STATEMENT ON TRANSPARENCY.

Read the complete statement by clicking the adjacent link to the left.

Transparency, in an arms control and disarmament context, means the sharing of information about security interests, concerns, expectations and capabilities with the objective of enhancing prospects for peaceful co-existence at the lowest possible level of armaments.

Transparency is fundamental to building confidence and trust. Whether it involves facts, assessments, interests, intentions, doctrines or internal processes, transparency lies at the heart of every confidence and security building measure ever devised.

APLN members believe that a deliberate effort by all nuclear-armed states to broaden and standardize security and defence transparency, in relation to past, present and future activities concerning nuclear weapons, will be indispensable for any significant progress towards their elimination.

APLN members urge the governments of all nuclear-armed states to seriously review whether their present postures in respect of nuclear transparency adequately address both their interests and their responsibilities.

APLN members urge the five recognized nuclear weapon states to set an example by undertaking national audits of their historical production of fissile material, as a basis for later discussions amongst them, and in due course with other nuclear-armed states, on problems encountered and how they might be addressed.

APLN members support the efforts of the ten-nation Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI) and the International Panel on Fissile Materials to promote a draft standard nuclear disarmament reporting form in accordance with Action 21 recommended by the 2010 NPT Review Conference.