A US-based group on Thursday strongly criticised Australia's reported decision to sell uranium to India saying it violated Sydney's international nuclear non-proliferation commitments.
"The move flagrantly contradicts Australia's long-standing international nuclear non-proliferation commitments and should be reconsidered and reversed," Daryl G Kimball, executive director of The Arms Control Association said.
"India is not a member of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, has not signed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and has refused to halt its production of plutonium for weapons.
A deal with it would violate Australia's commitments to the principle of full-scope international safeguards as a condition for supply of nuclear technology and material," he said.
Under the South Pacific Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty, Australia has committed not to provide any "source or special fissionable material or equipment" to any non-nuclear-weapon state unless subject to the safeguards required by Article III.1 of the NPT, the group pointed out.
"India is considered a non nuclear-weapon state under the NPT. While India has agreed to allow partial safeguards on eight additional nuclear reactors by 2014, it rejects the comprehensive safeguards on all of its nuclear facilities and materials that are referred to in the article," it said.
"Since India has refused to place all of its reactors, plutonium separation, and uranium enrichment plants under international safeguards, the safeguards on a few additional facilities will do nothing to slow or stop the continued production of fissile material for nuclear weapons by India," Kimball noted.
"The sale of uranium by Australia would indirectly assist India's nuclear bomb programme because it would free up its more limited domestic uranium supply for the purpose of producing more nuclear material for bombs," he said."This is contrary to the purpose and intent of the NPT and will undoubtedly lead Pakistan to expand, not slow down, its capacity to produce nuclear bomb material," he said.
"Concerned members of the Australian public should call upon the government of Prime Minister Howard to demonstrate, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Australian uranium sales would not indirectly assist India's nuclear bomb programme," he added.
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