Argentina and weapons of mass destruction
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Argentine military government of 1976 started a nuclear weapons program in the 1980s, which was scrapped when democracy was restored in 1983. As of 2006, it is the first and only Spanish-speaking country in the world to have ever developed an offensive nuclear program.
Contents |
[edit] Missile systems
During the 1980s the Alacrán (English: Scorpion) and Cóndor 2 missiles were developed. While the Cóndor 2, with a range of around 1,000 kilometres, was officially scrapped during the Menem administration under pressure of the United States government, the current status of the Alacrán remains unknown.
[edit] Chemical weapons
Argentina acceded to the Geneva Protocol on 12 May 1969 and has been active in non-proliferation efforts, ratified the Biological Weapons Convention in 1979 and the Chemical Weapons Convention on 2 October 1995.
In September 1991 signed with Brazil and Chile the Mendoza Declaration, which commits signatories not to use, develop, produce, acquire, stock, or transfer —directly or indirectly— chemical or biological weapons.
[edit] Nuclear weapons
- See also: National Atomic Energy Commission
- See also: List of states with nuclear weapons
Argentina conducted a nuclear weapon research program under military rule of 1978 but was abandoned under democratisation in 1983. In 1991 the parliaments of Argentina and Brazil ratified a bilateral inspection agreement that created the Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials (ABACC) to verify both countries' pledges to use nuclear energy only for peaceful purposes. On February 10, 1995, Argentina acceded to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear weapon state. Argentina continues to use nuclear power in non-military roles, and is noted as an exporter of civilian use nuclear technology (Further reading INVAP )
