Читать книгу Disarmament and Decommissioning in the Nuclear Domain - Jean-Claude Amiard - Страница 40

The denuclearization of South Africa is a unique case, since it is the only state that possesses atomic weapons that voluntarily renounces them. Moreover, during this denuclearization, South Africa split into two new states: South Africa and Namibia.

In 1979, South Africa’s nuclear weapons manufacturing facilities were transferred from the Pelindaba Nuclear Research Centre to the South African Weapons Corporation (Armscor), which developed the Kentron Circle facility. This facility was built in 1980 and is located 20 km west of Pretoria. It was later renamed Advena.

The organization of South Africa’s militarized nuclear program is described in Figure 1.4.

At Pelindaba, pistol-type mini nuclear weapons have been developed. Armscor installed a production line there in 1981 and produces at least one nuclear device each year with an output of 10 to 18 kilotons.

Advena’s central laboratories have built platforms for launching intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Work to produce warheads with advanced designs has also been developed. On the same site, in collaboration with Israel, a missile with a range of 2,000 km was designed and tested. It was close to the ICBM Jericho II. The construction of Advena was completed at the same time as the end of South Africa’s nuclear program, before the 1994 election of Nelson Mandela [GLO 11].

Figure 1.4. Organizational structure of the South African nuclear program according to an IAEA member in August 1992 (source: [ALB 16])

The end of South Africa’s nuclear program should be seen in the context of major political developments in the region. First, in December 1988, South Africa, Angola and Cuba signed a tripartite agreement for the gradual withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola. In April 1989, Namibia gained its independence. In September 1989, F. W. de Klerk was elected president. He immediately took steps to bring about fundamental political reforms aimed at ending apartheid and creating a democratic South Africa. Within a short time, the nuclear weapons program had become a liability. In November 1989, the government decided to stop the production of nuclear weapons. On February 26, 1990, de Klerk issued written instructions to end the nuclear weapons program and dismantle all existing weapons. The nuclear materials were to be melted down and returned to the Atomic Energy Corporation (AEC) in preparation for South Africa’s accession to the NPT.

The government also decided to not admit the existence of the nuclear weapons program before joining the NPT. As a result, the decommissioning project, like the nuclear weapons project, was classified as top secret. Dismantling began in July 1990. On September 6, 1991, all of the highly enriched uranium (HEU) had been removed from the weapons, melted down, and returned to the AEC for storage. Shortly after the last of the material was sent to the AEC, the Circle building was completely decontaminated, and the equipment that had been used to remelt and sink the HEU was sent to the AEC. The Advena/Circle facility was converted to a non-nuclear commercial operation. De Klerk’s revelation that South Africa had developed a nuclear arsenal was finally made in 1993 [ALB 94].

At the time of the dismantling of its military nuclear program, South Africa possessed six atomic weapons, with a seventh in the process of assembly. In 1991, South Africa’s enrichment plant Y had produced 993 kg of highly enriched uranium, including 677 kg of the isotope 235 [ALB 16]. The conversion rate of 68.2% was close to the threshold of 90% necessary to make a weapon. The South Africans were thus close to the goal.

The split of South Africa had various consequences on the demobilization of troops and their disarmament [DZI 17].

Namibia is a successful model of an international approach to disarmament and demobilization (DD). Namibia has been assisted by two UN structures, the United Nations Transitional Assistance Group (UNTAG) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which have effectively carried out their military and repatriation tasks in Namibia’s successful transition to independence. This was facilitated by the fact that Namibia’s liberation movement comprised a single armed formation, the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN). The official law enforcement force, SWATF (South West Africa Territorial Force) and the unofficial Koevoet (the counter-insurgency arm of the South West African Police Force) were eventually disarmed. The government decided to implement the aptly named Peace Project. This plan focused on the placement of ex-combatants in activities that were paid for, mainly in the civil service [DZI 17].

In South Africa, the unstable political and security contexts that followed the splitting of Namibia paralyzed disarmament efforts, contributing to the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons, some of which were subsequently used as instruments of armed crime [DZI 17].