{"data":{"id":"us/22-u.s.c.-2376","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"22 U.S.C. § 2376","heading":"Nuclear non-proliferation policy in South Asia","body":"(a) FindingsThe Congress finds that—(1) the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction remains one of the most serious threats to international peace and stability; (2) South Asia, in particular, is an area where the threat of a regional nuclear exchange remains high due to continued Indo-Pakistani tensions over issues such as Kashmir; (3) to date, United States efforts to halt proliferation in South Asia have failed; (4) although global disarmament is a desirable goal which should be vigorously pursued, both regional and sub-regional security arrangements can serve to decrease tensions and promote non-proliferation in certain areas; (5) thus far, there has been some success on a regional basis, such as the South Pacific Nuclear Weapons Free Zone and the Treaty of Tlatelolco in Latin America; (6) in particular, in Latin America, the Treaty of Tlatelolco has been signed by all the nuclear powers; (7) a critical part of this treaty is Protocol II which prohibits nuclear attacks by nuclear weapons states on signatories to the treaty; (8) in 1991, a proposal was made for a regional conference on non-proliferation in South Asia which would include Pakistan, India, the People’s Republic of China, the Soviet Union, and the United States; and (9) thus far, Pakistan, China, Russia, and the United States have expressed interest in attending such a conference, whereas India has refused to attend. (b) PolicyIt is the sense of the Congress that the President should pursue a policy which seeks a regional negotiated solution to the issue of nuclear non-proliferation in South Asia at the earliest possible time, including a protocol to be signed by all nuclear weapons states, prohibiting nuclear attacks by nuclear weapons states on countries in the region. Such a policy should have as its ultimate goal concurrent accession by Pakistan and India to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and should also include as needed a phased approach to that goal through a series of agreements among the parties on nuclear issues, such as the agreement reached by Pakistan and India not to attack one another’s nuclear facilities.","path":["Title 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE","CHAPTER 32—FOREIGN ASSISTANCE"],"source_url":"https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/103/xml_usc22@119-103.zip","current_through":"Public Law 119-103 (09/02/2026)","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-10T05:57:55Z","sha256":"c200be61bcef91bfc3b08a0640ea80c56511557b7d707b324919e8953aeacaba","source_id":"us","stale":false,"prev":"us/22-u.s.c.-2375","next":"us/22-u.s.c.-2377"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}