Ten Nation Committee on Disarmament
Encyclopedia
The Ten Nation Committee on Disarmament (TNCD) was designed to address the issue of nuclear disarmament
during the Cold War
. Created through the combination of a United Nations
resolution and an agreement between the Big Four powers, the TNCD began work in March 1960. It remained intact from March - June 1960.
. At the meeting, the Big Four powers (United States, United Kingdom, France, Soviet Union) decided to resume previously halted disarmament talks and establish a new international negotiating forum. Out of this agreement came the authority for a September 7, 1959 United Nations
(UN) resolution of the UN Disarmament Commission, which created the Ten Nation Committee on Disarmament. The short-lived TNCD officially began its work in Geneva, Switzerland on March 15, 1960.
The TNCD's work was divided into two short sessions. The first spanned the period from March 15 - April 29, 1960, on the 29th the committee halted work because of the concurrent Paris Summit. The hiatus lasted until June 7, 1960 when the TNCD reconvened, once again in Geneva. The TNCD's second session was also short. On June 28, 1960 the committee adjourned indefinitely in the aftermath of the failure at the Paris Summit and the U-2 spy plane incident.
nations and five NATO nations.
Original members of TNCD: (Western Bloc
) - Canada
, France
, Great Britain
, Italy
, United States
. (Eastern Bloc
) - Bulgaria
, Czechoslovakia
, Poland
, Romania
, Soviet Union
.
(CD). The TNCD preceded the Eighteen Nation Committee on Disarmament
(1962-69), which was succeeded by the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament
(CCD) (1969-78) until the CD was formed in 1979.
Nuclear disarmament
Nuclear disarmament refers to both the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons and to the end state of a nuclear-free world, in which nuclear weapons are completely eliminated....
during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. Created through the combination of a United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
resolution and an agreement between the Big Four powers, the TNCD began work in March 1960. It remained intact from March - June 1960.
History
The 1960 Ten Nation Committee on Disarmament grew out of the 1959 Big Four meeting in BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. At the meeting, the Big Four powers (United States, United Kingdom, France, Soviet Union) decided to resume previously halted disarmament talks and establish a new international negotiating forum. Out of this agreement came the authority for a September 7, 1959 United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
(UN) resolution of the UN Disarmament Commission, which created the Ten Nation Committee on Disarmament. The short-lived TNCD officially began its work in Geneva, Switzerland on March 15, 1960.
The TNCD's work was divided into two short sessions. The first spanned the period from March 15 - April 29, 1960, on the 29th the committee halted work because of the concurrent Paris Summit. The hiatus lasted until June 7, 1960 when the TNCD reconvened, once again in Geneva. The TNCD's second session was also short. On June 28, 1960 the committee adjourned indefinitely in the aftermath of the failure at the Paris Summit and the U-2 spy plane incident.
Members
The committee was based on equal representation and included five Warsaw PactWarsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
nations and five NATO nations.
Original members of TNCD: (Western Bloc
Western Bloc
The Western Bloc or Capitalist Bloc during the Cold War refers to the powers allied with the United States and NATO against the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact...
) - Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. (Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
) - Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
Results and legacy
The TNCD (1960) was one of several predecessors to the current UN disarmament organization, the Conference on DisarmamentConference on Disarmament
Conference on Disarmament is a forum established by the international community to negotiate multilateral arms control and disarmament agreements...
(CD). The TNCD preceded the Eighteen Nation Committee on Disarmament
Eighteen Nation Committee on Disarmament
The Eighteen Nation Committee on Disarmament was sponsored by the United Nations in 1961. The committee's conference was an attempt to begin dialogue between the United States and Soviet Union, at the time bitter Cold War rivals...
(1962-69), which was succeeded by the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament
Conference of the Committee on Disarmament
The Conference of the Committee on Disarmament was a United Nations disarmament committee authorized by a General Assembly resolution. It began work in 1969 as the successor to the Eighteen Nation Committee on Disarmament.-History:...
(CCD) (1969-78) until the CD was formed in 1979.