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SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 47

TH LEGISLATURE

- STATE OF NEW MEXICO -

FIRST SESSION

, 2007

INTRODUCED BY

Shannon Robinson

A JOINT MEMORIAL

EXPRESSING THE RESOLVE OF THE NEW MEXICO LEGISLATURE THAT

MANUFACTURE OF NEW NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN NEW MEXICO SHOULD BE

PROHIBITED.

WHEREAS, the federal department of energy is proposing

that New Mexico be a site for a new and consolidated facility

to develop and manufacture new nuclear weapons; and

WHEREAS, the department of energy plans to complete this

complex by 2030 and to call the proposed nuclear weapons

complex "Complex 2030"; and

WHEREAS, this proposed nuclear weapons facility violates

Article VI of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and violates

the intent of the treaty, which was signed and ratified by the

United States and entered into force in 1970; and

WHEREAS, the nuclear non-proliferation treaty declares in

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the preamble the signers' "... 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... 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..."; and

WHEREAS, Article VI of the United States constitution

states that, "all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under

the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of

the Land"; and

WHEREAS, the advisory opinion of the international court

of justice has decided unanimously that each state is obliged

to bring to a close negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament

and begin the process of complete nuclear disarmament, and that

there exists an obligation to abide by Article VI of the

nuclear non-proliferation treaty to "pursue negotiations in

good faith and on effective measures relating to cessation of

the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear

disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete

disarmament under strict and effective international control";

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and

WHEREAS, the intent to produce new nuclear bomb pits

violates Article VI of the Untied States constitution, the

nuclear non-proliferation treaty and the advisory opinion of

the international court of justice; and

WHEREAS, President George W. Bush, on March 7, 2005,

called "the nuclear non-proliferation treaty... a key legal

barrier to nuclear weapons proliferation and... a critical

contribution to international security," and stated that "the

United States is firmly committed to its obligations under the

NPT"; and

WHEREAS, United Nations security council resolution 1540

calls upon all states "to promote the universal adoption and

full implementation, and where necessary, strengthening of

multilateral treaties to which they are parties, whose aim is

to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, biological or chemical

weapons"; and

WHEREAS, sustained leadership from the United States is

essential to implement existing legal and political commitments

established by the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and to

realize a more effective global nuclear non-proliferation

system; and

WHEREAS, despite the department of energy's argument that

nuclear deterrence is a necessary policy for the United States

to ensure the peace, the United States has been involved in at

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least eighteen wars, namely in Korea, Guatemala, Cuba,

Indonesia, Congo, Peru, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Lebanon,

Grenada, Libya, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Bosnia,

Afghanistan and Iraq since the development of the first nuclear

weapons; and

WHEREAS, senior nuclear scientists concur that the

existing nuclear stockpile is not degrading, which means that

the twenty-three thousand nuclear pits in the current nuclear

arsenal will be reliable for another eighty to one hundred

years or more and the need to rebuild the stockpile by creating

replacement warheads is unnecessary and is severely

overburdening the taxpayer; and

WHEREAS, the department of energy could enable New Mexico

to become a leader in efforts to create a more secure state,

nation and world by: 1) insisting upon the massive cleanup of

the areas contaminated by the nuclear industry; 2) supporting

research in the remediation of radioactive wastes; 3) finding

the means to make reparations to those communities whose soil,

air and water have been contaminated; 4) dismantling the

stockpile without replacing the warheads; 5) presenting a clear

plan for consolidating and maintaining the security of the

extremely toxic and dangerous nuclear weapons materials in the

inventory in perpetuity; and 6) investing in the development of

renewable energy technologies and other endeavors that promote

sustainability and affirm life for the generation who will be

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bearing children after 2030 in New Mexico and the world; and

WHEREAS, the governing body of the state of New Mexico

stands for a society that takes responsibility for the welfare

of its future generations;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE

STATE OF NEW MEXICO that, in accordance with the United States

constitution, the department of energy and any other government

agency or nonprofit or for-profit corporation be requested to

not to plan, construct or operate any facilities in the state

of New Mexico to develop, produce or manufacture any new

plutonium pits or any other components of nuclear weapons; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be

transmitted to the governor, to members of the appropriate

interim legislature committee and to members of the New Mexico

congressional delegation.

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