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G8 Declaration on Political Issues
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary July 8, 2008

G8 Declaration on Political Issues

ÿÿWhite House News

ÿÿÿÿÿ G8 Summit 2008

Non Proliferation

57. We are determined to make every effort to overcome the danger of the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their delivery means
and to prevent acquisition of WMD by terrorists, by upholding,
strengthening and universalizing all relevant multilateral
non-proliferation and disarmament instruments.

58. We are committed to resolving regional proliferation challenges by
diplomatic means. We express our continuous support for the Six-Party
process towards the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and
the eventual normalization of relations between the relevant Six-Party
members through the full implementation of the Joint Statement of 19
September 2005, including the resolution of the outstanding issues of
concern such as the abduction issue.

Noting the progress made through the Six-Party process since last year, we
welcome, though long overdue, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
(DPRK)'s provision of a declaration as a step toward the full
implementation of the Joint Statement. Comprehensive verification of the
declaration is of utmost importance, and we look forward to an early
agreement on the principles/regime of the verification. We urge the DPRK to
fully cooperate in the verification process, including its effective
implementation. We also emphasize the importance of swift disablement of
all existing nuclear facilities and the abandonment of all nuclear weapons
and existing nuclear programmes by the DPRK. We also urge the DPRK to fully
comply with United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) 1695 and
1718, including abandoning all its nuclear weapons and existing nuclear
programmes as well as all other existing WMD and ballistic missile
programmes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner, and to return
to full compliance with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons (NPT) and IAEA safeguards at an early date.

59. We express our serious concern at the proliferation risks posed by
Iran's nuclear programme and Iran's continued failure to meet its
international obligations. We urge Iran to fully comply with UNSCRs 1696,
1737, 1747 and 1803 without further delay, and in particular to suspend all
enrichment-related activities. We also urge Iran to fully cooperate with
the IAEA, including by providing clarification of the issues contained in
the latest report of the IAEA Director General. We firmly support and
cooperate with the efforts by China, France, Germany, Russia, the United
Kingdom and the United States supported by the High Representative of the
EU to resolve the issue innovatively through negotiation, and urge Iran to
respond positively to their offer delivered on 14 June 2008. We also
commend the efforts by other G8 members, particularly the high-level
dialogue by Japan, towards a peaceful and diplomatic resolution of the
issue. We welcome the work of the Financial Action Task Force to assist
states in implementing their financial obligations under the relevant
UNSCRs.

60. We will work collectively to achieve a successful outcome of the 2010
NPT Review Conference. In this context, we reaffirm our full commitment to
all three pillars (non-proliferation, peaceful uses of nuclear energy and
disarmament) of the NPT and pledge ourselves to redouble our efforts to
uphold and strengthen the Treaty. We welcome all nuclear disarmament
efforts, notably the ongoing reductions of nuclear weapons that the
nuclear-weapon States among G8 members have made so far and call on all
nuclear-weapon States to undertake such reductions in a transparent manner.

61. We urge all states concerned to observe a moratorium on nuclear weapon
test explosions or any other nuclear explosions. We strongly support
immediate commencement and early conclusion of negotiation of a Fissile
Material Cut-off Treaty in the Conference on Disarmament. We urge all
states concerned to declare without delay and uphold a moratorium on
production of fissile material for weapons purposes.

62. We welcome the current progress of the Biological and Toxin Weapons
Convention and the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), namely the successful
outcome of the CWC 2nd Review Conference and reiterate the vital importance
of their full and effective implementation.

We stress the importance of and remain committed to the Hague Code of
Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation and urge all states to
subscribe to the Code without delay.

63. Preventing and countering proliferation requires all states to
implement effective measures. We will redouble our efforts to work together
to that end in a more harmonized and coordinated manner. In this context we
welcome the extension of the mandate of the 1540 Committee and stress the
importance of full implementation of UNSCR 1540.

We further stress the importance of:
- effective export controls,
- strengthening of IAEA safeguards and the universalization of the IAEA
Additional Protocol,
- the IAEA Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive
Sources, and
- supporting the activities of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear
Terrorism and the Proliferation Security Initiative which has just
celebrated its 5th anniversary.

64. We are determined to accomplish priority projects under the Global
Partnership against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction
that was launched at the Kananaskis Summit in 2002. Since the risks of the
spread of weapons and materials of mass destruction exist worldwide, we
agree that the Partnership will address these global challenges
particularly in areas where the risks of terrorism and proliferation are
greatest.

65. We reaffirm the inalienable right of all parties to the NPT to the
peaceful uses of nuclear energy in conformity with all their Treaty
obligations. We are committed to and promote the highest possible standards
on nuclear non-proliferation, safeguards, safety and security (3S)
including the IAEA Additional Protocol. In this context, we appreciate
various initiatives in the field of multilateral approaches to the nuclear
fuel cycle and assurance of nuclear fuel supply and encourage all efforts
to further develop them. In relation to nuclear safety, we reaffirm
commitments of previous summit meetings with regard to Chernobyl and have
decided to organize jointly a pledging event for this purpose in 2008.

66. We welcome the significant progress made by the Nuclear Suppliers Group
(NSG) in moving toward consensus on a criteria based approach to strengthen
controls on transfers of enrichment and reprocessing equipment, facilities
and technology. We support the NSG effort to reach consensus on this
important issue. Additionally, we agree that transfers of enrichment
equipment, facilities and technology to any additional state in the next
year will be subject to conditions that, at a minimum, do not permit or
enable replication of the facilities; and where technically feasible
reprocessing transfers to any additional state will be subject to those
same conditions.

Transnational Organized Crime

67. In a globalized world, characterized by massive flows of people, goods,
money and information, swift and malicious exploitation of those changes by
criminal organizations threatens the safety of our citizens and the
well-being of our societies and institutions. We reaffirm our commitment to
preventing and combating transnational organized crime using all means at
our disposal, while ensuring the rule of law and respect for human rights.
We will strengthen our cooperation, including experience-sharing, to fight
against transnational organized crime, including trafficking in persons,
smuggling of migrants, illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in
firearms, illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances,
cybercrime and money laundering.

68. Recognizing the diversified threats and methods of transnational
organized crime, we will reinforce our efforts to tackle a wide range of
threats including the abuse of information and communication technology as
well as identity-related crime. We will continue to assist countries in
their capacity building efforts to address threats of transnational
organized crime, bilaterally and multilaterally, in cooperation with the
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and other multilateral
organizations. In this regard, we reiterate our strong support for full
implementation of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
and its protocols.

Peacekeeping/Peacebuilding

69. We commit to strengthen humanitarian, stabilization, military and
reconstruction assistance, consistent with our national laws, to the areas
of urgent need. To that end, we will improve our individual and collective
efforts and capability for peacekeeping and peacebuilding.

70. We underscore the need for a comprehensive approach, in particular,
through better coordination among military and civilian activities,
stressing the importance of security sector reform, good governance and the
local ownership. We will also maximize our efforts to ensure the security
of civilians. We support the key role of the UN, including the Security
Council and peace support operations, and work towards enhancing the
effectiveness of the Peacebuilding Commission. We are also determined to
strengthen our cooperation with regional organizations and, inter alia, to
support the capacity building of AU.

71. In this context, to fulfill or exceed our Sea Island and subsequent
commitments, we commit to enhance the capacity in the three interlinking
areas of focus, namely, military, police, and civilians worldwide. We will,
in particular: (a) build capacity for peace support operations including
providing quality training to and equipping troops by 2010, with focus on
Africa, as well as enhance logistics and transportation support for
deployment; (b) strengthen assistance both in quality and quantity to train
and equip police in countries in and emerging from conflict, as well as
continue to develop global capacity for police peacekeeping including
stability/formed police units, and; (c) strengthen our domestic endeavor to
develop civilian human resources to play core roles in peacebuilding.

72. We task our experts to discuss G8 efforts including the implementation
of the initiatives above, in cooperation with the UN and regional
organizations, and to submit a progress report prior to the Summit in 2009.

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