The Parties to this Protocol,
Recalling the Almaty Declaration of the Heads of State of the Central Asian States adopted on 28 February 1997; the Statement of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the five States of the region adopted at Tashkent on 15 September 1997; the United Nations General Assembly resolutions and decisions 52/38 S of 9 December 1997, 53/77 A of 4 December 1998, 55/33 W of 20 November 2000, 57/69 of 22 November 2002, 58/518 of 8 December 2003, 59/513 of 3 December 2004 and 60/516 of 8 December 2005, entitled “Establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia”; and the Communiqué of the Consultative Meeting of Experts of the Central Asian Countries, the Nuclear-Weapon States and the United Nations adopted at Bishkek on 9 July 1998,
Convinced of the need to take all steps in achieving the ultimate goal of a world entirely free of nuclear weapons and that all States are obliged to contribute to that goal,
Striving therefore to support the establishment of a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia,
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
Negative Security Assurances
Each Party undertakes not to use or threaten to use a nuclear weapon or other nuclear explosive device against any Party to the Treaty on a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia (hereinafter referred to as “the Treaty”).
Article 2
Not Contributing to Violations
Each Party undertakes not to contribute to any act that constitutes a violation of the Treaty or of this Protocol by Parties to them.
Article 3
Effect of Treaty Amendments
Each Party undertakes, by written notification to the Depositary, to indicate its acceptance or otherwise of any alteration to its obligations under this Protocol that may be brought about by the entry into force of amendments to the Treaty pursuant to Article 17 of the Treaty.
Article 4
Signature
This Protocol shall be open for signature by the People’s Republic of China, the French Republic, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America.
Article 5
Ratification
This Protocol shall be subject to ratification.
Article 6
Duration of and Withdrawal from the Protocol
1. This Protocol is of a permanent nature and shall remain in force indefinitely.
2. Any Party may, by written notification addressed to the Depositary, withdraw from this Protocol if it decides that extraordinary events, related to the subject-matter of this Protocol, have jeopardized its supreme national interests. Such notification shall include a statement of the extraordinary events it regards as having jeopardized its supreme national interests.
3. Withdrawal shall take effect 12 months after the date of receipt of the notification by the Depositary, who shall circulate such notification to all Parties to the Treaty and to the signatories of this Protocol.
Article 7
Entry into Force
This Protocol shall enter into force for each Party on the date of its deposit with the Depositary of its instrument of ratification.
In witness whereof, the undersigned, duly authorized by their respective Governments, have signed this Protocol.
DONE at New York, this 6th day of May, 2014, in one original, in the Chinese, English, French and Russian languages, each text being equally authentic. The original of this Protocol shall be deposited with the Kyrgyz Republic.
