force of
this Treaty, it shall enter into force
on the date of the deposit of their
instruments of ratification or
accession.
5. The Depositary Governments shall
promptly inform all signatory and
acceding States of the date of each
signature, the date of deposit of each
instrument of ratification or of
accession, the date of the entry into
force of this Treaty, and the date of
receipt of any requests for convening a
conference or other notices.
6. This Treaty shall be registered by
the Depositary Governments pursuant to
Article 102 of the Charter of the United
Nations.
Article X
1. Each Party shall in exercising its
national sovereignty have the right to
withdraw from the Treaty if it decides
that extraordinary events, related to
the subject matter of this Treaty, have
jeopardized the supreme interests of its
country. It shall give notice of such
withdrawal to all other Parties to the
Treaty and to the United Nations
Security Council three months in
advance. Such notice shall include a
statement of the extraordinary events it
regards as having jeopardized its
supreme interests.
2. Twenty-five years after the entry
into force of the Treaty, a conference
shall be convened to decide whether the
Treaty shall continue in force
indefinitely, or shall be extended for
an additional fixed period or periods.
This decision shall be taken by a
majority of the Parties to the Treaty.
Article XI
This Treaty, the English, Russian,
French, Spanish and Chinese texts of
which are equally authentic, shall be
deposited in the archives of the
Depositary Governments. Duly certified
copies of this Treaty shall be
transmitted by the Depositary
Governments to the Governments of the
signatory and acceding States.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned,
duly authorized, have signed this
Treaty.
DONE in triplicate, at the cities of
London, Moscow and Washington, the first
day of July, one thousand nine hundred
and sixty-eight.
