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 cooperation 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 weapon 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,