International Law in Brief
U.S., U.K., France, China, and Russia Sign Protocol to the Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone Treaty (May 6, 2014)
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By: Nicole R. Tuttle | May 9, 2014 - 11:58am
On May 6, 2014, the United States, United Kingdom, France, China, and Russia signed the Protocol to the Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (CANWFZ) Treaty. According to a press release, “[t]he Protocol provides legally-binding assurances not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against CANWFZ treaty parties.” Five Central Asian states—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan—are party to the treaty, which prohibits the states from “stationing of nuclear weapons within their territories.” The U.S. is not eligible to become a party to the treaty itself, but as a Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons member state, it is eligible to join the Protocol.