Topic: Peaceful Development of Nuclear Energy and Control of Fissile Material
Country: India
Delegate Name: Jennifer Larson
School: Royal Oak High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All India position papers GLIMUN 2010 committees
Due to increasing demands for energy, the development of nuclear energy has become increasingly important in India. India believes in the peaceful use of nuclear energy and established the United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act. One part of this document requires IAEA inspections, which India has voluntarily established a new agreement with the IAEA to continue the set restrictions. From this treaty, India has worked toward negotiating a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT) with the United States to ban the production of fissile material for weapons purposes. India has agreed to prevent the spread of enrichment and reprocessing technologies to states that don’t possess them and to support international non-proliferation efforts.
India is one of the few countries to have a no-first-use policy, a pledge not to use nuclear weapons unless first attacked by an adversary using nuclear weapons. The theory of no-first-use and deterrence go hand in hand. The first aggressive use of a nuclear weapon will be a confession that deterrence has failed and the use of nuclear weapons was the only choice left. It is globally recognized that a nuclear war between nuclear powers would not lead to any meaningful result and would indubitably end in great loss on both sides; therefore, a no-first-use policy is most appropriate.
India accepts its responsibility and has abided by the strict export controls on nuclear technology set by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Should the five nuclear powers decide on a date when they will get rid of their nuclear weapons that they have, that the world would be safer without those nuclear weapons, India would be prepared to sign on any Comprehensive Ban Treaty.
