Counter-proliferation or International safeguards?

\"Counter-proliferation\" is a new and ill-defined concept which appeared some years ago in the little world of non-proliferation specialists. It has always been tacitely admitted by those using it, that this new concept was something that could be added to the traditional non-proliferation policy and international safeguards procedures. The paper intends to challenge that idea, and to suggest that there is rather an incompatibility between the two. For doing so, it starts with a tentative summary of the present stand of the non-proliferation regime. It then tries to describe as clearly as possible, with concrete examples, what is nowadays considered as being part of the counter-proliferation concept. Starting from these examples, it will show that they are more likely to undermine the existing international safeguards regime than to improve it. The paper recognizes that international safeguards alone can not avoid proliferation, but advocates against going back to unilateral actions in this field. The prospect for a worldwide international control of armaments is remote. But a more qualitative safeguards regime may pave the way for that long term future.