Treaty on the Prohibition of
the Emplacement of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of
Mass Destruction on the Sea-Bed and the Ocean Floor and in the Subsoil Thereof
Opened for signature at London (L), Moscow
(M) and Washington (W): 11 February 1971
Entered into force: 18 May 1972
Depositary Governments: Russian Federation,
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and
United States of America
The States Parties to this Treaty,
Recognizing the common interest of mankind in the
progress of the exploration and use of the sea-bed and the ocean floor for
peaceful purposes,
Considering that the prevention of a nuclear arms race
on the sea-bed and the ocean floor serves the interests of maintaining world
peace, reduces international tensions and strengthens friendly relations among
States,
Convinced that this Treaty constitutes a step towards
the exclusion of the sea-bed, the ocean floor and the subsoil thereof from the
arms race,
Convinced that this Treaty constitutes a step towards
a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective
international control, and determined to continue negotiations to this end,
Convinced that this Treaty will further the purposes
and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, in a manner consistent
with the principles of international law and without infringing the freedoms of
the high seas,
Have agreed as follows:
Article I
1. The
States Parties to this Treaty undertake not to emplant or emplace on the seabed
and the ocean floor and in the subsoil thereof beyond the outer limit of a
sea-bed zone, as defined in article II, any nuclear weapons or any other types
of weapons of mass destruction as well as structures, launching installations
or any other facilities specifically designed for storing, testing or using
such weapons.
2. The
undertakings of paragraph 1 of this article shall also apply to the sea-bed
zone referred to in the same paragraph, except that within such sea-bed zone,
they shall not apply either to the coastal State or to the sea-bed beneath its
territorial waters.
3. The
States Parties to this Treaty undertake not to assist, encourage or induce any
State to carry out activities referred to in paragraph 1 of this article and
not to participate in any other way in such actions.
Article II
For the purpose of this Treaty, the outer limit of the
sea-bed zone referred to in article I shall be coterminous with the twelve-mile
outer limit of the zone referred to in part II of the Convention on the
Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, signed at Geneva on April 29, 1958,
and shall be measured in accordance with the provisions of part I, section II,
of that Convention and in accordance with international law.
Article III
1. In order
to promote the objectives of and ensure compliance with the provisions of this
Treaty, each State Party to the Treaty shall have the right to verify through
observations the activities of other States Parties to the Treaty on the
sea-bed and the ocean floor and in the subsoil thereof beyond the zone referred
to in article I, provided that observation does not interfere with such
activities.
2. If after
such observation reasonable doubts remain concerning the fulfillment of the
obligations assumed under the Treaty, the State Party having such doubts and
the State Party that is responsible for the activities giving rise to the
doubts shall consult with a view to removing the doubts. If the doubts persist,
the State Party having such doubts shall notify the other States Parties, and
the Parties concerned shall cooperate on such further procedures for
verification as may be agreed, including appropriate inspection of objects,
structures, installations or other facilities that reasonably may be expected
to be of a kind described in article I. The Parties in the region of the
activities, including any coastal State, and any other Party so requesting,
shall be entitled to participate in such consultation and cooperation. After
completion of the further procedures for verification, an appropriate report
shall be circulated to other Parties by the Party that initiated such
procedures.
3. If the
State responsible for the activities giving rise to the reasonable doubts is
not identifiable by observation of the object, structure, installation or other
facility, the State Party having such doubts shall notify and make appropriate
inquiries of States Parties in the region of the activities and of any other
State Party. If it is ascertained through these inquiries that a particular
State Party is responsible for the activities, that State Party shall consult
and cooperate with other Parties as provided in paragraph 2 of this article. If
the identity of the State responsible for the activities cannot be ascertained
through these inquiries, then further verification procedures, including
inspection, may be undertaken by the inquiring State Party, which shall invite
the participation of the Parties in the region of the activities, including any
coastal State, and of any other Party desiring to cooperate.
4. If
consultation and cooperation pursuant to paragraphs 2 and 3 of this article
have not removed the doubts concerning the activities and there remains a
serious question concerning fulfillment of the obligations assumed under this
Treaty, a State Party may, in accordance with the provisions of the Charter of
the United Nations, refer the matter to the Security Council, which may take
action in accordance with the Charter.
5. Verification
pursuant to this article may be undertaken by any State Party using its own
means, or with the full or partial assistance of any other State Party, or
through appropriate international procedures within the framework of the United
Nations and in accordance with its Charter.
6. Verification
activities pursuant to this Treaty shall not interfere with activities of other
States Parties and shall be conducted with due regard for rights recognized
under international law, including the freedoms of the high seas and the rights
of coastal States with respect to the exploration and exploitation of their
continental shelves.
Article IV
Nothing in this Treaty shall be interpreted as
supporting or prejudicing the position of any State Party with respect to
existing international conventions, including the 1958 Convention on the Territorial
Sea and the Contiguous Zone, or with respect to rights or claims which such
State Party may assert, or with respect to recognition or non-recognition of
rights or claims asserted by any other State, related to waters off its coasts,
including, inter alia, territorial seas and contiguous zones, or to the sea-bed
and the ocean floor, including continental shelves.
Article V
The Parties to this Treaty undertake to continue
negotiations in good faith concerning further measures in the field of disarmament
for the prevention of an arms race on the sea-bed, the ocean floor and the
subsoil thereof.
Article VI
Any State Party may propose amendments to this Treaty.
Amendments shall enter into force for each State Party accepting the amendments
upon their acceptance by a majority of the States Parties to the Treaty and,
thereafter, for each remaining State Party on the date of acceptance by it.
Article VII
Five years after the entry into force of this Treaty,
a conference of Parties to the Treaty shall be held at 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 realized. Such
review shall take into account any relevant technological developments. The
review conference shall determine, in accordance with the views of a majority
of those Parties attending, whether and when an additional review conference
shall be convened.
Article VIII
Each State Party to this Treaty shall in exercising
its national sovereignty have the right to withdraw from this 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 States 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 considers to have jeopardized its
supreme interests.
Article IX
The provisions of this Treaty shall in no way affect
the obligations assumed by States Parties to the Treaty under international
instruments establishing zones free from nuclear weapons.
Article X
1. This
Treaty shall be open for signature to all States. 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 of accession shall be deposited with the Governments of the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland and the United States of America, which are hereby designated
the Depositary Governments.
3. This
Treaty shall enter into force after the deposit of instruments of ratification
by twenty-two Governments, including the Governments designated as Depositary
Governments of this Treaty.
4. For
states whose instruments of ratification or accession are deposited after 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 the Governments of all signatory
and acceding States of the date of each signature, of the date of deposit of
each instrument of ratification or of accession, of the date of the entry into
force of this Treaty, and of the receipt of other notices.
6. This
Treaty shall be registered by the Depositary Governments pursuant to Article
102 of the Charter of the United Nations.
Article XI
This Treaty, the Chinese, English, French, Russian and
Spanish 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
States signatory and acceding thereto.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly
authorized thereto, have signed this Treaty.
DONE in triplicate, at the cities of London, Moscow and
Washington, this seventh day of February, one thousand nine hundred seventy-one.